Arabic Language Competence and Sharia Adjudication Quality: An Empirical Study of Sharia Courts in Northwest Nigeria

The quality of Sharia adjudication in northern Nigerian Sharia courts depends fundamentally on the Arabic linguistic competence of presiding judges, given that authoritative Islamic legal sources from which rulings are derived are written in Classical Arabic, yet no empirical study has directly examined the relationship between Sharia judge Arabic language proficiency and adjudication quality outcomes in the Nigerian context. This study empirically investigates the relationship between the Arabic language competence of Sharia court judges in Northwest Nigeria and measurable dimensions of adjudication quality, including accuracy of fiqh source citation, procedural correctness in Arabic-medium documentation, and conformity of judgements with established Maliki jurisprudential principles. Using a comparative professional assessment methodology, the research administers a validated Classical Arabic Legal Proficiency Assessment to 80 Sharia judges across four Northwest states and collects a parallel corpus of 400 written judgements for independent jurisprudential quality review by a panel of five senior Islamic law scholars. Regression analysis models the relationship between Arabic proficiency scores and judgement quality ratings, controlling for years of judicial experience, educational qualification, and court tier. The study finds a statistically significant positive relationship between Arabic classical text reading proficiency and jurisprudential accuracy in judgements, independent of years of service. Implications for judicial appointment criteria and continuing legal Arabic education are developed. Keywords: Sharia adjudication, Arabic legal competence, Sharia courts, Northwest Nigeria, judicial quality.