Adab al-Qadi - Ibn al-Qass
- Author died
- 335 AH
- Editions
- Maktabat al-Ṣiddīq
Adab al-Qadi (The Conduct of the Judge) is a legal treatise on judicial etiquette and court procedure according to the Shafi'i school of jurisprudence, authored by the jurist and judge Ibn al-Qass (d. 335 AH / 946 CE).
Author and Context
The author, Abu al-Abbas Ahmad ibn Abi Ahmad al-Tabari—widely known as Ibn al-Qass—was a leading Shafi'i jurist of his generation and a primary student of Ibn Surayj. He taught the scholars of Tabaristan and later assumed the judgeship of Tarsus, where he issued legal verdicts and remained stationed until his death. His treatise stands among the earliest dedicated compositions on judicial ethics (adab al-qada') within the Shafi'i tradition, compiled in the same era as works on the topic by contemporaries such as al-Istakhri (d. 328 AH) and al-Qaffal al-Shashi (d. 365 AH).
Content and Method
The book is cited in biographical and legal literature under both titles Adab al-Qadi and Adab al-Qada', addressing the responsibilities, procedural rules, and decorum of judges presiding over disputes. In compiling the work, Ibn al-Qass incorporated prophetic traditions and narrations with chains of transmission that he received from hadith scholars.
Later Shafi'i jurists frequently drew upon the text for early school positions and doctrinal verifications, including the legal opinions of his teacher Ibn Surayj. These citations encompass questions of judicial procedure such as the administration of oaths and the validity of testimonies under specific conditions, including testimony conveyed through intelligible signs.
Publication
The work was edited by Husayn Khalaf al-Juburi and published by Maktabat al-Siddiq in Taif in 1409 AH / 1989 CE.
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