I was sitting with the Prophet ﷺ when a man came leading another by a rope and said, "Messenger of Allah, this man killed my brother."The Messenger of Allah ﷺ asked, "Did you kill him?"The brother added, "If he had not confessed, I would have brought evidence against him."The accused said, "Yes, I killed him."The Prophet ﷺ asked, "How did you kill him?"He replied, "He and I were beating leaves off a tree for fodder. He insulted me and made me angry, so I struck him on the side of his head with the axe and killed him."The Prophet ﷺ said, "Do you have anything you can pay as ransom for yourself?"He answered, "I own nothing but my cloak and my axe."The Prophet ﷺ said, "Do you think your people would buy your freedom?"He replied, "I am too insignificant to my people for that."So the Prophet ﷺ tossed the rope back to the brother and said, "Take your man." The man led him away.When he had turned to go, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "If he kills him, he will be just like him."The man came back and said, "Messenger of Allah, I have been told that you said, 'If he kills him, he will be just like him.' I only seized him by your command."The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Do you not want him to bear your sin and the sin of your brother?"He said, "Prophet of Allah," and perhaps he said, "Yes."The Prophet ﷺ said, "Then that is how it will be."So he threw down the rope and let him go free.
إني لقاعد مع النبي ﷺ إذ جاء رجل يقود آخر بنسعة فقال: يا رسول الله! هذا قتل أخي. فقال رسول الله ﷺ: أقتلته؟ فقال: إنه لو لم يعترف أقمت عليه لبينة- قال: نعم قتلته. قال: كيف قتلته؟ قال: كنت أنا وهو نختبط من شجرة، فسبني فأغضبني، فضربته بالفأس على قرنه فقتلته. فقال له النبي ﷺ: هل لك من شيء تؤديه عن نفسك؟ قال: ما لي مال إلا كسائي وفأسي. قال: فترى قومك يشترونك؟ قال: أنا أهون على قومي من ذاك. فرمى إليه بنسعته وقال: دونك صاحبك فانطلق به الرجل. فلما ولى قال رسول الله ﷺ: إن قتله فهو مثله فرجع فقال: يا رسول الله، إنه بلغني أنك قلت: إن قتله فهو مثله، وأخذته بأمرك. فقال رسول الله ﷺ: أما تريد أن يبوء بإثمك وإثم صاحبك؟ قال: يا نبي الله- لعله قال: بلى، قال: فإن ذاك كذاك قال: فرمي بنسعته وخلي سبيله.
Muslim narrated it in the Book of Qasamah (1680:32), from Ubaydullah bin Muaz Anbari, who said, my father narrated to us, who said, Abu Yunus narrated to us, from Simak bin Harb, from Alqama bin Waail, who narrated to him that his father narrated to him, and he mentioned it.His saying, "So do you see your people ransoming you?" means, you are now in the hands of the guardians of the slain man, so they have the right to kill you, imprison you, or pardon you, and the question is whether your people are able to ransom you from the hands of the guardians of the slain man for whatever price they demand.