Sayyiduna Zayd bin Arqam (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Three men were brought to Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) who had had intercourse with a woman in (one) period of purity (tuhr). He asked two of them: Do you acknowledge the child (for this one)? They refused. Then he asked two again: Do you acknowledge the child? They again answered no. Then two were asked: Do you acknowledge the child? They answered no. Then lots were cast between them, and he attached the child to the one whose name the lot fell on, and imposed two-thirds of the blood money (diyah) on him. This story was mentioned before the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) laughed so much that his molars became visible.
This hadith is counted among those that Abd al-Razzaq alone narrated from Sufyan al-Thawri.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الدعوى والبينات / 21281
Sayyiduna Zayd bin Arqam (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I was with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) when a man came from Yemen and said that a group of three men from Yemen came to Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) with a dispute about a child; they had had intercourse with a woman in a single period of purity. Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) spoke to two of them, but they remained adamant; then he spoke to the others, and they too were adamant. So Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "You are equal partners; I will cast lots between you. The one whose name the lot falls on will have the child, and he will owe his companions two-thirds of the blood money (diyah)." So he decided between them by casting lots, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) laughed until his molars showed.
Muhammad bin Salim al-Kufi also narrated it likewise from al-Sha'bi, and Muhammad bin Salim is matruk (abandoned). As for al-Ajlah bin Abdullah, although the imams al-Thawri, Ibn al-Mubarak and Yahya bin al-Qattan narrated from him, the two Shaykhs, al-Bukhari and Muslim, did not use him as evidence. Abdullah bin al-Khalil is alone in narrating it, and there is disagreement about him regarding its chain and whether it is traced back to the Prophet.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الدعوى والبينات / 21282
Al-Bukhari said: Abdullah bin al-Khalil al-Hadrami, from Zayd bin Arqam, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), regarding casting lots: he is not corroborated in it.
The Shaykh said: Al-Bukhari mentioned the hadith of Abd al-Razzaq in which he said "from Abd Khayr", and it is as though he did not consider it preserved (mahfuz). The hadith of Ibn al-Khalil was narrated thus by a group from al-Ajlah; and it was also said: from him, from Amir al-Sha'bi, from Abu al-Khalil, from Zayd; and it was said: from him, from al-Sha'bi, from Abdullah bin Khalil al-Hadrami, from Ali (may Allah be pleased with him); and it was said: from him, from al-Sha'bi, from Ali (may Allah be pleased with him).
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الدعوى والبينات / 21283
Abu al-Khalil or Ibn al-Khalil narrates from Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that a group of three men had shared in a woman's period of purity, and they all claimed the child. Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) decided between them by lot: the one whose name the lot fell on was to pay his companions 2/3 of the blood money (diyah), and the child would be his.
This is the most authentic of what has been narrated on this subject. It is mawquf (stopping at Ali), and Ibn al-Khalil is alone in narrating it, and Allah knows best. Al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned this hadith in al-Qadim and in Kitab Ali wa Abdullah, and stated that if it were established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), we would hold by it and it would be the proof.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الدعوى والبينات / 21284
Abu Thawr (may Allah have mercy on him) said that Abu Abdullah al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) said: When there is no physiognomist and no clarification can be obtained either, then lots are to be cast between them.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الدعوى والبينات / 21285
Abu Juhayfah al-Suwa'i (may Allah be pleased with him) said: When Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was in Yemen, three men came to him with a dispute about a child. Each one claimed: He is my son. So lots were cast between them. The one whose name the lot fell on was given the child, and 2/3 of the blood money (diyah) was also imposed on him. This news reached the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he laughed until his molars became visible.
Dawud bin Yazid al-Awdi is not used as evidence.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الدعوى والبينات / 21286
Abu Zabyan narrates from Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that two men came to Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) who had had intercourse with a woman in one period of purity. He said: The child will be shared between you both, and he belongs to whichever of you survives.
It has also been narrated by another route from Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) in mursal form, and its being established from Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) is doubtful.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الدعوى والبينات / 21287