A similar case is that of someone shown to possess property which he is obliged to produce: for example, a debtor who is found to have concealed his wealth and insists on remaining imprisoned, or someone who holds property in trust but fails to return it to its rightful owner, and whose dishonesty has become evident. Such a person is not asked to swear an oath; rather, he is beaten until he produces the property he is obliged to produce or discloses its whereabouts. This is illustrated by the following account:

In the year of Khaybar, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, spoke to al-Zubayr ibn al-‘Awwām concerning the paternal uncle of Huyayy ibn Akhtab. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had concluded a peace agreement with them stipulating that the gold and silver would belong to him. He asked this man:

“Where is Huyayy ibn Akhtab’s treasure?”

He replied:

“O Muhammad, expenses and wars have consumed it.”

He said:

“There was a great deal of wealth, and too little time has elapsed for that.”

Then he said to al-Zubayr:

“Take charge of this man.”

Al-Zubayr subjected him to some torture, whereupon he directed them to the treasure in a ruined building nearby.

When this man said, “Expenses and wars have consumed it,” ordinary experience contradicted his claim, so no heed was paid to it. Rather, the Prophet ordered that he be punished until he directed them to the property. The same ruling therefore applies to anyone who takes other people’s property and claims that it has been lost in circumstances where ordinary experience contradicts his claim.

He—may Allah Most High have mercy on him—was also asked:

A man had gold sewn into his garment and, forgetting about it, gave the garment to a washerman. When the washerman returned it after washing it, he found that the place where the gold had been sewn in had been unstitched, and the gold was missing. What is the ruling concerning this?

Answer:

Either the defendant swears an oath clearing himself of liability, or the claimant swears that the defendant took the gold unlawfully, in which case the defendant must compensate him for it. If the washerman is known for wicked conduct, and the opened seam gives evident grounds for suspicion, it is permissible to beat him and subject him to discretionary punishment. Allah knows best.