1231 – Ibn ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with them both) related that “the Prophet ﷺ returned the oath to the one who was claiming his due.” Narrated by al-Dāraqutnī, and its chain of transmission is weak. (1)
Degree of authenticity
The hadith is weak.
Al-Talkhīṣ states: It was reported by al-Dāraqutnī, al-Ḥākim, and al-Bayhaqī. Its chain contains Muḥammad ibn Masrūq, who is unknown, and Isḥāq ibn al-Farāt, concerning whom there is disagreement.
Al-Bayhaqī said: “With regard to returning the oath, reliance is on the ḥadith of qasāmah (the collective oath procedure in homicide cases), and that ḥadith is authentic.” He then cited the various narrations on qasāmah, all of which include returning the oath, and concluded: “These are the aḥadīth on which one relies for returning the oath to the claimant when the defendant refuses to swear.”
Points derived from the ḥadith
- When a claimant asserts a right, the defendant denies it, and the claimant possesses no evidence to prove his claim, the claimant may demand that the defendant swear an oath denying the claim. If the defendant refuses to swear, should judgment be rendered against him merely for his refusal, or should judgment be rendered after the oath is returned to the claimant—so that the claimant swears to the truth of his claim and the ruling is issued in his favor? The scholars hold two views:
• The first view is that judgment is entered against the party who refuses to swear, without returning the oath to the claimant. This is the position of the two imams, Abū Ḥanīfah and Aḥmad, and their followers.
In Sharḥ al-Iqnāʿ it is stated: “If the defendant does not swear, the judge says to him: ‘Either…’”