(44) Chapter: Revering the Scholars and Elders, Preferring them to others and raising their Status

351. Sahl bin Abu Hathmah Al-Ansari (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: `Abdullah bin Sahl and Muhaiyisah bin Mas`ud ¨(May Allah be pleased with them) went to Khaibar during the period of the truce (after its conquest) and they separated to perform their duties. When Muhaiyisah returned to `Abdullah bin Sahl, he found him murdered, drenched in his blood. So he buried him and returned to Al-Madinah. Then `Abdur-Rahman bin Sahl, Huwaiyisah and Muhaiyisah, the two sons of Mas`ud went to Messenger of Allah (PBUH) and spoke about the case of their (murdered) friend. `Abdur-Rahman, who was the youngest of them all, started talking. Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "Let those older than you speak first.'' So he stopped talking and the (other two) spoke about the case of their (murdered) friend. Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "Will you take an oath whereby you will have the right to receive the blood money of your murdered man?'' And mentioned the rest of the Hadith.''

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Commentary: The author of this book, Imam Nawawi, has reproduced only that portion of Hadith which is related to this chapter. This Hadith makes out the following points:

1. The eldest person has the first right to speak in a gathering. But this principle is to be followed when all the persons present there are equal in virtue and intelligence; otherwise, one who is superior to o thers in these qualities will have a prior right to speak.

2. The Hadith explains the issue of Qasamah which was in vogue in the pre-Islamic period and was maintained by Islam. Qasamah was a mode of settling cases of undetected murders. In such situations, fifty persons from the heirs of the victim were asked to take an oath that murder was committed by some person of that locality (or some persons from the heirs were required to take oath for fifty times to this effect); after this oath, the people of that area were liable to pay Diyah (blood money) to the heirs of the victim. If the persons blamed for the murder said on the similar oath that none of them had committed that offense, they were absolved from the payment of Diyah and the payment of blood money was made to the heirs of the victim from the Bait-ul-Mal (state exchequer). In the incident referred in this Hadith when the Prophet (PBUH) asked the brothers of the victim to take the required oath, they refused to do so as they were not sure as to who had committed the crime. The Prophet (PBUH) did not ask the inhabitants of Khaibar for the oath because they were Jews and the heirs of the victim did not have faith in them. Thus, the Prophet (PBUH) himself made the payment of the blood money to the heirs of the victim.