[The Disagreement of Judges That Was Condemned by the Commander of the Faithful (Peace be Upon Him)]

The answer was: The Commander of the Faithful Imam ‘Alī (Peace be Upon Him) denounced the judges for each of them issuing a judgment in the case based on his bare personal opinion, not grounded in what is indicated by the Book and the Sunnah. He also denounced the governor for approving all of them despite the divergence of their judgments in a single case.
This denunciation by Imam ‘Alī (Peace be Upon Him) was appropriate and directed at those deserving of it. For the judges were not qualified for judging due to their ignorance of it, and the governor was no better than them in this matter; rather, he shared with them in ignorance and lack of knowledge of decisive judgment. For had the judges and their governor been among those knowledgeable in judging, they would have reconsidered the case, reviewed the evidences relied upon by each judge, and the governor would have examined them in that regard until the stronger evidence became clear and the correct ruling became apparent to all. However, since the governor and the judges were not among those knowledgeable in judging, the governor did not denounce them, nor did some of them denounce others.
As for the people of knowledge and verification, they do denounce one another in the issues in which they differ, in ancient times and modern times alike. They reconsider such issues, review the evidences from the Book, the Sunnah, and analogy, and what is attached to that of aspects of preponderance.
Accordingly, the denunciation of Imam ‘Alī (Peace be Upon Him) contains nothing that contradicts the statement that every mujtahid is correct.
- What supports what we have mentioned — that what is intended by the words of Imam ‘Alī (Peace be Upon Him) is the denunciation of the ignorance of the judges and their governor regarding judging — is what has been narrated in the biography of ‘Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, concerning errors in his judgments that he issued based on his bare opinion, without relying upon a legal proof. The Companions would review many of his judgments, mention the evidence to him, and he would retract. Imam ‘Alī (Peace be Upon Him) would also review his judgments, mention the evidence to him, and he would retract.
A woman once reviewed him in a case, so he retracted and said: “All people are more knowledgeable than ‘Umar, even the secluded women in their houses.” Among his well-known statements in this regard is: “Were it not for ‘Alī, ‘Umar would have perished.” And ‘Uthmān was no better than ‘Umar in knowledge of judging.
- For in this there is evidence for what we have stated: that the denunciation of Imam ‘Alī (Peace be Upon Him) was only for what we have mentioned regarding the ignorance of the governor and the judges.
- As for Abū Bakr, the days of his governance were not long; nevertheless, he was no better than the two men in knowledge of judging. The evidence for that is what has been narrated in the biography of Abū Bakr regarding his statements about al-kalālah, the inheritance of the grandfather, and other matters.
In summary, the three were not among those knowledgeable in judging. Some of them used to say, acknowledging his ignorance: “Bargaining in the markets distracted me from acquiring knowledge.” This is the meaning of the narration. By that he meant that his pursuit of profit through buying and selling in the markets of Madinah distracted him from accompanying the Messenger of Allah (May Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace) and listening to his words. Thus, he missed the knowledge and wisdom that the Prophet (May Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace) used to impart to his companions and associates.

Source: Min Thimār al-ʿIlm wa al-Ḥikmah vol.3