On June 19, 1979, the republican decree was issued appointing judges for that year, and Nasrallah was among those assigned, yet he was reluctant to assume his role. This was due to the civil laws in Baathist Iraq that clashed with Islamic laws and values. Hence, he ended up seeking Muhammad-Baqir al-Sadr in Najaf, and managed to get a religious decree allowing him to do so, with guidance on how to work the role, without violating his religious values.
