—on the Day of Resurrection—and it is not permissible for such a man to remain in authority over a Muslim people if that people is able to remove him from power.

The very essence of justice in an imam is that he rule the populace by the law of Allah.

Part of justice is that he place the poor and the rich on an equal footing, the enemy and the ally, the near and the distant—even the enemy must be treated on a par with the ally when it comes to adjudication. For that reason the scholars—may Allah have mercy on them—have said: If two litigants appear before a judge, one a disbeliever and the other a Muslim, it is forbidden for the judge to grant the Muslim any special favor. They must both enter together and be seated together; he must not converse with one to the exclusion of the other, nor smile at the Muslim while frowning at the disbeliever. In the context of judgment he is obliged to treat them exactly the same, even though the disbeliever is certainly not the equal of the Muslim—“Shall We treat the Muslims like the criminals? What is wrong with you? How do you judge?” (Q 68:35–36)—yet in matters of legal judgment all people are equal.

Another facet of justice is that the imam enforce the prescribed punishments ordained by Allah, Mighty and Exalted, upon everyone, even upon his own children and descendants. The Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—who was the most just of leaders, was approached by Usamah—may Allah be pleased with him—who attempted to intercede on behalf of a woman facing such a punishment. The Prophet said to him, “Are you interceding with regard to one of Allah’s prescribed limits?” and rebuked him. He then rose, praised and extolled Allah, and said: “To proceed: What destroyed those who came before you was that when a noble person among them stole they let him go, but when a weak person stole they carried out the punishment upon him. By Allah”—and he swore by Allah—“if…"