87/24. Chapter:
Sahih Bukhari 6903 — Ali’s Written Rulings on Diya and Captives
Al-‘Aqila who pay the Diya
Hadith About Ali’s Paper on Diya and Captives
Sahih Bukhari : 6903
Sahih BukhariHadith Number 6903
حَدَّثَنَا صَدَقَةُ بْنُ الْفَضْلِ، أَخْبَرَنَا ابْنُ عُيَيْنَةَ، حَدَّثَنَا مُطَرِّفٌ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ الشَّعْبِيَّ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ أَبَا جُحَيْفَةَ، قَالَ سَأَلْتُ عَلِيًّا ـ رضى الله عنه ـ هَلْ عِنْدَكُمْ شَىْءٌ مَا لَيْسَ فِي الْقُرْآنِ وَقَالَ مَرَّةً مَا لَيْسَ عِنْدَ النَّاسِ فَقَالَ وَالَّذِي فَلَقَ الْحَبَّ وَبَرَأَ النَّسَمَةَ مَا عِنْدَنَا إِلاَّ مَا فِي الْقُرْآنِ، إِلاَّ فَهْمًا يُعْطَى رَجُلٌ فِي كِتَابِهِ، وَمَا فِي الصَّحِيفَةِ. قُلْتُ وَمَا فِي الصَّحِيفَةِ قَالَ الْعَقْلُ، وَفِكَاكُ الأَسِيرِ، وَأَنْ لاَ يُقْتَلَ مُسْلِمٌ بِكَافِرٍ.
Ash-Sha'bi Narrated from:
I heard Abu Juhaifa saying, "I asked `Ali 'Have you got any Divine literature apart from the Qur'an?' (Once he said...apart from what the people have?) `Ali replied, 'By Him Who made the grain split (germinate) and created the soul, we have nothing except what is in the Qur'an and the ability (gift) of understanding Allah's Book which He may endow a man with and we have what is written in this paper.'I asked, 'What is written in this paper?' He replied, 'Al-`Aql (the regulation of Diya), about the ransom of captives, and the Judgment that a Muslim should not be killed in Qisas (equality in punishment) for killing a disbeliever." (See Hadith No. 283, Vol. 4)
Reference : Sahih al-Bukhari 6903In-book reference : Book 87, Hadith 42USC-MSA web (English) reference : Vol. 9, Book 83, Hadith 40
Summary of Sahih Bukhari Hadith 6903
This Hadith about Ali’s paper answers a question about whether Ali had any special divine literature apart from the Qur’an. Ali swore that they had nothing except what is in the Qur’an, the understanding of Allah’s Book that Allah may give to a person, and what was written in a paper. When asked what was in the paper, he mentioned Al-Aql, meaning the regulation of Diya, the ransom of captives, and the judgment that a Muslim should not be killed in Qisas for killing a disbeliever. For readers searching Ali paper Diya hadith, the main message is that Ali pointed back to the Qur’an, understanding, and specific written rulings, not a hidden scripture.
What we learn from this hadith
- Ali denied having separate divine literature besides the Qur’an.
- He mentioned understanding of Allah’s Book as a gift Allah may give.
- The paper included rulings on Diya and ransom of captives.
- The Hadith records a specific judgment about Qisas in the case mentioned.
