Sunan Ibn Majah: The Chapters on Rulings

“Whoever is appointed judge between the people, he has been slaughtered without a knife.”

“Whoever asks to be appointed a judge, will be entrusted to himself, but “Whoever asks to be appointed a judge, will be entrusted to himself, but whoever is forced to accept position, an angel will come down to him and guide him.' ”

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) sent me to Yemen. I said: 'O Messenger of Allah, you are sending me to judge between them while I am a young man, and I do not know how to judge.' He struck me on the chest with his hand and said: 'O Allah, guide his heart and make his tongue steadfast.' And after that I never doubted in passing judgment between two people.”

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “There is no judge who judges between the people but on the Day of Resurrection an angel will come and take hold of the back of his head towards the sky and if it said: “Throw him, “he will throw into an abyss the depth of forty autumns (years).' ”

“Allah is with the judge so long as he is not unjust, but if he rules unjustly, He entrusts him to himself.”

“The curse of Allah is upon the one who offers a bribe and the one who takes it.”

“When the judge passes a judgement and does his best and gets it right, he will have two rewards, and if he passes a judgement and does his best and gets it wrong, he will have one reward.” (Sahih) Yazid (one of narrators) said : “So I Narrated it to Abu Bakr bin 'Amr bin Hazm. He said: 'This is how it was narrated to me by Abu Salamah from Abu Hurairah.'”

“Were it not for the Hadith of Ibn Buraidah from his father, from the Prophet (ﷺ) who said: 'Judges are of three types, two of whom will be in Hell and one will be in Paradise. The man who knows the truth and rules in accordance with it, will be in Paradise. The man who passes judgment on the people in ignorance will be in Hell' - we would have said that if the judge does his best he will be in Paradise.”

“Let the judge (Qadi) not pass a judgment when he is angry.”

“You refer your disputes to me and I am only human. Perhaps some of you may be more eloquent in presenting your case than others, so I rule in your favor because of what I hear from you. If I pass a judgement in favor of one of you that detracts from his brother's rights, then he should not take it, because it is a piece of fire that is given to him which he will bring forth on the Day Resurrection.”

“I am only human, and some of you may be more eloquent in presenting your case than others. If I pass a judgement in his favor that detracts from his brother's rights, I am giving him a piece of fire.”

“Whoever claims something that does not belong to him; he is not one of us, so let him take his place in Hell.”

“Whoever takes the wrongdoer's side in a dispute or supports wrongdoing, he will remain subject to the wrath of Allah until he gives it up.”

“If the people were given what they claimed, some would have claimed the lives and property of men. But the one the claim is made against is obliged to swear an oath.”

“There was a dispute between myself and a Jewish man concerning some land, and he denied me my rights so I brought him to the Prophet (ﷺ). The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to me: 'Do you have proof' I said: 'No.’ He said to the Jews, 'Swear an oath.' I said: 'If he swears an oath he will take my property.' Then Allah, Glorious is He, revealed: 'Verily, those who purchase a small gain at the cost of Allah's covenant and their oaths, they shall have no portion in the Hereafter (Paradise). Neither will Allah neither speak to them nor look at them on the Day of Resurrection nor will He purifies them, and they shall have a painful torment.'”

“Whoever swears a false oath in order to seize the wealth of a Muslim unlawfully, he will meet Allah when He is angry with him.”

“No man seizes the wealth of a Muslim unlawfully by means of his (false) oath, but Allah will deny Paradise to him and will doom him to Hell.” A man among the people said: “O Messenger of Allah, even if it is something small?” He said: “Even if it is a twig of an Arak tree.”

'Whoever swears a false oath near this pulpit of mine, let him take his place in Hell, even if it is for a green twig.”

I heard Abu Salamah say: I heard Abu Hurairah say: “The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'No man or woman swears a false oath beside this pulpit, even if it is for a fresh twig, but he will be doomed to Hell.”

“ Swear by the One Who sent the Torah (Tawrah) down to Musa.”

“Swear by Allah Who sent the Tawrah down to Musa, peace be upon him.”

he said that two men laid claim to an animal, and neither of them had any proof, so the Prophet (ﷺ) commanded them to cast lots as to which of them should swear an oath.

two men referred a dispute to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) concerning an animal, and neither of them had proof, so he ruled that it should be divided in half.

