food and two coats of mail belonging to some of the Ansār. The owner of the property came to complain to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Some people then came forward and falsely vouched for the accused. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, believed those who vouched for them and reproached the owner of the property. Allah then revealed this verse.”

The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did not tell the owner of the property, “Produce evidence,” nor did he have the accused swear oaths, because those accused were known for wrongdoing and there were evident grounds for suspecting them.

Likewise, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, ruled by qasāma—the procedure of sworn oaths in homicide cases—when there were supporting indications making the claimants’ truthfulness probable. These matters concern penal sanctions serving the public interest, not private rights. Without qasāma in homicide cases, bloodshed would ensue: a man could kill his enemy in secret, while the victim’s next of kin would be unable to produce evidence. Swearing an oath is easy for a murderer, thief, or highway robber, for someone who regards such deeds as permissible will think little of an oath.

As for the Prophet’s saying, may Allah bless him and grant him peace:

“Were people granted their claims merely on their allegations, some would claim the lives and property of others. Rather, the oath rests upon the defendant.”

This applies where the claimant can offer no proof beyond the allegation itself. Nothing is awarded on that basis; instead, the defendant swears an oath.

If, however, the claimant produces one witness concerning property, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, ruled in property cases on the basis of one witness and an oath. This is the position of the jurists of the Hijāz and the scholars of hadith, such as Mālik, al-Shāfi‘ī, Ahmad, and others. When there were supporting indications in a homicide claim, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to the claimants:

“Will you swear fifty oaths and thereby establish your claim concerning your companion’s blood?”