Definition
Qadi means judge in an Islamic legal setting, but the title is best understood as a legal office inside a larger institutional world of rulers, jurists, scribes, witnesses, and local custom.
Historical Usage
In al-Andalus and the Maghreb, qadis could hear disputes, authenticate documents, oversee inheritance and family matters, and help translate legal learning into public practice. Their authority was real, but it was not unlimited. A qadi worked within a particular legal school, political setting, and city hierarchy. Some were closely tied to ruling power; others drew more authority from reputation, scholarly training, and local trust.
That matters because the office did not function the same way in every place. A qadi in a major urban center under a strong dynasty could operate differently from one working in a frontier town or in a period of political instability. The safest way to use the term is to connect it to a place, century, and legal setting rather than treating it as a timeless office with one fixed scope.
Modern Usage
Use qadi for a judicial role when the evidence actually identifies that office. If possible, name the period, city, and legal tradition involved, because those details shape what the office meant in practice.
Common Confusion
Qadi is not a generic title for every scholar, preacher, or learned Muslim. It marks a legal office or judicial function. It is also not a synonym for ruler. A strong reader question is: are we talking about a judge, a scholar more generally, or a political authority? If the page does not answer that, the term is being used too loosely.