Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd Allāh said: “He was a Basran, a Successor, trustworthy; he used to criticize ʿAlī yet never transmitted anything from him, nor did he hear anything from Thawbān.” (1)
ʿAmr ibn ʿAlī said: “Qatādah did not hear directly from Abū Qilābah.” (2)
ʿAlī ibn al-Madīnī stated: “Abū Qilābah was an Arab from the tribe of Jarm. He died in Syria, lived to witness the caliphate of ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, and passed away in 104 AH.”
Abū Rajāʾ, reporting from his patron Abū Qilābah, said:
“I was sitting with ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz when the matter of qasāmah—the collective oath in homicide cases—was raised, so I related to him, on the authority of Anas, the story of the ʿUrayniyyūn.” (3)(4)
He went on: “ʿUmar then remarked, ‘You will continue to fare well so long as this—or something like it—remains among you.’” (5)
Ibn al-Madīnī also said: “Abū Qilābah transmitted from Samura, and he had indeed heard directly from him; he also transmitted from Hishām ibn ʿĀmir, though he had not heard directly from him.”
(1) See Ibn Asakir, vol. 9, p. 160 b.
(2) Ibn Asakir, vol. 9, p. 163 a.
(3) The hadith concerning qasama is recorded by Muslim, no. 1669, and by al-Bukhari, vol. 10, p. 443. Qasama is defined, according to al-Baghawi, Sharh al-sunna, vol. 10, p. 216, as follows: when a corpse is found and the victim’s heir accuses an individual or a group against whom there is a clear *luwath* (presumption of guilt). Luwath is any circumstance that strongly inclines the court to believe the accuser—such as a man of Khaybar found dead among them while open enmity existed between the Ansar and the people of Khaybar; a company who were together in a house or open field and then dispersed, after which a body is discovered; a corpse found near a man spattered with the victim’s blood; the testimony of one reliable witness that a specific person killed him; or several slaves or women giving the same testimony independently so that collusion is unlikely. In these cases the plaintiff first takes fifty oaths and thereby secures his claim. If no such presumption exists, the defendant’s denial under oath is accepted, as in other lawsuits.
(4) The hadith of the ‘Uraniyyun is reported by al-Bukhari, vol. 12, p. 98, in the Book of Brigands under the headings: “The Prophet did not cauterize the apostates until they died,” “The apostate brigands were not given water until they perished,” “The Prophet gouged out the eyes of the brigands,” in the Book of Maghazi under “The story of ‘Akl and ‘Urayna,” and in the Tafsir of Surat al-Ma’ida under “The penalty for those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger…”. Muslim also records it, no. 1671, in the Book of Qasama, chapter on the ruling concerning brigands, through the narration of Anas ibn Malik.
(5) Al-Hilya, vol. 2, p. 284; see also Maʿrifa wa’l-tarikh, vol. 2, p. 65.