45/19, 20: Chapter
Sunan an-Nasai 4764 — No Compensation for Aggressive Biting
Self-Defense
No Compensation for Biting: The Banu Tamim Dispute
Sunan an-Nasai : 4764
Sunan an-NasaiHadith Number 4764
أَخْبَرَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عُبَيْدِ بْنِ عَقِيلٍ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا جَدِّي، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا شُعْبَةُ، عَنِ الْحَكَمِ، عَنْ مُجَاهِدٍ، عَنْ يَعْلَى ابْنِ مُنْيَةَ، أَنَّ رَجُلاً، مِنْ بَنِي تَمِيمٍ قَاتَلَ رَجُلاً فَعَضَّ يَدَهُ فَانْتَزَعَهَا فَأَلْقَى ثَنِيَّتَهُ فَاخْتَصَمَا إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ " يَعَضُّ أَحَدُكُمْ أَخَاهُ كَمَا يَعَضُّ الْبَكْرُ " . فَأَطَلَّهَا أَىْ أَبْطَلَهَا .
Ya'la bin Munyah Narrated from:
A man from Banu Tamim fought with another man, and he bit his hand, so he pulled it away and a front tooth fell out. They referred the dispute to the Messenger of Allah, who said: "Would one of you bite his brother as a young camel bites?" and he thwarted it, meaning he judged it to be invalid.
Reference : Sunan an-Nasa'i 4764In-book reference : Book 45, Hadith 59English translation : Vol. 5, Book 45, Hadith 4768
Summary of Sunan an-Nasai Hadith 4764
This hadith about no compensation for biting mentions a man from Banu Tamim who fought another man and bit his hand. The bitten man pulled his hand away, and the biter's front tooth fell out. They took the dispute to the Messenger of Allah. He asked whether one of them would bite his brother as a young camel bites, and the report says he thwarted the claim, meaning he judged it invalid. The lesson stays close to the text. Biting another person's hand was the starting point of the harm. Pulling the hand away was the natural response to that bite. The Prophet's ruling shows that blood money was not owed for the tooth in this case.
What we learn from this hadith
- Biting another person's hand is treated as wrongful conduct in the report.
- The Prophet judged the tooth claim invalid.
- The ruling was tied to the biter's own action in the fight.
- The hadith guides people to settle disputes through judgment, not anger.
