Qadi (قاضى) is an Arabic term meaning "judge." The duties of a quadi are outlined in Sharia (Islamic religious law). The responsibility of a Qadi is restricted to issues connected to religion, involving marriage and divorce, and inheritance, including the pious bequests (waqf), of which a qadi was often the trustee. In practice, Islam makes no distinction between religious and secular existence. The judgment of the qadi must be founded on the Qur'an, but the choice of which surahs will be applicable offers broad latitude of discretion. Charges of favoritism and corruption in the qadi are as ancient in Islam as anti-clericalism is in the West. Arabic (; , less formally, ) is the largest member of the Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family (classification: South Central Semitic) and is closely related to Hebrew and Aramaic. ... A judge or justice is an official who presides over a court. ... Sharia (Arabic: ; also SharÄ«ah, Sharia, Shariah or Syariah) is the Arabic word for Islamic law, also known as the Law of Allah. ... Islam (Arabic: ; ( â–¶ (help· info)), the submission to God) is a monotheistic faith, one of the Abrahamic religions and the worlds second-largest religion. ... Another article treats canon law, the codes of law of the Catholic, Anglican, and Orthodox churches. ... A waqf is a religious endowment in Islam, typically devoting a building or plot of land for Muslim religious purposes. ... Islam (Arabic: ; ( â–¶ (help· info)), the submission to God) is a monotheistic faith, one of the Abrahamic religions and the worlds second-largest religion. ... The Quran (Arabic , literally the recitation; also called or The Noble Quran; also transliterated Quran, Koran, and less commonly Alcoran) is the holy book of Islam. ... See also: Sura (disambiguation). ... Anti-clericalism is a historical movement that opposes religious (generally Catholic) institutional power and influence in all aspects of public and political life, and the encroachment of religion in the everyday life of the citizen. ... The term Western world or the West can have multiple meanings depending on its context. ...

Differing roles of the qadi

In the Islamic world, under constitutional government, such as Turkey, where Shariah is not the basis for the legal system, Qadi is still used to identify judges or magistrates. The Islamic world is the world-wide community of those who identify with Islam, known as Muslims, and who number approximately one-and-a-half billion people. ... A magistrate is a judicial officer with limited authority to administer and enforce the law. ...

In countries that practice a hybrid legal system, such as Egypt, a Qadi makes an initial ruling in all civil and criminal matters. In some Islamic countries the position of qadi, formerly reduced to simply being responsible for the initial hearing of cases or even abolished, in the process of Westernization, has been recently reinstated, as in some Islamic provinces of northern Nigeria. When it involves a severe penalty, his decision has to be approved by a Mufti, certainly in capital punishment cases, to ensure that verdict is in compliance with the Islamic law. Westernisation is a process whereby traditional, long-established societies come under the influence of Western (European or American) culture in such matters as industry, technology, economics, lifestyle, food and moral and cultural values. ... A Mufti (Arabic: مفتى ) is an Islamic scholar who is an interpreter or expounder of Islamic law (Sharia), capable of issuing fataawa (plural of fatwa). // Role of a Mufti in governments In theocracies like Saudi Arabia and Iran, and in some countries where the constitution is based on sharia law, such... Capital punishment, also referred to as the death penalty, is the execution of a convicted felon as a punishment for a crime (often called a capital offence or a capital crime). ...

In Turkey the qadis were appointed by Veliy-ul-emr. With the reform movements, progressivly secular courts have replaced the qadis, but they formerly held wide ranging responsiblites:

"... During Ottoman period, [qadi] was responsable for the city services. The charged people such as Subasi, Bocekbasi, Copluk Subasisi, Mimarbasi and Police were assisting to qadi who was coordinating all the services." [From History of Istanbul Municipality, Istanbul Municipality - in Turkish]

See also

• List of Islamic terms in Arabic
• House of Kadies Al-Kadi Saudi House

The following list consists of concepts that are derived from both Islam and Arab tradition, which are expressed as words in the Arabic language. ... The Judges, Al-Kadi or The House of Kadies, “Judges” is an important Saudi Arabian noble house. ...

References

• Encyclopedia of the Orient: qadi
• BEKIR KEMAL ATAMAN, "Ottoman Kadi Registers as a Source of Social History." Unpublished M.A. Thesis. University of London, University College London, School of Library, Archive and Information Studies. 1987.
• Özhan Öztürk (2005). Karadeniz (Black sea): Ansiklopedik Sözlük. 2 Cilt. Heyamola Yayıncılık. İstanbul. ISBN 975-6121-00-9