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Chapter 1 — A Judge’s Letter to Another Judge¹
A letter from one judge to another is admissible with respect to every private right, even in cases of slander (qadhf), but not in the fixed punishments ordained by Allah, such as the ḥadd for fornication and the like. It is accepted when a judgment has already been rendered so that the second judge may enforce it, “even if both are in the same town.”² It is not accepted when the case has merely been established before the first judge and still awaits judgment, unless the distance between the two jurisdictions equals the span that permits shortening the prayer.³⁴
1 — Manuscript B omits the word “Bab” (Chapter); manuscript J adds the phrase “Bab Hukm” (Chapter on the Ruling).
2 — Manuscripts J and M read: “kana.”
3 — Manuscript B reads: “yuthbatu ʿanhu” (it is affirmed from him).
4 — Manuscript M and the Sharh have: “qasr” (abridged).
باب١ كتاب القاضي إلى القاضي
يقبل كتاب القاضي إلى القاضي في كل حق حتى القذف لا في حدود الله كحد الزنا ونحوه ويقبل فيما حكم به لينفذه "وإن كان٢ في بلد واحد" ولا يقبل فيما ثبت عنده٣ ليحكم به إلا أن يكون بينهما مسافة القصر٤.
١سقط من "ب": باب، وفي "ج" زيادة: باب حكم.
٢ في "ج" و "م" كانا.
٣ في "ب" يثبت عنه.
٤ في "م" والشرح: قصر.