صحيح البخاري
Bukhari
كتاب الشهاداتThe Book of Witnesses
بَابُ الْيَمِينُ عَلَى الْمُدَّعَى عَلَيْهِ، فِي الأَمْوَالِ وَالْحُدُودِ:Chapter. The defendant must take an oath in matters concerning property or legal punishments.
Hadith 2669
اُردوEn
حَدَّثَنَا عُثْمَانُ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ ، حَدَّثَنَا جَرِيرٌ ، عَنْ مَنْصُورٍ ، عَنْ أَبِي وَائِلٍ ، قَالَ : قَالَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ : " مَنْ حَلَفَ عَلَى يَمِينٍ يَسْتَحِقُّ بِهَا مَالًا لَقِيَ اللَّهَ وَهُوَ عَلَيْهِ غَضْبَانُ ، ثُمَّ أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ تَصْدِيقَ ذَلِكَ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَشْتَرُونَ بِعَهْدِ اللَّهِ وَأَيْمَانِهِمْ إِلَى عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ سورة آل عمران آية 77 ، ثُمَّ إِنَّ الْأَشْعَثَ بْنَ قَيْسٍ خَرَجَ إِلَيْنَا ، فَقَالَ : مَا يُحَدِّثُكُمْ أَبُو عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ ، فَحَدَّثْنَاهُ بِمَا قَالَ ، فَقَالَ : صَدَقَ ، لَفِيَّ أُنْزِلَتْ كَانَ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَ رَجُلٍ خُصُومَةٌ فِي شَيْءٍ ، فَاخْتَصَمْنَا إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ، فَقَالَ : شَاهِدَاكَ أَوْ يَمِينُهُ ؟ فَقُلْتُ لَهُ : إِنَّهُ إِذًا يَحْلِفُ وَلَا يُبَالِي ، فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : " مَنْ حَلَفَ عَلَى يَمِينٍ يَسْتَحِقُّ بِهَا مَالًا وَهُوَ فِيهَا فَاجِرٌ ، لَقِيَ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَهُوَ عَلَيْهِ غَضْبَانُ " ، فَأَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ تَصْدِيقَ ذَلِكَ ، ثُمَّ اقْتَرَأَ هَذِهِ الْآيَةَ .
Narrated Abu Wail: `Abdullah (bin Mas`ud) said, "Whoever takes a (false) oath in order to grab some property (unjustly), Allah will be angry with him when he will meet Him. Allah confirmed that through His Divine Revelation: "Verily! Those who purchase a little gain at the cost of Allah's covenant and their oaths . . . they will have a painful punishment." (3.77) Al-Ash'ath bin Qais came to us and asked, 'What is Abu `Abdur-Rahman (i.e. `Abdullah) telling you? 'We told him what he was narrating to us. He said, 'He was telling the truth; this Divine Verse was revealed in connection with me. There was a dispute between me and another man about something and the case was filed before Allah's Apostle who said, 'Produce your two witnesses or else the defendant is to take an oath.' I said, The defendant will surely take a (false) oath caring for nothing.' The Prophet said, 'Whoever takes a false oath in order to grab (other's) property, then Allah will be angry with him when he will meet Him.' Then Allah revealed its confirmation. Al-Ashath then recited the above Divine Verse." (3.77)
Explanation & Benefits
Maulana Dawood Raz
Hadith Commentary:
Some Hanafis have taken this hadith as evidence that it is not permissible to judge based on an oath together with a witness (yamin ma‘a ash-shahid), and this inference is invalid. Their argument is that the case of an oath with a witness is included in this clause, so the meaning is that there must be two witnesses—either two men, or one man and two women, or one man and an oath; otherwise, the defendant should be made to swear an oath.
These Hanafis do not reflect enough on whether it is better to reconcile the words of Allah and His Messenger, or to create contradiction between them, acting upon one and abandoning the other.
(Wahidi)
All praise is due to Allah, for in the Sacred Sanctuary of the Prophet (Haram Nabawi), in Madinah al-Munawwarah, on 9 April 1970, sitting before the noble resting place of the Messenger (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), the text up to this point was carefully read.
Some Hanafis have taken this hadith as evidence that it is not permissible to judge based on an oath together with a witness (yamin ma‘a ash-shahid), and this inference is invalid. Their argument is that the case of an oath with a witness is included in this clause, so the meaning is that there must be two witnesses—either two men, or one man and two women, or one man and an oath; otherwise, the defendant should be made to swear an oath.
These Hanafis do not reflect enough on whether it is better to reconcile the words of Allah and His Messenger, or to create contradiction between them, acting upon one and abandoning the other.
(Wahidi)
All praise is due to Allah, for in the Sacred Sanctuary of the Prophet (Haram Nabawi), in Madinah al-Munawwarah, on 9 April 1970, sitting before the noble resting place of the Messenger (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), the text up to this point was carefully read.
Source: Sahih Bukhari: Commentary by Maulana Dawood Raz, Page: 2669
Shaykh Abdul Sattar al-Hammad
Hadith Commentary:
(1)
In the aforementioned case, Ash'ath bin Qays radi Allahu anhu was the claimant, so the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said to him:
You must present two witnesses to establish your claim; otherwise, the defendant will take an oath, and the case will be decided in his favor.
In any case, it is the responsibility of the defendant to take an oath, provided that the claimant is unable to present two witnesses as proof of his claim, or at least one witness and an oath.
If he is unable to do so, then the defendant will be acquitted by taking an oath.
(2)
Some people are proponents of "yamin istizhar" (affirmatory oath).
This means that when the claimant establishes his claim through witnesses, the judge should have the claimant take an oath that what his witnesses have established is indeed based on truth, and there is no deception or fraud in it.
Qadi Shurayh, Imam Nakha'i, and Awza'i rahimahumullah, among others, hold this view, but the majority of scholars do not agree with it because there is no evidence for it in the Qur'an and Sunnah.
And Allah knows best.
(1)
In the aforementioned case, Ash'ath bin Qays radi Allahu anhu was the claimant, so the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said to him:
You must present two witnesses to establish your claim; otherwise, the defendant will take an oath, and the case will be decided in his favor.
In any case, it is the responsibility of the defendant to take an oath, provided that the claimant is unable to present two witnesses as proof of his claim, or at least one witness and an oath.
If he is unable to do so, then the defendant will be acquitted by taking an oath.
(2)
Some people are proponents of "yamin istizhar" (affirmatory oath).
This means that when the claimant establishes his claim through witnesses, the judge should have the claimant take an oath that what his witnesses have established is indeed based on truth, and there is no deception or fraud in it.
Qadi Shurayh, Imam Nakha'i, and Awza'i rahimahumullah, among others, hold this view, but the majority of scholars do not agree with it because there is no evidence for it in the Qur'an and Sunnah.
And Allah knows best.
Source: Hidayat al-Qari: Commentary on Sahih Bukhari, Urdu, Page: 2669
