1224 – Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: “The Prophet ﷺ presented an oath to a group of people, and they rushed to take it, so he ordered that lots be drawn among them to determine which of them should swear.” Narrated by al-Bukhari. (1)

Vocabulary of the ḥadith
• ʿarada – yaʿriḍu ʿarḍan: here it means “he displayed the oath to them so that they might either proceed to swear or refrain.”
• yus’him – is’hāman: “he drew lots among them.” A sahm is a share or allotted portion; its plurals are ashum and suhmān.

Points derived from the ḥadith

1. The fuller wording is recorded by Abū Dāwūd 3616 and al-Nasāʾī in al-Kubrā 3/487 through Abū Rāfiʿ, from Abu Hurayrah: two men disputed over some property for which neither had evidence. The Prophet ﷺ said, “Draw lots for the right to the oath, whether you like it or not.” Al-Khattābī explained: “istahimā here means ‘to cast lots’; they draw lots, and the one whose name is drawn swears and then takes the disputed item.”

2. Al-Baḥūtī writes in Sharḥ al-Iqnāʿ, chapter on lost property (luqaṭah): If two or more people describe a lost article simultaneously, or the second gives the description after the first but before it has been handed to him, lots are drawn between them. The same applies if they both present testimony regarding the article, for neither has any advantage over the other. The one upon whom the lot falls must then swear that the article is his—since the other claimant might in fact be truthful—and he takes it, for that is the purpose of drawing lots.