Is the testimony of a woman unacceptable in cases of Hudud and Qisas due to the presence of a doubt that would avert the prescribed punishment? And is this a matter of scholarly consensus or dispute? What is the ruling if the sole witnesses to a crime – theft, murder, rape – committed by a man in a place designated for women, are only women? Would the prescribed punishment be applied, or only a discretionary punishment? Is there an exception for such cases, and what is its evidence?
The testimony of women alone is not accepted in cases of hudud (punishments prescribed by Islamic law) and diyah (blood money) according to the four Imams, and this is the view of the majority. However, Az-Zuhri, Al-Awza'i, and Ibn Hazm held that it is accepted, citing the generality of the verse from Surat Al-Baqarah: "{And if there are not two men [available], then a man and two women}." Ibn Taymiyyah, however, held that the testimony of women is accepted in cases of hudud and injuries out of necessity if they gather and there are no men, such as their gathering in bathhouses and weddings, because there is no text that prevents this. The testimony of women alone is also accepted in matters that men do not usually witness, such as childbirth and breastfeeding.
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