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Sahih al-BukhariJudgments (Ahkaam)

Sahih al-Bukhari 7170

Chapter: If a judge has to witness in favour of a litigant

Authentic hadith of Sahih al-Bukhari Sahih al-Bukhari 7170

Narrator:Abu Qatāda

حَدَّثَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ، حَدَّثَنَا اللَّيْثُ، عَنْ يَحْيَى، عَنْ عُمَرَ بْنِ كَثِيرٍ، عَنْ أَبِي مُحَمَّدٍ، مَوْلَى أَبِي قَتَادَةَ أَنَّ أَبَا قَتَادَةَ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَوْمَ حُنَيْنٍ ‏"‏

مَنْ لَهُ بَيِّنَةٌ عَلَى قَتِيلٍ قَتَلَهُ، فَلَهُ سَلَبُهُ ‏"‏‏.‏ فَقُمْتُ لأَلْتَمِسَ بَيِّنَةً عَلَى قَتِيلٍ، فَلَمْ أَرَ أَحَدًا يَشْهَدُ لِي، فَجَلَسْتُ، ثُمَّ بَدَا لِي فَذَكَرْتُ أَمْرَهُ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ رَجُلٌ مِنْ جُلَسَائِهِ سِلاَحُ هَذَا الْقَتِيلِ الَّذِي يَذْكُرُ عِنْدِي‏.‏ قَالَ فَأَرْضِهِ مِنْهُ‏.‏ فَقَالَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ كَلاَّ لاَ يُعْطِهِ أُصَيْبِغَ مِنْ قُرَيْشٍ وَيَدَعَ أَسَدًا مِنْ أُسْدِ اللَّهِ يُقَاتِلُ عَنِ اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ‏.‏ قَالَ فَأَمَرَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَأَدَّاهُ إِلَىَّ فَاشْتَرَيْتُ مِنْهُ خِرَافًا فَكَانَ أَوَّلَ مَالٍ تَأَثَّلْتُهُ‏.‏ قَالَ لِي عَبْدُ اللَّهِ عَنِ اللَّيْثِ فَقَامَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَأَدَّاهُ إِلَىَّ‏.‏ وَقَالَ أَهْلُ الْحِجَازِ الْحَاكِمُ لاَ يَقْضِي بِعِلْمِهِ، شَهِدَ بِذَلِكَ فِي وِلاَيَتِهِ أَوْ قَبْلَهَا‏.‏ وَلَوْ أَقَرَّ خَصْمٌ عِنْدَهُ لآخَرَ بِحَقٍّ فِي مَجْلِسِ الْقَضَاءِ، فَإِنَّهُ لاَ يَقْضِي عَلَيْهِ فِي قَوْلِ بَعْضِهِمْ، حَتَّى يَدْعُوَ بِشَاهِدَيْنِ فَيُحْضِرَهُمَا إِقْرَارَهُ‏.‏ وَقَالَ بَعْضُ أَهْلِ الْعِرَاقِ مَا سَمِعَ أَوْ رَآهُ فِي مَجْلِسِ الْقَضَاءِ قَضَى بِهِ، وَمَا كَانَ فِي غَيْرِهِ لَمْ يَقْضِ إِلاَّ بِشَاهِدَيْنِ‏.‏ وَقَالَ آخَرُونَ مِنْهُمْ بَلْ يَقْضِي بِهِ، لأَنَّهُ مُؤْتَمَنٌ، وَإِنَّمَا يُرَادُ مِنَ الشَّهَادَةِ مَعْرِفَةُ الْحَقِّ، فَعِلْمُهُ أَكْثَرُ مِنَ الشَّهَادَةِ‏.‏ وَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ يَقْضِي بِعِلْمِهِ فِي الأَمْوَالِ، وَلاَ يَقْضِي فِي غَيْرِهَا‏.‏ وَقَالَ الْقَاسِمُ لاَ يَنْبَغِي لِلْحَاكِمِ أَنْ يُمْضِيَ قَضَاءً بِعِلْمِهِ دُونَ عِلْمِ غَيْرِهِ، مَعَ أَنَّ عِلْمَهُ أَكْثَرُ مِنْ شَهَادَةِ غَيْرِهِ، وَلَكِنَّ فِيهِ تَعَرُّضًا لِتُهَمَةِ نَفْسِهِ عِنْدَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ، وَإِيقَاعًا لَهُمْ فِي الظُّنُونِ، وَقَدْ كَرِهَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم الظَّنَّ فَقَالَ ‏"‏ إِنَّمَا هَذِهِ صَفِيَّةُ ‏"

