Sahih al-Bukhari 6498

Qatada related that Anas ibn Malik said, "When the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, wanted to write to the Byzantines, they said, 'They will only read a letter if it is sealed.' So the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, took a silver ring. It is as if I could see its whiteness now. It was engraved with 'Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.'" XVI. When is a man entitled to judge? Al-Hasan [al-Basri] said, "Allah has obliged judges not to follow passion, not to fear people and not to sell His signs for a paltry price [i.e. bribes]." Then he recited, "Dawud! We have made you a khalif on the earth,so judge between people with truth and do not follow your own desires, letting them misguide you from the Way of Allah. Those who are misguided from the Way of Allah will receive a harsh punishment because they forgot the Day of Reckoning." (38:26) He also recited, "We sent down the Torah containing guidance and light, and the Prophets who had submitted themselves gave judgement by it for the Jews �as did their scholars and their rabbis �by what they had been allowed to preserve of Allah's Book to which they were witnesses. Do not be afraid of people, be afraid of Me. And do not sell My Signs for a paltry price. Those who do not judge by what Allah has sent down, such people are unbelievers." (5:44) And he recited, "And Dawud and Sulayman when they gave judgement about the field, when the people's sheep strayed into it at night. We were Witness to their judgement. We gave Sulayman understanding of it. We gave each of them judgement and knowledge." (21:78-79) [Al-Hasan said,] "He praised Sulayman but did not blame Dawud. If Allah had not mentioned the case of these two, you would have seen the judges destroyed. However, Allah praised this one for his knowledge and excused that one in his ijtihad." Muzahim ibn Zufar said, "'Umar ibn 'Abdu'l-'Aziz said to us, 'There are five qualities. If a judge lacks one of them, it is a fault in him. He should be intelligent, forbearing, refrain [from the haram], stern and both possess knowledge and ask frequently about it." XVII. Payment of rulers and those employed in that task Shurayh the Qadi used to take a salary for judging.''A'isha said, "The guardian consumes according to his work. Abu Bakr and 'Umar did so."