Among the imam’s great responsibilities is what the author, may Allah have mercy on him, mentions in his statement: “That he appoint a judge in every region.” Thus, the imam must appoint a judge in every region. The regions of the entire world are seven, so he must appoint seven judges throughout the world—one judge in each region—whereas people today want a judge in every neighborhood! These judges, however, must be given deputies according to need.

The scholars adopted this view so that the matter would not be centralized and referred back to a single authority, for referring it to one authority—especially in that era—would be arduous and difficult. They said: A judge should be appointed in every region, and that judge should appoint deputies in every city or every village, as required. For example, if we assume that a region is extensive, it may require ten or twenty deputies, who refer back to the regional judge. If a problem arises, the regional judge refers it to the imam, since he bears ultimate responsibility. In this way, the difficulty is removed.

For if we were to say that only one judge need be appointed in each region, people’s interests would be lost, especially in earlier times. If two people had a dispute and the regional judge was a month’s journey away from them, they would need two months; and perhaps, when they arrived, they would find him occupied with cases before theirs, and so they would have to wait. Then, if there were grounds for questioning the witnesses and the judge required their uprightness to be attested, the two litigants would return for a month to seek those in their own lands who could vouch for them, since they would not be known in other lands—and so on. Therefore, they said that these regional judges must appoint deputies in every village.