Who May Testify
These pages are about the witness, not the case. They cover who may testify, what disqualifies a witness, and the duty to give testimony or to withhold it. Hearsay, a witness who retracts, how many witnesses a claim needs, and testimony before a judge are covered here. False witness as a sin, and its expiation, belong under honesty and promises. The witnesses a specific contract requires stay with that contract. Settling the dispute itself belongs with disputes and arbitration. Every answer here is a sourced summary of a fatwa published on Ftawy, with the full ruling one tap away.
76 questions
Does the return of stolen goods constitute proof of theft in Islamic law, thus permitting an oath to be taken on it, especially since the law of the land considers the return of stolen goods as proof of theft?
Is it permissible for a woman to be a witness in contracts?
How can a woman's testimony be half of a man's testimony, given the possibility that a man may be less knowledgeable or of lower status than a woman, and are there cases in which a woman's testimony takes precedence over a man's?
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?