Surah Al-Maaida (5) — Ayah 106

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.