عَنْ أبي هُرَيْرَةَ رضي اللّه عَنْهُ أنَّهُ سَمِعَ رَسُولَ اللّهِ صَلّى اللّهُ عَلَيْهِ وسَلَّم يَقُولُ: «كانَتِ امْرَأتَان مَعهُمَا ابْناهُما، جَاءَ الذِّئْبُ فَذَهَبَ بابنِ إحْداهُما، فقالت لصاحِبتهَا: إنَّمَا ذهَبَ بابنِكِ، وقالت الأخْرى: إنَّمَا ذَهَبَ بابنِك، فَتَحَاكما إلى داوُودَ صَلّى اللّهُ عَلَيْهِ وسَلَّم، فَقَضَى بِهِ للْكُبْرَى، فَخَرَجتَا على سُلَيْمانَ بنِ داودَ صَلّى اللّهُ عَلَيْهِ وسَلَّم، فأخبرتَاه، فقالَ: ائْتُوني بِالسِّكينَ أشَقُّهُ بَيْنَهُمَا، فقالت الصُّغْرى: لا تَفْعَلْ، رَحِمكَ اللّه، هُو ابْنُهَا فَقَضَى بِهِ للصُّغْرَى» متفقٌ عليه.
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that he heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "There were two women, each with her son. A wolf came and carried off the son of one of them. She said to her companion: 'It has carried off your son,' and the other said: 'It has carried off your son.' So they took their dispute to Dawud (peace be upon him), and he ruled in favor of the elder. Then they went out to Sulayman ibn Dawud (peace be upon him) and told him. He said: 'Bring me the knife; I will cut him in two between them.' The younger one said: 'Do not do it — may Allah have mercy on you — he is her son.' So he ruled that the child was the younger woman's." Agreed upon (al-Bukhari and Muslim).
الدروس · lessons
دلت هذه القصة على أنّ الفطنة والفهم موهبة من اللّه تعالى لا تتعلق بكبر سن ولا صغره. عَلِمَ سُليمانُ أنَّ هذا الخوف على الولد لا يَصدُرُ إلَّا من أُمِّه، فحَكَمَ بالوَلَدِ لها. جواز حكم الأنبياء بالاجتهاد وإن كان وجود النص ممكنًا لديهم بالوحي، إذ لا يقرون على الباطل.
This story indicates that acumen and understanding are a gift from Allah (the Exalted), not tied to old age or youth. Sulayman knew that this fear for the child could only come from its true mother, so he ruled that the child was hers. The permissibility of the prophets ruling by ijtihad, even though the receiving of a text by revelation was possible for them, since they are not left to persist upon falsehood.