I was sitting with the Prophet ﷺ when a man came leading another by a leather strap. He said, "Messenger of Allah, this man killed my brother."The Messenger of Allah ﷺ asked him, "Did you kill him?"The brother said, "If he does not confess, I will produce 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, and he insulted me and angered me, so I struck him on the side of his head with an axe and killed him."The Prophet ﷺ said to him, "Do you have anything you can offer as ransom for yourself?"He said, "I have no wealth except my cloak and my axe."The Prophet ﷺ said, "Do you think your people would pay to ransom you?"He replied, "I am of less worth to my people than that."So the Prophet ﷺ threw the strap 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,' yet I only took him by your order."The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Do you not wish that he should bear your sin and the sin of your companion?"He said, "Prophet of Allah, perhaps."The Prophet ﷺ said, "Yes, that is how it is."So he threw down the strap and let him go.
حدثنا عبيد الله بن معاذ العنبري حدثنا أبي حدثنا أبو يونس عن سماك بن حرب أن
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 البينة 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 فرمى بنسعته وخلى سبيله