Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah

Hazrat Saeed narrates that Qasamah also existed in the time of ignorance. The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) maintained it regarding an Ansari who was found murdered in a well belonging to the Jews. The narrator says that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) started with the Jews and bound them to take fifty oaths. The Jews said, "We will never take an oath." Then the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to the Ansar, "Will you take an oath?" The Ansar said, "We will never take an oath." So the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) placed the blood money of the murdered person upon the Jews, because the murder had occurred among them.

Hazrat Zuhri says that Umar bin Abdul Aziz called me and asked me about Qasamah. And he said that I am thinking of rejecting it. A villager comes and gives testimony, and an absent person gives testimony. I said, O Commander of the Faithful! You cannot reject it; the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) made decisions through Qasamah, and after him, the Caliphs (also) made decisions through it.

Hazrat Sahl bin Abi Hathmah narrates that some individuals from his tribe went towards Khaybar. There, they became scattered. They found one person murdered. So they said to those among whom the murdered person was found, "You have killed our companion." They replied, "We did not kill him, nor do we know who the killer is." The narrator says: Then these people went to the Prophet of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and said, "O Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! We went towards Khaybar and found one of our men murdered." The Noble Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: He (peace and blessings be upon him) said to them (the tribe of the murdered man), "Will you present witnesses against the killer?" They replied, "We have no witnesses." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Then those people will swear an oath before you." They said, "We are not satisfied with the oaths of the Jews." The Noble Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, disliked letting the blood of the murdered man go to waste, so he (peace and blessings be upon him) paid one hundred camels as blood money as charity.

Hazrat Amr bin Shu'aib narrates from his grandfather that the grandsons of Hazrat Mas'ud—Huwaiyyisah, Muhaiyyisah, and Abdullah, the son of so-and-so, and Abdur Rahman—went to the region of Khaybar with their swords drawn. There, aggression was committed against Hazrat Abdullah and he was killed. The narrator says: They mentioned this matter before the Noble Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. The narrator says: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Will you take fifty oaths and establish your claim?" They submitted: "O Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him! How can we take oaths when we were not present (there)?" He, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Then will the Jews absolve you (i.e., will they take oaths)?" They submitted: "O Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him! Then the Jews will kill us (i.e., they will take false oaths)." The narrator says: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, paid the blood money for the murdered man from his own side.

Hazrat Sulaiman bin Yasar says that Qasamah is a rightful practice. The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) made a decision through it. The Ansar were present with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) when one of the Ansar left, and later the remaining Ansar also departed from the presence of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Suddenly, they saw their companion drenched in blood, so they returned to the service of the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said, "The Jews have killed him," and they mentioned the name of a person among the Jews, but they had no witnesses. So the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to them: "Are there two witnesses besides yourselves so that I may hand over the named person to you?" But they had no witnesses. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Can you establish your claim by fifty oaths so that I may hand over this person to you?" They said, "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! We do not like to swear oaths about something unseen." Then the Messenger 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. If we accept their oaths regarding this (murdered person), they will commit aggression against someone else." Thus, the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) paid the blood money for the murdered person from his own side. And (Imam) Abu Hanifa's opinion has been mentioned that: The oaths of those claiming blood will not be accepted.