وَعَنِ ابْنِ مَوْهَبٍ: أَنَّ عُثْمَانَ بْنِ عَفَّانَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ لِابْنِ عُمَرَ: اقْضِ بَين النَّاس قَالَ: أَو تعاقبني يَا أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ؟ قَالَ: وَمَا تَكْرَهُ مِنْ ذَلِك وَقد كَانَ أَبوك قَاضِيا؟ قَالَ: لِأَنِّي سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ: «مَنْ كَانَ قَاضِيًا فَقَضَى بِالْعَدْلِ فَبِالْحَرِيِّ أَنْ يَنْقَلِبَ مِنْهُ كَفَافًا» . فَمَا راجعَه بعدَ ذَلِك. رَوَاهُ التِّرْمِذِيّ
وَفِي رِوَايَةِ رَزِينٍ عَنْ نَافِعٍ أَنَّ ابْنَ عُمَرَ قَالَ لِعُثْمَانَ: يَا أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ لَا أَقْضِي بَيْنَ رَجُلَيْنِ: قَالَ: فَإِنَّ أَبَاكَ كَانَ يَقْضِي فَقَالَ: إِنَّ أَبِي لَوْ أُشْكِلَ عَلَيْهِ شَيْءٌ سَأَلَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَلَوْ أُشْكِلَ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ شَيْءٌ سَأَلَ جِبْرِيلَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ وَإِنِّي لَا أَجِدُ مَنْ أَسْأَلُهُ وَسَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ: «مَنْ عَاذَ بِاللَّهِ فَقَدْ عَاذَ بِعَظِيمٍ» . وَسَمِعْتُهُ يَقُولُ: «مَنْ عَاذَ بِاللَّهِ فَأَعِيذُوهُ» . وَإِنِّي أَعُوذُ باللَّهِ أنْ تجعلَني قاضِياً فأعْفاهُ وَقَالَ: لَا تُخبرْ أحدا
Ibn Mauhib told that when ‘Uthman b. ‘Affan asked Ibn ‘Umar to act as qadi among the people he asked the commander of the faithful to excuse him. He asked him what objection he had to that when his father had been holding such an office, and he replied that it was because he had heard God’s Messenger say, “If anyone is a qadi and fulfils the office with justice he should rather turn away from it with neither credit nor blame.”* After that he did not ask him again. Tirmidhi transmitted it. * Or, ‘without reward or punishment’. Razin’s version on the authority of Nafi' tells that Ibn ‘Umar said to ‘Uthman, “Commander of the faithful, I shall not pronounce judgment between two men.” He replied, “Your father used to do so.” He said, “If anything was dubious to my father he asked God’s Messenger, and if anything was dubious to God’s Messenger he asked Gabriel, but I can find no one to ask, and I heard God’s Messenger say, ‘He who seeks refuge in God has sought refuge in a great One.’ I also heard him say, ‘Grant refuge to him who seeks refuge in God’, and I seek refuge in God from your making me a qadi." So he excused him, but said, “Do not tell anyone.” Razin.
Reported by At-Tirmidhi (No. 1322). Cited in Mishkat al-Masabih (No. 3743).