Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent me to Yemen. I came to some people who had prepared a pit for a lion. While they were there, they began pushing one another. One man among them (began to fall into the pit); he caught hold of a second, and the second caught hold of a third, until four persons fell into it. The lion came and wounded them; then one of the rest took a spear and killed the lion, and all four of those people died from the lion's wounds. The heirs of the first man came to the heirs of the second man and drew their weapons in order to kill him. Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) came to those people; this was immediately after the incident. Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Do you want to kill one another while the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is alive among you? I will give you a judgment; if you are pleased with it, that will count as the judgment. Otherwise, restrain one another (from acting) and then go to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) will judge between you. Whoever transgresses after that will have no right. Collect for me, from the tribes whose people took part in digging this pit, one quarter of a blood money, one third of a blood money, one half of a blood money and one full blood money. The first man will receive a quarter of the blood money, because he caused the destruction of those above him; the second will receive a third of the blood money, and the third will receive half of the blood money." They refused to accept this. Then those people came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) while the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was standing near the Station of Ibrahim, and they told the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) the whole incident. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I will judge between you." Then he sat in the ihtiba' posture (with his knees drawn up). A man among those present said: "Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) has given a judgment about this," and then they related the whole incident, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) upheld that judgment.
Hadith Referenceمجمع الزوائد ومنبع الفوائد / كتاب الديات / 10724
Hadith Gradingمحدثین:إسنادہ ضعیف
Hadith Takhrij«اخرجه احمد فى المسند (573) ، أخرجه مسند أحمد برقم: 574، وأخرجه مسند البزار برقم: 732، وأخرجه إتحاف الخيرة المهرة بزوائد المسانيد العشرة برقم: 4898»
In one narration the wording is: "The fourth will receive the full blood money."
Ahmad recorded it. Its chain contains Hanash, whom Abu Dawud declared thiqah (trustworthy), though there is weakness in him, and the rest of its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih.
Hadith Referenceمجمع الزوائد ومنبع الفوائد / كتاب الديات / 10725
Hanash bin al-Mu'tamir narrates: Those people dug a well in Yemen, and a lion fell into it. They began to look at the lion. One man among them began to fall into the well, so he caught hold of a second, the second caught hold of a third, and the third caught hold of a fourth, until they were four persons, and they all fell into the well. The lion wounded them, and a man struck the lion with his spear and killed it. The people said to the first man (his heirs): "You have killed our companions, so their blood money is upon you." Then he came to his companions, and they began to quarrel over this. Meanwhile Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) arrived, and they asked Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) about it. He said: "I will give a judgment between you. Whoever of you is pleased with it, it will be upheld for him on the basis of his consent; and whoever is displeased with it will have no right until you go to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) will judge between you in this matter." The people said: "Very well." He said: "Then collect, from the people who took part in digging the well, one quarter of a blood money, one third of a blood money and one full blood money. The first man gets a quarter of a blood money, because three perished above him; the second gets a third of a blood money, because two perished above him; the third gets half a blood money, because one perished above him; and the last one gets the full blood money. If you are pleased with this, then it is a judgment between you; and if you are not pleased, then you have no right until you go to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)." They came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) the following year and related the whole incident to him. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If Allah wills, I will judge between you." At that time the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was sitting at the Station of Ibrahim. A man stood up and said: "Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) has already given a judgment between us." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "What judgment did he give between you?" They related the whole matter, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The judgment is what he has judged between you."
Al-Bazzar recorded it and said at its end that from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him)
this narration is reported only with this chain. (Allamah Haythami says:) I say: He (Hanash) did not say that it is from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), and Allah knows best.
Hadith Referenceمجمع الزوائد ومنبع الفوائد / كتاب الديات / 10726
Hadith Gradingمحدثین:إسنادہ منقطع
Hadith Takhrij«اخرجه البزار فى المسند (1532) ، أخرجه مسند أحمد برقم: 1312، وأخرجه الأوسط في السنن والإجماع والاختلاف برقم: 9580»