SECTION ON CLAIMS · 20 – WHEN THE JUDGE KNOWS THE TRUTHFULNESS, HE MAY JUDGE BASED ON THE TESTIMONY OF A SINGLE WITNESS
3607 – From ʿUmāra ibn Khuzayma, his uncle, who was among the Companions (ṣaḥāba) of the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him), said to him: The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) bought a horse from a Bedouin. He ordered the Bedouin to follow him so that he could pay him the price of the horse. The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) walked quickly, but the Bedouin lagged behind a little. Then, some people gathered around the Bedouin and began to bargain with him to buy his horse, not knowing that the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) had already purchased it. The Bedouin called out to the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him): "If you are going to buy this horse (at this price), then buy it; otherwise, I will sell it." When the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) heard the Bedouin's voice, he stood up and said: "Did I not buy this horse from you?" The Bedouin replied, "No, by Allah, I did not sell it to you." The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Yes, I did buy this horse from you." The Bedouin began to demand a witness. Thereupon, Khuzayma ibn Thābit turned to the Bedouin and said, "I bear witness that you sold this animal to the Prophet." The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) turned to Khuzayma and said, "On what basis do you bear witness?" Khuzayma replied, "O Messenger of Allah, I bear witness because Allah has affirmed your truthfulness." Upon this incident, the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) considered the testimony of Khuzayma equivalent to the testimony of two witnesses. [330]
EXPLANATION
The Bedouin from whom the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) bought the horse was Sawā ibn Ḥāris from the tribe of Murra. The name of the horse he purchased was Murtaqaz. Some of the hypocrites were instructing the Bedouin, urging him to annul the transaction. Ḥaḍrat Khuzayma testified because he believed that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would never lie, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) considered Khuzayma's testimony as equal to that of two witnesses. When Zayd ibn Thābit was compiling the Qur'an, he would require two witnesses for each verse (āya). He brought the last verses of Sūrat al-Tawba to Ḥaḍrat Khuzayma, and, considering his testimony as equal to two witnesses, did not seek any other witness.