30. Judicial Decisions
٣٠۔ كتاب الأقضية
While two women had been going along witn their two sons, a wolf came and made away with the child of one of them. One of them said to her companion: It is with your child that it (the wolf) has run away The other one said: It has run away with your child. They brought the matter to (Hadrat) Dawud (David) for decision and he made a decision in favour of the elder one. They then went to Sulaiman b. Dawud (may there be peace upon both of them) and told them (the story). He said: Bring me a knife so that I may cut him (the child) (into two parts) for you. The younger one said: No, it can't be, may Allah have mercy upon you, he (the child) belongs to her (the elder). So he gave a decision in favour of the younger one. abu Huraira said: If ever I heard of the word as-sikin at all, it was that day. We called it by no other name but al-Mudya.
عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ قَالَ بَيْنَمَا امْرَأَتَانِ مَعَهُمَا ابْنَاهُمَا جَاءَ الذِّئْبُ فَذَهَبَ بِابْنِ إِحْدَاهُمَا فَقَالَتْ هَذِهِ لِصَاحِبَتِهَا إِنَّمَا ذَهَبَ بِابْنِكِ أَنْتِ وَقَالَتِ الأُخْرَى إِنَّمَا ذَهَبَ بِابْنِكِ فَتَحَاكَمَتَا إِلَى دَاوُدَ فَقَضَى بِهِ لِلْكُبْرَى فَخَرَجَتَا عَلَى سُلَيْمَانَ بْنِ دَاوُدَ عَلَيْهِمَا السَّلاَمُ فَأَخْبَرَتَاهُ فَقَالَ ائْتُونِي بِالسِّكِّينِ أَشُقُّهُ بَيْنَكُمَا فَقَالَتِ الصُّغْرَى لاَ يَرْحَمُكَ اللَّهُ هُوَ ابْنُهَا فَقَضَى بِهِ لِلصُّغْرَى قَالَ قَالَ أَبُو هُرَيْرَةَ وَاللَّهِ إِنْ سَمِعْتُ بِالسِّكِّينِ قَطُّ إِلاَّ يَوْمَئِذٍ مَا كُنَّا نَقُولُ إِلاَّ الْمُدْيَةَ
This hadith has been narrated on the authority of Abu az-Zinad with the same chain of transmitters.
عَنْ أَبِي الزِّنَادِ بِهَذَا الإِسْنَادِ مِثْلَ مَعْنَى حَدِيثِ وَرْقَاءَ