1208 – Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ declared, “You bring your disputes to me, and it may be that one of you is more skilful in presenting his argument than the other. I therefore rule according to what I hear from him. So if I grant someone something that rightfully belongs to his brother, I am in fact giving him a piece of the Fire.” Agreed upon (1).

Glossary of the hadith
• takhtaṣimūn (you dispute/litigate): From khaṣama – yakhṣimu khaṣman, “to overcome an opponent in argument.” The term khaṣm applies equally to the singular, dual, and plural, and to both masculine and feminine. ikhtaṣama: the people disputed with one another, pulling and contending.
• laʿalla: a particle functioning like a verb and counted among the sisters of inna. One of its uses is to express the expectation of something disliked, which is the sense intended here.
• alḥan biḥujjatihi (more eloquent or adept in his proof): laḥina – yalḥanu laḥnan, “to perceive quickly and grasp the point.” Lexicographers say the root originally denotes “to incline away from the straight path.” Al-Miṣbāḥ states: laḥn is quickness of understanding; “he is alḥan than Zayd,” i.e., quicker in comprehension.
• qiṭʿa (a piece): From qaṭaʿa – yaqṭaʿu qaṭʿan; qiṭʿa means “a portion or segment of something.”

Lessons derived from the hadith

1. The hadith shows that a judge passes judgment according to what he hears from the two litigants—the strength of their arguments and the clarity of their evidence. If he exerts ijtihād and errs, there is no sin upon him; rather, he is rewarded