Muslim

Hadith Commentary: Benefits and Issues: From this hadith, it is understood that, from the perspective of Isa (alayhis salam), no human being can dare to swear a false oath by the name of Allah. Therefore, he said, "My eye has erred."

Hadith Commentary:
That is, a believer cannot swear a false oath; so when he has taken an oath, it is understood that he is truthful.
It is possible for the eyes to err, for example, if another person closely resembles the accused.
It is possible that, in reality, the act was not theft.
He may have a specific right in that property.
There can be many possibilities.
Some have said that by saying this, what was meant by Prophet Isa (alayhis salam) was that one should have such trust in a believer’s oath as one has in seeing with one’s own eyes, or even more than that.
Some have said that the meaning was that it is not correct for a judge to pass judgment based on his own knowledge and observation until proper evidence for the crime is provided.
(Wahidi)

Hadith Commentary:
➊
Since the thief swore by the name of Allah to express his innocence, therefore, ‘Isa (alayhis salam) considered him truthful out of respect for the name of Allah, and declared his own eye to be mistaken, because it is possible that the thief had some right in the stolen property, or that he only picked up the goods to look at them and did not intend to usurp them.

➋
‘Isa (alayhis salam) denied (his own observation) only in terms of the outward ruling, not in the inward reality, because witnessing something with one’s own eyes is the highest form of certainty and conviction—how could that be denied?

➌
In this hadith, one aspect of the character of ‘Isa (alayhis salam) is described; that is why Imam Bukhari (rahimahullah) has mentioned it here.

(1) "I deny it" — the purpose here is that when someone swears an oath, that oath should be accepted. One should not stubbornly insist on one’s own statement. If someone swears falsely, he will bear the consequences himself. In the mentioned incident, it is possible that he was picking up his own belonging, or he was picking up someone else’s belonging with their permission, or his purpose was merely to examine the item, not to take it away, etc. There can be many such possibilities. Apparently, it seemed to be a case of theft, but the reality became clear through the oath. (All this is in the case that he was truthful in his oath.) The thief expressed his innocence by swearing in the name of Allah, so Sayyiduna Isa (alayhis salam) considered him truthful out of respect for the name of Allah and declared his own eyes to be mistaken. And Allah knows best.

(2) Everywhere Isa (alayhis salam) is referred to as Isa ibn Maryam, which is evidence that he was born without a father, so that this would be a miracle for people as proof of his truthfulness.

(3) In the hadith, the oath is emphatic and solemn. Thus, such an oath can also be taken.

Benefits and Issues:

➊ This is an example of accepting the oath of a believer, such that his oath was given precedence over what was witnessed with one's own eyes.

➋ It is possible that the item belonged to the very person who was taking it, but for some particular reason, he took it secretly.

Explanation of the Hadith:
Sayyiduna ‘Isa (alayhis salam) saw a certain person reaching his hand towards something and suspected that he had taken something. When that person swore an oath that he had not taken anything, Sayyiduna ‘Isa (alayhis salam) abandoned his suspicion regarding him.
According to this hadith, that person was indeed a thief, as the wording of the hadith is evidence for this. However, this hadith describes the greatness and humility of Sayyiduna ‘Isa (alayhis salam), that due to the oath by Allah Ta‘ala, he denied his own observation and direct witnessing.
In light of this hadith, the jurists of the Maliki and Hanbali schools are of the opinion that a judge does not have the right to issue a verdict based solely on his personal knowledge. However, according to the Shafi‘i jurists, except in cases of hudud (prescribed punishments), a judge is permitted to issue a verdict in other cases and matters. [ارشاد الساري: 417/5]