The changing temperament of government officials during Ramadan affects many people. People who visit government offices to process documents often come across government employees who do not want to complete their jobs while fasting.
Some of them are allergic to members of the public who come with papers that need processing.
With people fasting and not in the mood to work, documents often get lost.
Some officials try hard to find problems in submitted papers so they can ask people to come back the next day and, as a result, members of the public are forced to visit government offices multiple times before they get their jobs done.
However painful this might be, it is still much less harmful than the changing temperament of judges.
The judge is, after all, human. Whether he likes it or not, the verdicts he issues are influenced by his state of mind. It is not only the mind of a judge but his entire physique that is affected by biological fluctuations caused by fasting.
I recently read an interview with Sheikh Mansour Al-Shibaib, a judge at the Court of Grievances, who said the frame of mind of judges improves in Ramadan.
He said demons that accompany people tend to be quieter and more peaceful during the holy month.
He also asked his fellow judges to show leniency when delivering discretionary rulings during Ramadan and said those who receive their verdicts in Ramadan are lucky.
I was amazed by this. How can court rulings be subject to the temperament of judges? What will a person do if he has to stand before a judge whose demons were not pacified by fasting?
These are legitimate questions that should not implicate judges. In light of this, do you not agree that if there are written rules, the discretionary verdicts will not be left to the temperament of judges?
