Undoubtedly, it is permissible for no one but Allah to judge in His religion and on His earth; as He has said: ﴿إِنِ الْحُكْمُ إِلَّا لِلَّهِ﴾[1]; “Indeed, judgment belongs to none but Allah.” However, this does not mean that it is not permissible for any human being to judge, contrary to the claim of the Kharijites at Siffin, as they went wrong in their understanding of the verse and said: «لا حكم إلّا للّه»; “There is no judgment but for Allah,” in objection to Ali in the matter of arbitration, and Ali said: «كَلِمَةُ حَقٍّ أُرِيدَ بِهَا بَاطِلٌ»[2]; “A word of the truth that is intended to be used for falsehood.” They only intended by the verse that there is no need for a human ruler, as the anarchists say. However, it means that it is not permissible for anyone to judge in Allah’s religion and on His earth except by His permission. His Eminence Allamah Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani has explained this in detail in the book Return to Islam; as he has said:

The sovereignty totally belongs to Allah alone; because He is the only One Who has created the world, knows its needs, and is able to meet them, and it is clear that He exercises His sovereignty not through creational predestination or the sending of the Angels but through appointing a Caliph on the earth; as He has said: ﴿إِنِّي جَاعِلٌ فِي الْأَرْضِ خَلِيفَةً﴾[3]; “Indeed, I am the Appointer of a Caliph on the earth,” and, for example, He appointed Dawud as a Caliph on the earth and said: ﴿يَا دَاوُودُ إِنَّا جَعَلْنَاكَ خَلِيفَةً فِي الْأَرْضِ فَاحْكُمْ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ بِالْحَقِّ وَلَا تَتَّبِعِ الْهَوَى فَيُضِلَّكَ عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ﴾[4]; “O Dawud! We appointed you as a Caliph on the earth, so rule rightly among people and do not follow your passions, for they will mislead you from the way of Allah.” This means that Allah, as the Ruler of the universe, in a perfectly rational act, exercises His rule through appointing a deputy for Himself; as all intellectuals do the same to exercise their rule, and He is clearly the Creator of intellectuals and their Master; as He has said: ﴿وَاللَّهُ يُؤْتِي مُلْكَهُ مَنْ يَشَاءُ ۚ وَاللَّهُ وَاسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ﴾[5]; “And Allah gives His dominion to whomever He wills, and Allah is the All-Embracing, the All-Knowing” ... This is completely natural and understandable that the government of Allah is realized if the selection of the ruler is in His hands; because as long as the selection of the ruler is in the hands of others and not in His hands, the government cannot be considered for Him, and this is what He Himself has referred to and said: ﴿تَبَارَكَ الَّذِي بِيَدِهِ الْمُلْكُ وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ﴾[6]; “Blessed is He in Whose hands is the dominion, and He has power over all things” ... Therefore, the fact that the sovereignty belongs to Him has practically no meaning except that it is based on His choice regardless of the choice of others; as He has said: ﴿وَرَبُّكَ يَخْلُقُ مَا يَشَاءُ وَيَخْتَارُ ۗ مَا كَانَ لَهُمُ الْخِيَرَةُ ۚ سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ وَتَعَالَى عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ﴾[7]; “And your Lord creates and chooses whatever He wills; they have no choice; Glorified and Exalted is Allah above what they associate with Him.” In other words, the return of sovereignty in Islam is to the permission of Allah, but rather there is no legitimacy for any affair unless it returns to His permission, and this is one of the most important fundamental rules in Islam; as He has said repeatedly and emphatically: ﴿أَلَا إِلَى اللَّهِ تَصِيرُ الْأُمُورُ﴾[8]; “Be aware that all affairs will return to Allah.”[9]

From here, it is understood that there is no contradiction between His words: ﴿إِنِ الْحُكْمُ إِلَّا لِلَّهِ﴾; “Indeed, judgment belongs to none but Allah,” and His words: ﴿فَابْعَثُوا حَكَمًا مِنْ أَهْلِهِ وَحَكَمًا مِنْ أَهْلِهَا﴾[10]; “Then appoint an arbitrator from his people and an arbitrator from her people”; because Allah is the One Who has decreed the appointment of arbitrators, and it is done only by His permission; especially considering that His address is directed to His caliphs on Earth, and they are the ones who appoint the arbitrators. There is no doubt that the arbitrators appointed by Allah’s caliph on Earth are permitted to judge; because their judgment returns to the judgment of Allah’s caliph on Earth, and the judgment of Allah’s caliph on Earth returns to the judgment of Allah. This is regardless of the view of many jurists that the arbitrators are appointed with the consent of the couple, and the couple delegates them to reconcile or separate, by way of reformation. Therefore, their judgment does not contradict the couple’s free will in their matter so that there would be a need for special permission from Allah or His caliph on Earth.