Narrated Abu Qatada:

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said on the Day of (the battle of) Hunain, "Whoever has killed an infidel and has a proof or a witness for it, then the salb (arms and belongings of that deceased) will be for him." I stood up to seek a witness to testify that I had killed an infidel but I could not find any witness and then sat down. Then I thought that I should mention the case to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) I (and when I did so) a man from those who were sitting with him said, "The arms of the killed person he has mentioned, are with me, so please satisfy him on my behalf." Abu Bakr said, "No, he will not give the arms to a bird of Quraish and deprive one of Allah's lions of it who fights for the cause of Allah and His Apostle." Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) I stood up and gave it to me, and I bought a garden with its price, and that was my first property which I owned through the war booty. The people of Hijaz said, "A judge should not pass a judgment according to his knowledge, whether he was a witness at the time he was the judge or before that" And if a litigant gives a confession in favor of his opponent in the court, in the opinion of some scholars, the judge should not pass a judgment against him till the latter calls two witnesses to witness his confession. And some people of Iraq said, "A judge can pass a judgement according to what he hears or witnesses (the litigant's confession) in the court itself, but if the confession takes place outside the court, he should not pass the judgment unless two witnesses witness the confession." Some of them said, "A judge can pass a judgement depending on his knowledge of the case as he is trust-worthy, and that a witness is Required just to reveal the truth. The judge's knowledge is more than the witness." Some said, "A judge can judge according to his knowledge only in cases involving property, but in other cases he cannot." Al-Qasim said, "A judge ought not to pass a judgment depending on his knowledge if other people do not know what he knows, although his knowledge is more than the witness of somebody else because he might expose himself to suspicion by the Muslims and cause the Muslims to have unreasonable doubt. "

Reported by Al-Bukhari (No. 7170).

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Classical commentary

Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani — Fath al-Bari

قَوْله ( وَقَالَ أَهْل الْحِجَاز : الْحَاكِم لَا يَقْضِي بِعِلْمِهِ , شَهِدَ بِذَلِكَ فِي وِلَايَته أَوْ قَبْلَهَا ) هُوَ قَوْل مَالِك , قَالَ أَبُو عَلِيّ الْكَرَابِيسِيُّ : لَا يَقْضِي الْقَاضِي بِمَا عَلِمَ لِوُجُودِ التُّهْمَة , إِذْ لَا يُؤْمَن عَلَى التَّقِيّ أَنْ يَتَطَرَّق إِلَيْهِ التُّهْمَة قَالَ : وَأَظُنّهُ ذَهَبَ إِلَى مَا رَوَاهُ اِبْن شِهَاب عَنْ زُبَيْد بْن الصَّلْت " أَنَّ أَبَا بَكْر الصِّدِّيق قَالَ : لَوْ وَجَدْت رَجُلًا عَلَى حَدّ مَا أَقَمْته عَلَيْهِ حَتَّى يَكُون مَعِي غَيْرِي " ثُمَّ سَاقَهُ بِسَنَدٍ صَحِيح عَنْ اِبْن شِهَاب قَالَ : وَلَا أَحْسِب مَالِكًا ذَهَبَ عَلَيْهِ هَذَا الْحَدِيث , فَإِنْ كَانَ كَذَلِكَ فَقَدْ قَلَّدَ أَكْثَر هَذِهِ الْأُمَّة فَضْلًا وَعِلْمًا…

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Scholars’ grades

Grade taken from the status of the collection (Sahih al-Bukhari).

Other versions

Also reported by… (1)
  • تغليق التعليق لابن حجر (2351)مَنْ لَهُ بَيِّنَةٌ عَلَى قَتِيلٍ قَتَلَهُ فَلَهُ سَلَبُهُ الْحَدِيثَ . وَفِيهِ : فَأَمَرَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ فَأَدَّاهُ إِلَيَّ

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