“If a man loses something, or it is stolen from him, and he finds it in the possession of a man who bought it, then he has more right to it, and the one who bought it should ask for his money back from the one who sold it to him.' ”

Ibn Muhayyisah Al-Ansari told him that a she-camel belonging to Bara used to wander free. It entered a garden belonging to some people and caused some damage. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was told of that, and he ruled that property was to be protected by its owners of livestock were responsible for any damage caused by their animals during the night.

'I said to 'Aishah: Tell me about the character of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).' She said: 'Have you not read the Qur'an: “And verily, you (O Mohammed {SAW}) are on an exalted (standard of) character?” She said: 'The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was with his Companions, and I made some food for him, and Hafsah made some food for him, but Hafash got there before me. So I said to the slave girl: “Overturn her bowl.” She went and caught up with her, and she was about to put (the bowl) in front of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). She overturned it and the bowl broke, scattering the food. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) gathered the pieces and the food on the leather mat and they ate. Then he sent for my bowl and gave it to Hafsah, and said: “Take this pot in place of your pot, and eat what is in it.” And I did not see any expression of anger on the face of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).' ”

“The Prophet (ﷺ) was with one of the Mothers of the Believers (his wives) and another (wife) sent a bowl containing food. She (the first wife) struck the hand of the Messenger of (ﷺ) and the bowl fell and broke. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) took the two pieces and put them back together, then he started gathering up the food and putting it in (the bowl). He said: 'Your mother was jealous. Eat.' So they ate, and she (the wife who broke the bowl) brought the bowl that was in her house and gave the intact bowl to the Messenger (ﷺ), who left the broken bowl in the house of the one who broke it.”

“The Prophet (ﷺ): 'When anyone of you asks his neighbor for permission to fix a piece of wood to his wall, he should not refuse him. 'When Abu Hurairah told them this, they lowered their heads, and when he saw them he said: 'Why do I see you turning away from it? By Allah, I will force you to accept it.' ”

there were two brothers from among the sons of Mughirah. One of them swore an oath to set a slave free if the other one fixed a piece of wood to his wall. Mujammi' bin Yazid and many men from among the Ansar came and said: “We bear witness that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'None of you should refuse to let his neighbor fix a piece of wood to his wall.' ” He said: 'O my brother, judgment has been passed in your favor against me, but I have sworn an oath.' So go ahead and fix your wood to my wall.”

“No one of you should refuse to let his neighbor fix a piece of wood to his wall.”

“Make the path seven forearms length wide.”

“When you dispute concerning a path, make it seven forearms length wide.' ”

“There should be neither harming nor reciprocating harm.”

“There should be neither harming nor reciprocating harm.”

“Whoever harms others, Allah (SWT) will harm him; and whoever causes hardship to other Allah will cause hardship to him.”

some people referred a dispute to the Prophet (ﷺ) about a hut, so that he could judge between them. He sent Hudhaifah to judge between them, and he ruled in favor of those who had the rope (with which the hut was blinded together). When he went back to the Prophet (ﷺ) he told him (what he had done) and he said: “You did the right thing, and you did well.”

the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “If a product is sold to two men, it is for the one who was first.”

a man had six slaves, and he did not have any other wealth apart from them, and he set them free when he died. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) divided them into groups, set two free and left four as slaves.

two men disputed concerning a transaction, and neither of them had proof. The Messenger of Allah commanded them to draw lots as to which of them should swear an oath, whether they liked it or not.

when the Prophet (ﷺ) traveled, he would cast lots among his wives (to decide which one would accompany him).

“A case was brought to 'Ali bin Abu Talib when he was in Yemen, concerning three men who had intercourse with a woman during one period of being free from menses. He asked two of them: “Do you affirm that this child belongs to (the third man)?” And they said: “No.” He asked another two of them: “Do you affirm that this child belongs to (the third man)?” And they said: “No.” Every time he asked two of them whether they affirmed that the child belonged to the third, they would say no. So he cast lots between them, and attributed the child to the one whose name was chosen in this manner, and obliged him to pay two thirds of the Diyah. The Prophet (ﷺ) was told of this, and he smiled so broadly that his back teeth became visible.

