أَخْبَرَنِي مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْمُثَنَّی قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَی بْنُ سَعِيدٍ قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا سَعِيدٌ عَنْ قَتَادَةَ عَنْ الْحَسَنِ عَنْ قَيْسِ بْنِ عُبَادٍ قَالَ انْطَلَقْتُ أَنَا وَالْأَشْتَرُ إِلَی عَلِيٍّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ فَقُلْنَا هَلْ عَهِدَ إِلَيْکَ نَبِيُّ اللَّهِ صَلَّی اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ شَيْئًا لَمْ يَعْهَدْهُ إِلَی النَّاسِ عَامَّةً قَالَ لَا إِلَّا مَا کَانَ فِي کِتَابِي هَذَا فَأَخْرَجَ کِتَابًا مِنْ قِرَابِ سَيْفِهِ فَإِذَا فِيهِ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ تَکَافَأُ دِمَاؤُهُمْ وَهُمْ يَدٌ عَلَی مَنْ سِوَاهُمْ وَيَسْعَی بِذِمَّتِهِمْ أَدْنَاهُمْ أَلَا لَا يُقْتَلُ مُؤْمِنٌ بِکَافِرٍ وَلَا ذُو عَهْدٍ بِعَهْدِهِ مَنْ أَحْدَثَ حَدَثًا فَعَلَی نَفْسِهِ أَوْ آوَی مُحْدِثًا فَعَلَيْهِ لَعْنَةُ اللَّهِ وَالْمَلَائِکَةِ وَالنَّاسِ أَجْمَعِينَ
سنن نسائی · Hadith 4749
It was narrated that Qais bin ‘Ubad said: “Al-Ashtar and I went to ‘All, may Allah be pleased with him, and said: ‘Did the Prophet of Allah صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم tell you anything that he did not tell to all the people?’ He said: ‘No, except what is in this letter of mine.’ He brought out a letter from the sheath of his sword and it said therein: ‘The lives of the believers are equal in value, and they are one against others, and they hasten to support the asylum granted by the least of them. But no believer may be killed in return for a disbeliever, nor one with a covenant while his covenant is in effect. Whoever commits an offense then the blame is on himself, and whoever gives sanctuary to an offender, then upon him will be the curse of Allah, the angels and all the people.” (Sahih)
Translated by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan · Reviewed by Islamic University of Madinah · Published March 2020