Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah

Hazrat Abu Ja'far narrates that when a murdered person was found dead between two localities, Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) would measure the distance between the two.

Hazrat Ash'ath narrates that Hazrat Sha'bi said: A person from Hamdan was found murdered between Wadi'ah and Khaywan. So Hazrat Umar sent Hazrat Mughirah bin Shu'bah along with those people and said: Go with them and measure the distance between the two settlements. Whichever of the two settlements is closer to the murdered person, then associate the murdered person with the people of that settlement.

Hazrat Abu Ishaq said that Hazrat Harith bin Azma narrated: A slain person was found between the areas of Wadi'ah and Arhab in Yemen, so the governor of Hazrat Umar wrote to him about this matter? Hazrat Umar wrote a reply to the governor that you should measure the distance between these two localities, and whichever of the two the slain person is closer to, then hold them responsible for retribution.