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3 Options for the Wounded (Hadith No. 2364)
Bismillah.
Volume 3, Book 49, Number 866 :
Narrated by Anas (radiallaahu `anhu)
Ar-Rabi, the daughter of An-Nadr broke the tooth of a girl, and the relatives of Ar-Rabi’ requested the girl’s relatives to accept the Arsh (الأَرْشَ) (compensation for wounds etc.) and forgive (the offender), but they refused. So, they went to the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) who ordered them to bring about retaliation. Anas bin An-Nadr (radiallaahu `anhu) asked, “O Allah’s Apostle! Will the tooth of Ar-Rabi’ be broken? No, by Him Who has sent you with the Truth, her tooth will not be broken.” The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “O Anas! Allah’s law ordains retaliation.” Later the relatives of the girl agreed and forgave her. The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “There are some of Allah’s slaves who, if they take an oath by Allah, are responded to by Allah i.e. their oath is fulfilled). Anas (radiallaahu `anhu) added, “The people agreed and accepted the Arsh.”
There was another post about breaking someone’s teeth a while ago in which Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) ruled in favor of the defender since he broke the other’s tooth while fending for himself.
In this case, however, the defender was given the choice to either forgive Rabi` (offender), accept Arsh (compensation) or to get qisaas (retaliation). Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) would have made sure that qisaas took place had they not forgiven Rabi`. Allah’s laws are just and perfectly fit to be implemented.
Abu Shurayh al-Khuzaa’i said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever is killed or is wounded, has the choice of three things, and if he wants the fourth then restrain him. He may kill (the killer), or forgive him, or take the diyah (blood money).” Narrated by Abu Dawood.
Muslim-Jew Quarrels (Ahadith 2091 – 2093)
Bismillah.
Volume 3, Book 41, Number 594:
Narrated Abu Huraira (radiallaahu `anhu):
Two persons, a Muslim and a Jew, quarreled. The Muslim said, “By Him Who gave Muhammad superiority over all the people! The Jew said, “By Him Who gave Moses superiority over all the people!” At that the Muslim raised his hand and slapped the Jew on the face. The Jew went to the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) and informed him of what had happened between him and the Muslim. The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) sent for the Muslim and asked him about it. The Muslim informed him of the event. The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “Do not give me superiority over Moses, for on the Day of Resurrection all the people will fall unconscious and I will be one of them, but I will. be the first to gain consciousness, and will see Moses standing and holding the side of the Throne (of Allah). I will not know whether (Moses) has also fallen unconscious and got up before me, or Allah has exempted him from that stroke.”
Volume 3, Book 41, Number 595:
Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri (radiallaahu `anhu):
While Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) was sitting, a Jew came and said, “O Abul Qasim! One of your companions has slapped me on my face.” The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) asked who that was. He replied that he was one of the Ansar. The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) sent for him, and on his arrival, he asked him whether he had beaten the Jew. He (replied in the affirmative and) said, “I heard him taking an oath in the market saying, ‘By Him Who gave Moses superiority over all the human beings.’ I said, ‘O wicked man! (Has Allah given Moses superiority) even over Muhammad I became furious and slapped him over his face.” The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “Do not give a prophet superiority over another, for on the Day of Resurrection all the people will fall unconscious and I will be the first to emerge from the earth, and will see Moses standing and holding one of the legs of the Throne. I will not know whether Moses has fallen unconscious or the first unconsciousness was sufficient for him.”
Volume 3, Book 41, Number 596:
Narrated Anas (radiallaahu `anhu):
A Jew crushed the head of a girl between two stones. The girl was asked who had crushed her head, and some names were mentioned before her, and when the name of the Jew was mentioned, she nodded agreeing. The Jew was captured and when he confessed, the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) ordered that his head be crushed between two stones.
- Notice how the Jews go to the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) for justice, and not their own courts. Says something about the establishment of justice in Madinah, doesn’t it?
- In both cases, Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) asked the defendant his side of the story and gave him a chance to confess. Fair and square.
- In the case of the slap, Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) did not settle for retaliation. Reasons could be one or more of these:
- While it’s not allowed to be unjust to the Dhimmi (non-Muslim in a Muslim land), there is no qisaas (retaliation/settlement of accounts) between a Muslim and a non-Muslim.
- The statement of the Jew “By Him Who gave Moses superiority over all human beings”, was incorrect, so the Muslim getting enraged wasn’t inappropriate. Still, instead of encouraging the Muslim on this behavior, Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) admonished by saying that one Prophet should not be given superiority over the other.
- It is likely that the Jew did not request for qisaas, or maybe the Prophet did order it but it wasn’t mentioned in the hadith. Allah knows best.
Breaking Someone’s Teeth (Hadith No. 1569)
Bismillah.
Hadith No. 1568 (below) is a repeat. Read it here.
Narrated Ya’li (radiallaahu `anhu):
While I was with Allah’s Messenger (
) there came to him a man wearing a cloak having a trace of yellowish perfume or a similar thing on it. `Umar used to say to me, “Would you like to see the Prophet () at the time when he is inspired divinely?” So, it happened that he was inspired (then) and when the inspiration was over the Prophet () said (to that man), “Do in your `Umra the same as you do in your Hajj.”
Today’s Hadith:
Narrated Ibn Abbas (radiallaahu `anhu):
A man bit the hand of another man but in that process the latter broke one incisor tooth of the former, and the Prophet () forgave the latter.
Two people were fighting, one bit the hand of the other, while the latter broke the tooth of the former while snatching away his hand. When they went to the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) to judge between them, he forgave the latter (who had snatched away his hand) and said that there will be no diyat (blood money: 5 camels for one tooth) in this case. He said:
يَعَضُّ أَحَدُكُمْ أَخَاهُ كَمَا يَعَضُّ الْفَحْلُ، لَا دِيَةَ لَك
[roughly translated:] “One of you bit the hand of the other like a horse/stallion bites. There’s no diyat (blood money) for you.” [Bukhari & Muslim]
So the scholars have said that there’s no kaffaarah for the one who bit the hand. Also, the one who snatched away his hand should’ve freed himself some other way instead of breaking the other’s tooth.
P.S. I don’t know why, but this incident seems sort of funny to me.