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came in one day looking happy, and said: 'O 'Aishah, did you not see that Mujazziz Al-Mudliji entered upon me and saw Usamah and Zaid. There was a blanket over them and their faces were covered but their feet were exposed, and he said: 'These feet belong to one another'.”

the Quraish went to a sorceress and they said to her: “Tell us whose footprints most resemble those of the owner of Al-Maqam (the station of Ibrahim).” She said: “If you spread a piece of cloth over this soft earth and walk over it, I will tell you.” So they spread out a piece of cloth and the people walked over it. She saw the footprints of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and said: “This one most closely resembles him among you.” After that twenty years passed, of as long as Allah willed, then Allah sent Muhammad (ﷺ) (i.e., missioned him as the Prophet).

the Prophet (ﷺ) gave a child the choice between his father and his mother (i.e., which parent to live with). He said: “O boy, this is your mother and this is your father.”

his parents referred their dispute to the Prophet (ﷺ), and one of them was a disbeliever. He (the Prophet (ﷺ)) said: “O Allah, guide him,” and he turned towards the Muslim, and he ruled that he should go with that parent.

“I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: 'Reconciling between Muslims is permissible, except reconciliation that forbids something that is allowed, or allows something that is forbidden.'”

there was a man at the time of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) whose mental faculties were lacking, and he used to buy and sell. His family came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said, “O Messenger of Allah, stop him.” So The Prophet (ﷺ) called him, and told him not to do that. He said: “O Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), I cannot bear to be away from business.” He said, “If you engage in a transaction then say: “Take it (i.e., the goods) and don't cheat (me).' ”

“My grandfather was Munqidh bin 'Amr. He was a man who had suffered a head wound and lost the power of speech, but that did not stop him from engaging in trade. He was always being cheated, so he went to the Prophet (ﷺ) and told him about that. He said to him: 'When you buy something, say: “There should be no intention of cheating,” and for every product you buy, you have the choice for three nights. If you are pleased with it, keep it, and if you are displeased then return it.'”

“At the time of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), a man suffered loss of some fruit that he had purchase, and his debts increased. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'Give him charity.' So the people gave him charity, but that was not enough to pay off his debts. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Take what you find, but you have no right to more than that, meaning his creditors.”

the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) rid Mu'adh bin Jabal of his creditors, then he appointed him governor of Yemen. Mu'adh said: “The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) settled my debts with my creditors using what wealth I had, then he appointed me as governor.”

“Whoever finds his exact property with a man who has become bankrupt, and then he has more right to it than anyone else.”

“Any man who sells a product with the man who has become bankrupt, and he has not taken any of its price, it belongs to him, but if he had taken any of its price, then he is like any other creditor.”

We came to Abu Hurairah and asked him about a companion of ours who had become bankrupt. He said: “This is what the Prophet (ﷺ) ruled: 'Any man who dies or becomes bankrupt, the owner of the product has more right to it, if he finds the exact thing.”

“Any man who dies and has the property of another man, whether he paid something towards it or not, (the owner of those goods) is like any other creditor.”

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was asked, 'Which of the people are best?' He said: 'My generation, then those that follow them, then those that follow them. Then there will come people whose testimony precedes their oath and whose oath precedes their testimony.”

'Umar bin Khattab addressed us at Jabiyah and said: “The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) stood up among us as I stand among you, and said: 'Honor my Companions for my sake, then those who come after them, then those who come after them. Then lying will prevail until a man will give testimony without being asked to do so, and he will swear an oath without being asked to do so.' ”

“The best of witnesses is the one who gives his testimony before he is asked for it.”

Abu Sa'eed Al-Khudri recited this Verse: “O you who believe! When you contract a debt for a fixed period...” until: “then if one of you entrusts the other.” Then he said: “This abrogates what came before.”

“The Testimony of a man or woman who is treacherous, or of one who has been subjected to one of the Haad punishments of Islam, or of one who bears a grudge against his brother, is not permissible.”

“The testimony of a Bedouin against a town-dweller is not permissible.”

the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) passed judgment on the basis of an oath (from the claimant) along with a (single) witness. [This is in the absence of two witnesses.]

the Prophet (ﷺ) passed judgement on the basis of an oath (from the claimant) along with a (single) witness.

“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) passed judgement on the basis of a witness along with an oath by the claimant.

the Prophet (ﷺ) allowed the testimony of a man along with the oath of the claimant.

the Prophet(ﷺ) prayed the Morning prayer, and when he had finished, he stood up and said: “Bearing false witness is equivalent to associating others with Allah,” three times. Then he recited this Verse: “And shun lying speech (false statements), Hunafa' Lillah (i.e., worshiping none but Allah), not associating partners (in worship) to Him.”

'The one who bears false witness will not move away (on the Day of Resurrection) until Allah condemns him to Hell.' ”

the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) allowed the People of the Book to testify against one another.