Islamic Fiqh > Judgment and testimony > Enforcing judgments and appeal
What happens after judgment? Enforcement, revision for established error, modern appeal and the limits of contestation.
Contents
Updated on 31 August 2026 at 3:55 AM
Abu Hanifa: the judgment of the governor is valid in appearance and in reality: if two lying witnesses have a divorce pronounced before the judge, the divorce produces its apparent effects, to the point that a witness aware of his lie could even marry the wife after the waiting period. The other schools: the judgment is valid in appearance only: the governor's judgment does not change the nature of things; the hidden truth remains what it is. The common rule: the judgment settles the visible situation between the people; it does not turn the false into true before Allah.
The punishments: the majority (Hanafis, Shafi'is in the position, Hanbalis): the judge does not establish the punishment upon his knowledge alone, before or after his appointment, for he is a party in this right of Allah, a right founded upon concealment: "Why did you not veil him with your garment, O Huzal?" (Abu Dawud 4377), and upon the four witnesses (sura an-Nur 4). The rights of persons: the judge rules according to his knowledge. Late Hanafis suspended this permission upon the uprightness of the era; Ibn Abidin settles it: for the judge, acting upon his knowledge holds, the fatwa says the contrary in our time, and the origin of the madhhab is permission.
The clear iqrar binds the judge and the rendered judgment is not retracted lightly: the admission binds without return unless the beneficiary denies it. Execution follows the judgment even when the judge is appointed by an established power, so as not to paralyze people's rights; contestation goes through the provided way: showing the error of fact or of law before the competent authority, not through private disobedience.
After a judgment, distinguish two levels: the legal situation settled between the people, and the truth before Allah. Whoever obtains a property by a judgment while knowing his own injustice must repair through repentance and restitution, even if the decision remains enforceable among men.