A story about a cow that killed a donkey.


It is narrated that two men came to the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his progeny). One of them said, "O Messenger of God! This man's cow has killed my donkey. Judge between us in this matter."


The Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his progeny) said, "Go to Abu Bakr so that he may judge."


They went to Abu Bakr and told him their story. Abu Bakr said, "Why have you come to me instead of going to the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his progeny)?"


They said, "We did go to him, and he sent us to you."


Abu Bakr said, "An animal has killed another animal. The owner of the animal that killed is not responsible for anything!"


They returned to the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his progeny) and told him of Abu Bakr's judgment.


The Prophet (peace be upon him and his progeny) said, "Go to Umar ibn al-Khattab so that he may judge in this matter."


They went to Umar and told him the story. He said, "Why have you come here instead of going to the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his progeny)?"


They said, "We went to the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his progeny), and he sent us to you."


Umar said, "Why didn't the Prophet (peace be upon him and his progeny) send you to Abu Bakr?"


They said, "He did send us to him as well."


Umar said, "What did he say?"


They said, "Abu Bakr said, 'An animal has killed another animal, and the owner of the animal that killed is not responsible for anything.'"


Umar said, "In my opinion, it is exactly as Abu Bakr said!"


They returned to the presence of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his progeny) and told him the whole story.


The Prophet (peace be upon him and his progeny) said to them, "Go to Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) so that he may judge in this case."


They went to Ali (peace be upon him) and told him the story.


Ali (peace be upon him) said, "If the cow went into the stable or the place of the donkey and killed it, then the owner of the cow must pay the value of the donkey to its owner. But if the donkey went into the stable or the place of the cow and the cow killed it, then the owner of the cow is not responsible for anything."


The two men returned to the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his progeny) and told him how Ali (peace be upon him) had judged.


The Prophet (peace be upon him and his progeny) said: "Laqad qada Ali ibn Abi Talib baynakum bi qada'illahi 'azzat ismuh." (Ali ibn Abi Talib has judged between you with the judgment of God,Almighty is His Name.)


Then he said, "All praise and thanks are due to God, who has placed among us, the Household of Prophethood, a man who judges according to the tradition of Prophet David (peace be upon him)."