(35) باب مَنْ أَحَقُّ بِالْوَلَدِ
Hilal ibn Usamah quoted Abu Maimunah Salma, client of the people of Medina, as saying:
While I was sitting with AbuHurayrah, a Persian woman came to him along with a son of hers. She had been divorced by her husband and they both claimed him. She said: AbuHurayrah, speaking to him in Persian, my husband wishes to take my son away. AbuHurayrah said: Cast lots for him, saying it to her in a foreign language. Then her husband came and asked: Who is disputing with me about my son? AbuHurayrah said: O Allah, I do not say this, except that I heard a woman who came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) while I was sitting with him, and she said: My husband wishes to take away my son, Messenger of Allah, and he draws water for me from the well of AbuInabah, and he has been good to me. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Cast lots for him. Her husband said: Who is disputing with me about my son? The Prophet (ﷺ) said: This is your father and this your mother, so take whichever of them you wish by the hand. So he took his mother's hand and she went away with him.
Reference: Sunan Abi Dawud 2277
In-book reference: Book 13, Hadith 103
English translation: Book 12, Hadith 2270