Sahih al-Bukhari 7170

Hadith text

Narrated Abu Qatada:Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said on the Day of (the battle of) Hunain, "Whoever has killed an infidel and has a proof or a witness for it, then the salb (arms and belongings of that deceased) will be for him." I stood up to seek a witness to testify that I had killed an infidel but I could not find any witness and then sat down. Then I thought that I should mention the case to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) (and when I did so) a man from those who were sitting with him said, "The arms of the killed person he has mentioned, are with me, so please satisfy him on my behalf." Abu Bakr said, "No, he will not give the arms to a bird of Quraish and deprive one of Allah's lions of it who fights for the cause of Allah and His Apostle." Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) stood up and gave it to me, and I bought a garden with its price, and that was my first property which I owned through the war booty. The people of Hijaz said, "A judge should not pass a judgment according to his knowledge, whether he was a witness at the time he was the judge or before that" And if a litigant gives a confession in favor of his opponent in the court, in the opinion of some scholars, the judge should not pass a judgment against him till the latter calls two witnesses to witness his confession. And some people of Iraq said, "A judge can pass a judgement according to what he hears or witnesses (the litigant's confession) in the court itself, but if the confession takes place outside the court, he should not pass the judgment unless two witnesses witness the confession." Some of them said, "A judge can pass a judgement depending on his knowledge of the case as he is trust-worthy, and that a witness is Required just to reveal the truth. The judge's knowledge is more than the witness." Some said, "A judge can judge according to his knowledge only in cases involving property, but in other cases he cannot." Al-Qasim said, "A judge ought not to pass a judgment depending on his knowledge if other people do not know what he knows, although his knowledge is more than the witness of somebody else because he might expose himself to suspicion by the Muslims and cause the Muslims to have unreasonable doubt

Abu Qatada bataate hain: Allah ke Rasool (SAW) ne jang-e-Hunain ke din farmaya, 'Jo koi bhi ek kaafir ko qatl kare aur uske paas iska saboot ya gawaah ho, to us (marne wale) ka Salb (hathiyaar aur saamaan) usi ka hoga.' Main khada hua ye pata karne ke liye ke koi gawaah mil sakta hai jo tasdeeq kare ke maine ek kaafir ko qatl kiya, magar mujhe koi gawaah nahi mila aur main baith gaya. Phir maine socha ke mujhe ye maamla Allah ke Rasool (SAW) ko bataana chaahiye (aur jab maine aisa kiya) unke saath baithe logon mein se ek shaks ne kaha, 'Us maare gaye shaks ke hathiyaar jinka unhone zikr kiya wo mere paas hain, isliye barah-e-meharbaani meri taraf se use santusht kijiye.' Abu Bakr ne kaha, 'Nahi, wo (hathiyaar) kisi Quraishi parinde ko nahi denge aur Allah ke sheron mein se ek ko is se mehroom nahi karenge jo Allah aur uske Rasool ki khaatir ladta hai.' Allah ke Rasool (SAW) khade hue aur wo mujhe de diya, aur maine uski keemat se ek baag khareeda, aur wo meri pehli jaayadaad thi jo maine jang ke maal-e-ganimat se haasil ki. Hijaz ke logon ne kaha, 'Ek qaazi ko apne (khud ke) ilm ke mutaabik faisla nahi dena chaahiye, chaahe wo qaazi banne se pehle ya baad mein gawaah tha.' Aur agar koi mukhaalif adaalat mein apne mukhaalif ke haq mein iqraar kare, kuch aalimon ki raay mein, qaazi ko uske khilaaf faisla tab tak nahi dena chaahiye jab tak dusra shaks do gawaah unke iqraar ki gawaahi dene ke liye na bulaaye. Aur kuch Iraqi logon ne kaha, 'Ek qaazi wahi faisla de sakta hai jo wo adaalat mein hi sune ya dekhe (mukhaalif ka iqraar), magar agar iqraar adaalat ke baahar hota hai, to use faisla tab tak nahi dena chaahiye jab tak do gawaah iqraar ki gawaahi na dein.' Kuch ne kaha, 'Ek qaazi apne maamle ke ilm ke aadhaar par faisla de sakta hai kyunke wo bharosemand hai, aur gawaah ki zaroorat sirf sach zaahir karne ke liye hoti hai. Qaazi ka ilm gawaah se zyaada hota hai.' Kuch ne kaha, 'Ek qaazi apne ilm ke mutaabik sirf jaayadaad se juda maamlon mein faisla de sakta hai, magar doosre maamlon mein nahi kar sakta.' Al-Qasim ne kaha, 'Ek qaazi ko apne ilm ke aadhaar par faisla nahi dena chaahiye agar doosre logon ko wo nahi pata jo usse pata hai, chaahe uska ilm doosre kisi gawaah ke gawaahi se zyaada ho, kyunke wo Musalmaanon ke shak mein khud ko daal sakta hai aur Musalmaanon ko na-vaajib shak mein daal sakta hai.'

Sahih al-Bukhari 7170 · Book 93, Hadith 34