Islamic Fiqh > Judgment and testimony > Arbitration and mediation (tahkim)
Settling a dispute without trial: tahkim, the arbitral sentence's authority, family mediation and the hadith of the khul' arbitrators.
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Updated on 06 October 2026 at 10:50 PM
Arbitration (tahkim), like judgment, is a means of settling the dispute and fixing the holder of the right; the Quran establishes it for the couple: "If you fear a breach between the 2, appoint an arbiter from his family and an arbiter from hers" (sura an-Nisa 35). The jurists require of the arbitrator qualities similar to those of the judge, but he remains of a lower rank: his authority is limited to those who chose him, while the judge's competence is general. Abu Yusuf: arbitration cannot be suspended on a condition nor made relative, unlike judgment, for the judgment shares the nature of amicable settlement.
Agreement of the scholars: no arbitration in the rights of Allah such as the punishment of the illicit relation or theft: that belongs to the ruler or the judge, not to the arbitrator. Hanafis: no arbitration either in the punishments and retaliation, for persons cannot permit their own blood; the proper matter of the arbitrator remains property, each school detailing the cases.
During the inquiry, before the sentence: Malikis (one view), Shafi'is (in the position) and Hanbalis (one view) allow either party to revoke the arbitrator, his consent not yet having produced an effect. Opposing view: Malikis (the view preferred by Ibn Farhun), Shafi'is (one view) and Hanbalis (in the position): revocation is no longer permitted, otherwise each of the 2 parties would return as soon as an opinion displeases it, and the purpose of arbitration would vanish.
Arbitration is best framed from the start: define in writing the object of the dispute, the powers of the arbitrator and the commitment to accept the sentence. The choice of an upright and competent arbitrator is worth more than a long trial.
Al-Mughni by Ibn Qudama · Hanbali school
And if he claims a judgment (in his favor) or a discharge and holds a proof, he is innocent; otherwise the claimant takes an oath, and judgment is rendered in his favor. If he arrives after the judgment and discredits the witnesses by a matter prior to the testimony, the judgment is annulled; if he discredits them by a matter after the testimony was given, or without specification, the judgment is not annulled and the judge does not accept it, for it may have occurred after the judgment: it therefore does not affect it. And if he asks for a delay, he is granted three (days): if he discredits them, (the judgment is annulled); otherwise the judgment is executed. And if he claims a judgment or a discharge and holds a proof, (he is innocent); otherwise the other takes an oath, and the judgment is executed.
Chapter: judgment is not passed upon the absent one, except in the rights of human beings; as for the fixed punishments (hudud) belonging to Allah, the Most High, they are not pronounced against him, for they are based on deterrence.