completeness cannot be divided, so the slave does not enter into it, just as in inheritance. Al-Sha'bi, al-Nakha'i, and al-Hakam said: It is accepted in small matters. Our argument is the generality of the verses on testimony, and he is included in it, for he is one of our men, and he is a person of integrity whose narration, legal opinions (fatawa), and religious reports are accepted. Uqbah ibn al-Harith reported that he married Umm Yahya bint Abi Ihab, and a black slave woman came and said: "I have breastfed both of you." I mentioned this to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and he said: "How, when she has claimed that?" (Agreed upon) (2). In a narration by Abu Dawud: I said: "O Messenger of Allah, she is a liar." He said: "And what makes you know, when she has said what she said? Leave her aside." Also, because he is a person of integrity who is not accused of bias, his testimony is accepted, just like a free person. We do not concede that he lacks high moral standing; for like a free person, they are divided into those who have moral standing and those who do not, and among them may be leaders, scholars, righteous people, and the pious. Iyas ibn Mu'awiyah was asked about the testimony of a slave (3), and he said: "I would reject the testimony of Abd al-Aziz ibn Suhayb (4)!" Among them was Ziyad, the freed slave of [Ibn Ayyash] (5), who was one of the pious, ascetic scholars, and Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz used to hold him in high esteem and honor him. Among them was Ikrimah, the freed slave of Ibn Abbas, one of the trustworthy scholars. Many of the scholars among the mawali (freed slaves) were slaves or the children of slaves, and manumission produced nothing in them except freedom, and freedom does not change one's nature, nor does it create knowledge, [nor religion] (6), nor moral standing; only those with moral standing have their testimony accepted. It is not correct to make an analogy between testimony and inheritance, [for inheritance] (7) is a succession of the deceased in his property and rights, and a slave cannot succeed because what he acquires is owned by his master, so it is impossible for him to be a successor (8). Furthermore, inheritance implies transfer of ownership, and a slave does not own, whereas the foundation of testimony is upon integrity (adalah), which is the presumption of truthfulness and the attainment of trust from speech. A slave is qualified for this, so it is obligatory that his testimony be accepted.