Volume 9, Book 89, Number 282:
Narrated Abu Qatada:
Allah’s Apostle 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 Apostle I (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.” Al –
lah’s Apostle I 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.
Volume 9 – 1597 / 1700
SAHIH BUKHARI VOLUME 9 > BOOK 89: JUDGMENTS (AHKAAM)
The people of Hijaz said, “A judge should not pass a judgment according to his knowledge, wheth –
er 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 judg –
ment 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 confes –
sion) 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 judge –
ment 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 be –
cause he might expose himself to suspicion by the Muslims and cause the Muslims to have unreas –
onable doubt. “