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English translation
3518. It was narrated that Zaid bin Arqam said: "Three men were brought to 'Alī while he was in Yemen; they all had intercourse with a woman during a single menstrual cycle. He asked two of them: 'Do you affirm that this child belongs to (the third man)?' And they said: 'No.' He asked another two of them: 'Do you affirm that this child belongs to (the third man)?' And they said: 'No.' So he cast lots between them, and attributed the child to the one whom the lot fell, and obliged him to pay two-thirds of the Diyah.[1] The Prophet ﷺ was told of this, and he laughed so much that his back teeth became visible." (Da'if)
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Commentary
1. The original incident belonged to the period of ignorance, because in Islam three people's copulating with one woman in her single purity is not possible. Since prescribed legal punishment could not be meted out upon the deeds of the period of ignorance, therefore, solving this problem was required after the fact.
2. 'The one to whom the lot fell': when several individuals hold equal right, and if it cannot be given to everyone, then the matter is decided by drawing lots or performing sortilege.
3. 'He imposed two-thirds of the Diyah upon him' because they did not get the child. They were, therefore, given a sum of money.
4. 'He began to laugh': At the intellect of 'Alī ﷺ or at this wonderful incident.
