Hadith 1063
Musnad 'Ali Ibn Abi Talib
It was narrated from Hanash al-Kinani that some people in Yemen dug a trap for a lion, and (the lion) fell into it. The people gathered around, and one man fell in. He grabbed hold of another, then the other one grabbed hold of another, until four men had fallen in. They (their families) disputed concerning that until they took up arms against one another. `Ali (رضي الله عنه) said:
Would you kill two hundred for four? Rather I shall judge among you and if you accept it, all well and good. For the first one, one quarter of the diyah; for the second one, one third of the diyah; for the third one, half of the diyah, and for the fourth one, the (entire) diyah. They did not accept his verdict, so they went to the Prophet (ﷺ) and he said: I shall judge among you. He was told about the verdict of ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه) and he approved of it.
حَدَّثَنَا وَكِيعٌ، حَدَّثَنَا حَمَّادُ بْنُ سَلَمَةَ، عَنْ سِمَاكِ بْنِ حَرْبٍ، عَنْ حَنَشٍ الْكِنَانِيِّ، أَنَّ قَوْمًا، بِالْيَمَنِ حَفَرُوا زُبْيَةً لِأَسَدٍ فَوَقَعَ فِيهَا فَتَكَابَّ النَّاسُ عَلَيْهِ فَوَقَعَ فِيهَا رَجُلٌ فَتَعَلَّقَ بِآخَرَ ثُمَّ تَعَلَّقَ الْآخَرُ بِآخَرَ حَتَّى كَانُوا فِيهَا أَرْبَعَةً فَتَنَازَعَ فِي ذَلِكَ حَتَّى أَخَذَ السِّلَاحَ بَعْضُهُمْ لِبَعْضٍ فَقَالَ لَهُمْ عَلِيٌّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ أَتَقْتُلُونَ مِائَتَيْنِ فِي أَرْبَعَةٍ وَلَكِنْ سَأَقْضِي بَيْنَكُمْ بِقَضَاءٍ إِنْ رَضِيتُمُوهُ لِلْأَوَّلِ رُبُعُ الدِّيَةِ وَلِلثَّانِي ثُلُثُ الدِّيَةِ وَلِلثَّالِثِ نِصْفُ الدِّيَةِ وَلِلرَّابِعِ الدِّيَةُ فَلَمْ يَرْضَوْا بِقَضَائِهِ فَأَتَوْا النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالَ سَأَقْضِي بَيْنَكُمْ بِقَضَاءٍ قَالَ فَأُخْبِرَ بِقَضَاءِ عَلِيٍّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ فَأَجَازَهُ.
Hadith gradings, numbering and translations can differ between editions. For legal rulings or detailed interpretation, consult qualified scholarship and the referenced edition.