The Administration of the Sultanate of Dehli c12.192

c12.192

The dīwān-i-qaḍā had contacts with the departments of siyāsat and maẓālim; but its main concern was civil litigation. It may be said that qaḍā dealt with common law and siyāsat and maẓālim with droit administratif. The head of the dīwān-i-qaḍā was the qāḍī-i-mumālik, also known as qāḍī-i-quḍāt.⁴ Under the sultans he was almost invariably the ṣadr-u’s-ṣudūr as well, and was one of the most important officials. On account of the very heavy work arising from the nature of his duties, he was assisted by a nā’ib who also was an important dignitary.¹ The chief qāḍī enjoyed a salary of sixty thousand tankahs a year under Muḥammad bin Tughluq.² The whole legal system and the administration of religious affairs were in his charge. He heard appeals from the lower courts and appointed the local qāḍīs.³ In the beginning he also sat as a court of first instance in Dehlī, but later a separate qāḍī was appointed for the capital.⁴ Ibn Baṭṭūṭah was appointed to this subordinate office and was given a salary of twelve thousand tankahs a year. Since he followed Imām Mālik’s system of jurisprudence and as the people of Dehlī were Ḥanafīs, also because he did not know the language, he was assisted by two other qāḍīs. Great importance was attached to the qāḍī of the capital; the sultan himself invested Ibn Baṭṭūṭah with the office and addressed the new incumbent as 'our lord and master.'⁵