Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah

Hazrat Muammar narrates that Hazrat Zuhri said: Hazrat Umar bin Abdul Aziz called me and asked me about the Shari'ah ruling regarding Qasamah. So he said: It has become clear to me that I should reject it because a villager gives testimony and an absent person comes and gives testimony. I said: O Commander of the Faithful! You cannot reject it because the Messenger of Allah and after him the Rightly Guided Caliphs have given judgment on it.

Hazrat Sulaiman bin Yasar narrates that Hazrat Umar bin Abdul Aziz said: I have never seen a law like Qasamah by which I can take Qisas (retribution). Allah, the Lord of Honor, says: Translation: And let two just men from among you bear witness. And He said: Translation: And we do not testify except to what we know, and we are not guardians of the unseen. And Allah, the Lord of Honor, said: Except for those who bear witness to the truth and they know. Hazrat Sulaiman bin Yasar said: Qasamah is rightful. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) decided upon it. While the people of Ansar were sitting with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), suddenly one of them left. Then all of them left the presence of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). They found their companion drenched in blood. They returned to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said, "The Jews have killed us," and they named a man from among the Jews, although they had no evidence. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to them: If two witnesses other than yourselves testify, I will hand over that person to you completely. But they had no evidence. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: You become entitled by taking fifty oaths. I will hand over that person to you completely. They said, "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! We dislike taking an oath on something unseen." Then the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) intended to take fifty oaths from the Jews. So the Ansar said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), the Jews do not care about oaths. How can we accept this from them? In this way, they will do the same with our other people." So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) paid the blood money from his own side.

Hazrat Abdullah bin Umar narrates that Huwaisah bin Mas’ud, Muhayisah bin Mas’ud, Abdullah, and Abdur Rahman — these four set out on a journey, and as they passed by Khaybar, Abdullah was attacked and killed. The narrator says that this matter was mentioned before the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), so the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “You will take fifty oaths, then you will be entitled (to the blood money).” They said: “O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), how can we take oaths when we were not present there?” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Then you absolve the Jews, that is, the Jews will take the oaths.” They said: “O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), then the Jews will kill us.” So the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) paid the blood money from his own side. (28386 M) Hazrat Ibn Yasar has also narrated similarly from the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), but he said: Abdur Rahman, the brother of the slain, went to speak, so the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Call, call the elder.” So their elder spoke, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “You take fifty oaths, you will be entitled, or they will take fifty oaths for you?” The narrator says they submitted: “O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), how can we accept the oaths of disbelieving people?” So the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) paid the blood money from his own side.

Hazrat Qasim bin Abdur Rahman narrates that two men came from Kufa to Hazrat Umar bin Khattab. They found him returning from the House of Allah (Baitullah) towards Mina. Both of them performed Tawaf of the House of Allah, then they met him and related their incident to him. They said, "O Commander of the Faithful! Our nephew has been killed." At first, Hazrat Umar did not pay attention to their words, then he said to them, "Let two just men testify against the killer. If they do not testify, then fifty men should swear that neither did we kill him nor do we know his killer, then you will receive the blood money (diyat)."

Hazrat Sufyan narrates that Hazrat Abu Ishaq said: A murdered person was found in the neighborhood of the tribe of Banu Salool. His guardians came and absolved the people of Banu Salool and filed a claim against the people of another neighborhood. Those tribe members brought the people of Banu Salool to Hazrat Shurayh, so he asked them about witnesses against the defendants.

Hazrat Mughira narrates that Ibrahim said: When a murdered person is found in any locality, fifty people from among them will be made to swear an oath, which will include those against whom the claim is made. And if those people are fewer than fifty, then the oath will be repeated among them according to the principle of first and foremost.

Hazrat Abu Ishaq narrates that Hazrat Harith bin Azma said: In Yemen, a man was found dead between the tribes of Wadi’ah and Arhab. The governor of Hazrat Umar bin Khattab wrote to him about this matter. Hazrat Umar replied to him, saying: Measure the distance between the two tribes to determine which tribe the deceased is closer to, and seize them. The narrator says: They measured and found the deceased to be closer to the tribe of Wadi’ah. The narrator says: So the governor seized the people of our tribe and made us responsible for the payment, and made us take an oath. We said, O Commander of the Faithful! Will you make us take an oath and also make us responsible for the payment of the penalty? He replied: Yes. The narrator says: So fifty men from among us swore by Allah: Neither did we kill, nor do we know the killer.

Hazrat Ibn Abi Layla narrates that Hazrat Shabi said: In Yemen, a man was found dead between two settlements, so Hazrat Umar said: Consider which of the two settlements he is closer to. Then, have fifty people from that settlement swear by Allah that they did not kill him, nor do they know who the killer is. Then, the blood money will be obligatory upon them.

Hazrat Muammar narrates that Imam Zuhri was asked about a person in such a situation. The owner of the house said: "Indeed, he came to me at night to steal my wealth, so I killed him." But the family of the slain said: "Indeed, this person had invited him to his house and then killed him." Upon this, Imam Zuhri said: "If fifty people from the family of the slain swear that the owner of the house invited him and then killed him, I will exact retribution (qisas) from him. But if they refuse to swear, then they will be responsible for paying blood money (diyah)." Imam Zuhri said: "Hazrat Ibn Affan also gave the same verdict regarding the slain of Banu Baqarah. When his heirs refused to swear, Hazrat Uthman made them responsible for paying the blood money."

Yunus narrates that Hasan Basri said regarding a person killed deceitfully: Fifty men from among the defendants will each swear fifty oaths that neither did we kill nor do we know the killer. If they take the oaths, they will be acquitted. But if they refuse to take the oaths, then fifty men from among the claimants will swear that our blood was shed by you, then the blood money will be paid.

Hazrat Hisham states that his father, Hazrat Urwah, said regarding Qasamah that it has been continuously practiced both in the era of ignorance and in Islam.

Hazrat Basheer bin Yasar, an Ansari man whose name was Sahl bin Abu Hathma, narrates that a group from his tribe went towards Khaybar. When they reached there, they dispersed, and then they found one of their companions dead. They said to those with whom they found him dead, "You have killed our companion." They replied, "We did not kill him, nor do we know who the killer is." Then these people came to the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said, "O Prophet of Allah! We went to Khaybar and there we found one of our companions dead." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Call the chief, call the chief." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said to them, "Bring witnesses against the one who killed him." They said, "We have no witnesses." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Then the Jews will swear an oath for you." They said, "We are not satisfied with the oath of the Jews." So the Prophet of Allah disliked letting his blood go in vain, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) paid his blood money—one hundred camels—from the camels of charity.