A man bought a piece of land from another man, and the one who bought the land found in his land a jar containing gold

A man bought a piece of land from another man, and the one who bought the land found in his land a jar containing gold

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: "A man bought a piece of land from another man, and the one who bought the land found in his land a jar containing gold. The one who bought the land said to the other: 'Take your gold. I only bought the land; I did not buy the gold.' The one who owned the land said: 'I sold you the land along with everything in it.' So they turned to a man seeking his judgment. The person they sought his judgment said to both of them: 'Do you have any children?' One of them said: 'I have a son.' The other said: 'I have a daughter.' He said: 'Marry the boy to the girl, spend it on their living expenses and give charity.’"

[Authentic hadith] [Al-Bukhari and Muslim with multiple versions]

Explanation

The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) tells us that a man bought a piece of land from another man and the buyer found gold in it. Out of his strong religious prudence, he returned the gold to the seller because he bought the land, but not the gold. The seller also refused to take it out of his caution and religious prudence, and because he sold the land with everything in it. So, they sought legal settlement and they told the one who judged between them to send someone to take the gold and place it wherever he saw fit. The man refused but asked them if they had children. One of them said that he had a son and the other said he had a daughter. So, he suggested to them to marry the young man to the girl and to use some of the gold for their living expenses and to give some of it in charity.

Categories

Judiciary, Praiseworthy Morals