1214 – ʿAbd Allah ibn al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) ruled that the two litigants are to sit before the judge.” It was related by Abu Dawud, and al-Hakim declared it authentic (1).

Status of the ḥadith:
The report is weak.
The author states: It was transmitted by Ahmad, Abu Dawud, and al-Hakim—who graded it sound—and al-Dhahabi concurred. It was also reported by al-Bayhaqi, all of them through the narration of Musʿab ibn Thabit ibn ʿAbd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, about whom there are reservations; Abu Hatim said, “He makes many mistakes.”
It has a corroborating report from Umm Salamah, narrated by Abu Yaʿla, al-Daraqutni, and al-Tabarani, but in its chain is ʿUbada ibn Kathir, who is weak.

Lessons extracted from the ḥadith:
1 – Equity between the two litigants is required in every respect; the judge must treat them equally in his court.
Ibn Rushd said: There is consensus that he must give the litigants equal seating.
Al-Tibi remarked: Nothing is more difficult or more daunting for the judge than maintaining equality between the litigants.
Ibn al-Qayyim said: He forbade giving one litigant precedence over the other, turning toward him, or standing for him to the exclusion of his adversary, lest such behavior break the other’s heart,