SECTION OF LEGAL MATTERS · 27 – How to Make a Non-Muslim Swear an Oath
Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said to the Jews: “I ask you, by swearing to the God who revealed the Torah to Moses, what do you find in the Torah regarding the punishment for one who commits adultery?”
It was narrated on the same chain of narration as the preceding hadith, from Zuhri.
According to the narration of Ikrimah (may Allah be pleased with him), the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “I remind you, O Ibn-i Suriya (of the Jewish scholars), of Him who delivered you from the lineage of Pharaoh, who cleaved the sea for you, who provided shade over you with a cloud, and sent down to you sweet dates and quail meat, and revealed the Torah to Moses. Do you find in the Torah a ruling regarding stoning adulterers?” Ibn-i Suriya said: “You have reminded me of something very great (I swear an oath), and it is not possible for me to lie to you.” The narrator continued relating the hadith.
*Explanation:* A group of Jews came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said, "O Muhammad, how do you judge regarding a man and woman who commit adultery?" The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) then commanded, “Bring me someone knowledgeable among you.” They brought Ibn-i Suriya. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) swore an oath to him and asked if he could find the verse regarding stoning in the Torah. Ibn-i Suriya was compelled to tell the truth and confessed that the ruling of stoning existed in the Torah.