[Machine] I was with the Prophet ﷺ when a letter came to him from Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), in which it was mentioned that three men came to him to settle a dispute regarding a young boy. They accused his mother of committing adultery during the time of ignorance (pre-Islamic era) while she was in a state of purity. Each of them claimed that the boy was his son. I then decided to settle the matter by causing each of the three men to strike the young boy, and the one who hit him the hardest would have to pay a fine equal to two-thirds of the blood money to the other two. The Prophet ﷺ smiled so much that his molars became visible and then said, "I do not know anything about this matter except what Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) has decided."  

كُنْتُ عِنْدَ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ إِذْ جَاءَهُ كِتَابٌ مِنْ عَلِيٍّ ؓ فِيهِ أَنَّ ثَلَاثَةَ نَفَرٍ أَتَوْنِي يَخْتَصِمُونَ فِي غُلَامٍ وَطِئُوا أُمَّهُ فِي الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ فِي طُهْرٍ وَاحِدٍ كُلُّهُمْ يَدَّعِيهِ أَنَّهُ ابْنُهُ فَقَضَيْتُ بَيْنَهُمْ أَنْ أَقْرَعْتُ بَيْنَهُمْ وَجَعَلْتُهُ لِلْقَارِعِ مِنْهُمْ عَلَى أَنْ يَغْرَمَ لِلْآخَرَيْنِ ثُلُثَيِ الدِّيَةِ فَضَحِكَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ حَتَّى بَدَا نَاجِذَاهُ ثُمَّ قَالَ «لَا أَعْلَمُ فِيهَا إِلَّا مَا قَضَى عَلِيٌّ ؓ»