The Implications of the Prophet's - Peace Be Upon Him - Behaviours as a Judge

The study seeks to distinguish the actions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in his capacity as a judge from his other legislative roles—whether as a conveyor of revelation or as a political leader—as well as from his non-legislative conduct. As he combined both human and prophetic qualities, his actions reflected multiple functional capacities. The importance of this topic lies in preventing the misconception that all actions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) are of a single type, namely acts performed purely in his role as a messenger. The study adopts an inductive, descriptive, and analytical methodology. It examines juristic issues related to the Prophet’s actions, highlights the impact of scholarly disagreement, and illustrates them through judicial branches of fiqh. It classifies the Prophet’s judicial actions into three types: actions related to dispute resolution, actions related to conveying rulings, and actions related to leadership (imamate). It also presents practical judicial applications and clarifies their implications for judges from the time of the Companions to the present. A key finding is that the Prophet’s judicial rulings are, in origin, declarative; however, once issued, they become constitutive rulings that are binding only on the disputing parties, without extending to others in similar cases. The study recommends further research on the implications of treating judicial rulings as constitutive acts rather than mere reports, and applying this understanding within contemporary court systems.