nor can he fully grasp how it applies to the revealed texts. A judgment necessarily requires a proper understanding of the case, followed by an understanding of how the evidence applies to it, for ruling on a matter is contingent upon properly conceiving it. Ruling on a matter also requires knowledge of what necessitates that ruling, whereas the angry person comprehends neither the case nor the application of the rulings to it. This is why the Prophet ﷺ forbade a person from judging between two parties while angry. (1)

Moreover, if one of the two litigants is the one who provoked the judge’s anger, there is a third danger: his anger toward that litigant may lead him to rule against him even though the right is on that litigant’s side.

The phrase, “while greatly angered,” indicates that if the anger is slight, at its onset, then issuing judgment is not prohibited. The Prophet ﷺ did issue judgment while angry in the case of the Anṣārī and al-Zubayr ibn al-ʿAwwām رضي الله عنه concerning the watercourse over which they disputed before the Prophet ﷺ. The watercourse passed by al-Zubayr’s garden wall before reaching the Anṣārī’s wall. Al-Zubayr رضي الله عنه would water from it and leave the remainder for his Anṣārī neighbor. The Anṣārī complained to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and they brought their dispute before the Prophet ﷺ, who said: “Water your land, O Zubayr, then send the water on to your neighbor.”

His words, “Water your land,” constitute an unrestricted command, indicating that he should simply water his crops and then send the water on to his neighbor. The Anṣārī—may Allah pardon him—said: “Is it because he is your maternal aunt’s son, O Messenger of Allah?!” Pride in sin overtook him, and a person