Ali Ibn Abi Talib - Volume 1 of 2

486 Financial and judicialy institutions at the time of 'Ali
2.4.6. Emergence of the idea of lawyers
The idea of lawyers began to emerge at the time of the Rightly
Guided Caliphs. 'Ali (&) appointed his hrothe~ 'Aqeel to represent
him in cases, and when 'Aqeel grew too old, he appointed Abdullah
ihn Ja'far ihn Abi Taib to appear on his behalf in front of the judges.
He used to say: "If the outcome is in favour of my agent, then it is in
my favour, and if it is against my agent, then it is against me."49
2.5. What is required of the judge
In order to attain justice in rulings, attention must be paid to
the foUowing:
2.5.1. Careful study of the case presented
It is not right for the judge to hasten to issue a verdict before
examining the case completely and feelmg satisfied with the
conclusion reached. Hence 'Ali (&) said to Shurayh: "Your tongue
is under your control as long as you do not speak, hut once you speak
you are bound by what you say. So think about what your verdct is,
and the has~s for your verdict, and how to work out your verd~ct."~~
2.5.2. Equal treatment of disputants
'Ali (&)had a guest who stayed with him for a few days, then
he brought a dispute to him. 'Ali (&) .., asked him: "Are you a
disputant?" He said: "Yes." 'Ali (&) said: "Then leave us, for we
are not allowed to have a disputant staying with us unless his
opposite number is with him." (He meant that he was required to
treat both of them equally.)51