Chapter: Those Who Said That Lots Should Be Drawn If They Differ About The Child.

Narrated Zayd ibn Arqam: I was sitting with the Prophet ﷺ. A man came from the Yemen, and said: Three men from the people of the Yemen came to Ali, quarrelling about a child, asking him to give a decision. They had had sexual intercourse with a woman during a single state of purity. He said to two of them: Give this child to this man (the third person) with pleasure. But they (refused and) cried loudly. Again he said to two of them: Give the child to the man (the third person) willingly. But they (refused and) cried loudly. He then said: You are quarrelsome partners. I shall cast lots among you; he who receives the lot, will acquire the child, and he shall pay two-thirds of the blood-money to both his companions. He then cast lots among them, and gave the child to the one who received the lot. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ laughed so much that his canine or molar teeth appeared.

Narrated Zayd ibn Arqam: Three persons were brought to Ali (Allah be pleased with him) when he was in the Yemen. They and sexual intercourse with a woman during a single state of purity. He asked two of them: Do you acknowledge this child for this (man)? They replied: No. He then put this (question) to all of them. Whenever he asked two of them, they replied in the negative. He, therefore, cast a lot among them, and attributed the child to the one who received the lot. He imposed two-third of the blood-money (i. e. the price of the mother) on him. This was then mentioned to the Prophet ﷺ and he laughed so much that his molar teeth appeared.

Khalil or Ibn Khalil said “A woman was brought to Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allaah be pleased with him). She bore a child from intercourse of three persons. The narrator transmitted the rest of the tradition similar to the previous one. But in this version he did not mention “Yemen” and the Prophet ﷺ and his words “give the child willingly. ”