Surah Al-Maaida (5) — Ayah 106

(Ayah 106 to 108) {يٰۤاَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا شَهَادَةُ بَيْنِكُمْ …:} In these verses, Allah Almighty says that O Muslims! When you are in a state of travel and signs of death begin to appear upon you and you have some wealth or belongings, then Allah’s command is that from among the Muslims or non-Muslims, appoint two men who are just and truthful as witnesses over it. They should deliver the deceased’s belongings to his heirs. If the heirs of the deceased have doubt about these two witnesses that they have committed treachery and have hidden some of the deceased’s wealth, then they will be detained after the prayer (in the mosque) to take an oath. Then they will swear by Allah and say that we will not swear a false oath by Allah for the sake of wealth, even if the one for whose benefit we are swearing is our relative, and we will not conceal the testimony which Allah has commanded. If we do so, then surely we will be among the sinners. If after these two have sworn an oath, it becomes clear that they have committed treachery, then two close relatives from among the heirs of the deceased will come forward and take an oath that our testimony that these two have committed treachery and sworn a false oath is more acceptable than their testimony, and that in the testimony we have given against them, we have not wronged them. If we have wronged them, then surely we will be among the wrongdoers. After this, Allah Almighty has stated the wisdom and benefit of taking such an oath, that its benefit is that the witnesses, fearing the punishment of the Hereafter, will give testimony without altering the reality, and the wisdom in taking an oath from two close relatives in the case of treachery is that the witnesses in the state of travel will fear that if we swear a false oath, it will be rejected, because the close relatives will swear an oath and our lie will be exposed before the people.

The reason for the revelation of these verses is that Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that a (Muslim) man from the tribe of Banu Sahm set out on a journey with Tamim Dari and Adi bin Badda (both of whom were Christians at that time). The Sahmi died in a land where there was no Muslim to whom he could make a bequest, so he entrusted his belongings to Tamim Dari and Adi. When both of them returned with his inheritance, the heirs saw that a silver cup, engraved with gold designs, was missing. (The case reached the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him.) The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) took an oath from Tamim Dari and Adi (and let them go). Later, the cup was found in Makkah. Those who had the cup said that they had bought it from Tamim and Adi bin Badda. Then two men from among the heirs of the Sahmi stood up and testified that surely this cup belongs to our close relative, i.e., the Sahmi. Thus, this verse was revealed about them: «يٰۤاَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا شَهَادَةُ بَيْنِكُمْ اِذَا حَضَرَ اَحَدَكُمُ الْمَوْتُ حِيْنَ الْوَصِيَّةِ اثْنٰنِ ذَوَا عَدْلٍ مِّنْكُمْ » [المائدۃ : ۱۰۶ ] [ بخاری، الوصایا، باب قول اللہ عزوجل : «یآیھا الذین اٰمنوا شھادۃ بینکم…» : ۲۷۸ ]

16. 1 The meaning of "from among you" has been explained by some as "I am among the Muslims," and by others as "I am from the tribe of the one making the will." Similarly, in (آخران من غيرکم), there will be two meanings. That is, by "min ghayrikum" is meant either non-Muslim People of the Book, or someone from a tribe other than that of the one making the will.

16. 2 That is, if someone becomes so seriously ill during a journey that there is no hope of survival, then he should appoint two just witnesses and make whatever will he wishes during the journey.

16. 3 That is, if the heirs of the deceased (the one making the will) suspect that these executors have committed dishonesty or made changes regarding the wealth, then after the prayer (in the mosque), that is, in the presence of people, they should make them swear an oath, and they should swear that they are not gaining any worldly benefit in exchange for their oath. That is, they are not swearing a false oath.

106. O you who believe! When death approaches any of you, let two just men from among you act as witnesses at the time of making the will. Or, if you are traveling in the land and the calamity of death befalls you [154], then two witnesses from other than yourselves (non-Muslims) may be chosen. If you doubt (their testimony), detain them after the prayer (in the mosque), and let them both swear by Allah: "We will not sell our testimony for any price, even if it concerns a close relative, nor will we conceal the testimony of Allah. If we do so, then indeed we are of the sinners."

[154] Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas ؓ says that a man from Banu Sahm set out on a journey with Tamim Dari and Adi, and this Sahmi died in a place where there was no Muslim. Tamim Dari and Adi brought his inheritance, but the heirs of the Sahmi did not find a bowl among it, which was made of silver and adorned with gold. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ asked Tamim and Adi to swear an oath, and they swore that (the bowl was not with them). Then that bowl was found in the market of Makkah, and they said that we bought it from Tamim Dari and Adi. Now two persons from the heirs of the Sahmi stood up and swore by Allah, testifying that this bowl belonged to their man and that their testimony was truer than that of the two. This verse was revealed in this context. [بخاري۔ كتاب الوصايا۔ باب قول الله تعالىٰ يٰاايها الذين آمنوا شهادة]

The Case of the Stolen Bowl:

This incident, which occurred during the Prophetic era, has some details mentioned in the above hadith, but due to brevity, several aspects remain unexplained, which we will mention here so that the matter is fully understood. What happened was that a Muslim from Banu Sahm, whose name was Budail, set out on a trade journey towards Syria with his two companions, Tamim and Adi, who were Christians and had not yet embraced Islam. Budail fell ill after reaching Syria, and it seemed he would not recover. He packed his belongings and entrusted them to his two companions, instructing them to hand over the goods to his heirs. He wisely prepared a list of his belongings in secret and placed it in a safe spot among the goods, without informing his companions. Among these belongings was a valuable bowl made of silver, gilded with gold, and decorated with engravings. After his death, when the Christians saw the goods, their intentions became corrupt, and they stole the bowl from among the belongings. When they returned, they handed over the goods to Budail’s heirs and sold the bowl to a goldsmith in the market. When the heirs opened the goods, they also found the list of belongings. Upon checking the goods according to the list, the valuable bowl was missing. They asked the companions who brought the goods whether the deceased had sold any of his belongings, perhaps needing to sell something for medical treatment. They replied in the negative. After confirming this, the heirs presented the case in the Prophetic court. The Prophet ﷺ summoned Tamim and Adi and took their statements; they said they knew nothing about the bowl and confirmed their statement with oaths. Since it was possible that after preparing the list, the deceased had sold the bowl out of necessity and the required legal testimonies were not complete, the Prophet ﷺ acquitted the Christians. Some time later, Budail’s heirs saw the same bowl with a goldsmith and asked him where he got it. He said he bought it from Tamim and Adi. Thus, the plaintiffs again brought the case to the Prophet’s ﷺ court. The Prophet ﷺ again summoned the Christians, and in their presence, two witnesses from among the heirs swore an oath, testifying that the bowl belonged to their man, that the Christians were lying in their oaths, and that they were giving absolutely true and honest testimony out of fear of Allah. These testimonies were from the closest Muslim heirs of the deceased and were given in the mosque after the Asr prayer and after the oath. Therefore, the Prophet ﷺ ruled in favor of the heirs of the deceased and ordered the Christians to pay the value of the bowl (one thousand dirhams) to the heirs. At that time, these verses were revealed. Some time later, when Tamim, one of the two Christians, accepted Islam, he admitted that he had indeed sworn a false oath and that whatever the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had decided in this matter was correct.