Book of Testimony
The basis for it is the Book (Quran), the Sunnah, consensus (ijma'), and analogy (i'tibar). As for the Book, it is the saying of Allah Almighty: "And bring to witness two witnesses from among your men. And if there are not two men [available], then a man and two women from those whom you accept as witnesses" (Qur'an 2:282). And He also said: "And bring to witness two just men from among you" (Qur'an 65:2). And: "And bring witnesses when you conclude a contract" (Qur'an 2:282). As for the Sunnah, it is what Wa'il ibn Hujr narrated, saying: A man from Hadhramaut and a man from Kindah came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). The Hadhrami said: "O Messenger of Allah, this man has overpowered me regarding a piece of land of mine." The Kindi said: "It is my land, in my possession, and he has no right to it." The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to the Hadhrami: "Do you have evidence?" He said: "No." He said: "Then you have his oath." He said: "O Messenger of Allah, the man is a wicked person who does not care what he swears upon, and he does not abstain from anything." He said: "You have nothing from him except that." He said: The man then went to take the oath against him, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said when he turned away: "If he swears to take his property unjustly, he will surely meet Allah while He is averse to him." Al-Tirmidhi said: This is a hasan sahih (good and authentic) hadith. Muhammad ibn Ubayd Allah al-'Arzami narrated from 'Amr ibn Shu'ayb, from his father, from his grandfather, that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "The evidence is upon the claimant, and the oath is upon the defendant." Al-Tirmidhi said: This is a hadith in whose chain of narration there is some criticism, and al-'Arzami is weakened in hadith due to his memorization; Ibn al-Mubarak and others weakened him, but the people of knowledge have reached a consensus on this. Al-Tirmidhi said: The practice according to the people of knowledge among the companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is based on this.
(1) In [B] and [M]: "fi al-shahadat" (in testimonies). (2) Surah al-Baqarah: 282. (3) Surah al-Talaq: 2. (4) Its documentation has previously appeared in: 13/444. (5) In [M]: "al-'Azrami". (6) Its documentation has previously appeared in: 6/587. See also: 6/525, 10/530.
كتاب الشَّهادات
والأصلُ فيها (١) الكتابُ والسُّنَّةُ والإجْماعُ والعِبْرةُ، أمَّا الكتاب، فقولُ اللَّه تعالى: {وَاسْتَشْهِدُوا شَهِيدَيْنِ مِنْ رِجَالِكُمْ فَإِنْ لَمْ يَكُونَا رَجُلَيْنِ فَرَجُلٌ وَامْرَأَتَانِ مِمَّنْ تَرْضَوْنَ مِنَ الشُّهَدَاءِ} (٢). وقال تعالى: {وَأَشْهِدُوا ذَوَيْ عَدْلٍ مِنْكُمْ} (٣). {وَأَشْهِدُوا إِذَا تَبَايَعْتُمْ} (٢). وأمَّا السُّنَّةُ، فما رَوَى وائلُ بنُ حُجْرٍ، قال: جاءَ رجلٌ مِن حَضْرَمَوْتَ، ورجلٌ مِن كِنْدَة، إلى النَّبِىِّ -صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ-، فقالَ الحَضْرَمِىُّ: يا رسولَ اللهِ، إنَّ هذا غَلَبَنِى على أرْضٍ لى. فقال الكِنْدِىُّ: هى أرْضى، وفى يَدِى، وليس له فيها حَقٌّ. فقال النَّبِىُّ -صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ- للحَضْرَمِىِّ: "أَلَكَ بَيِّنَةٌ؟ ". قال: لا. قال: "فَلَكَ يَمِينُهُ". قال: يا رسولَ اللهِ، الرجلُ فاجِرٌ لا يُبالِى على ما حَلَفَ عليه، وليس يَتَورَّعُ مِن شىءٍ. قال: "لَيْسَ لَكَ مِنْهُ إِلَّا ذلِكَ". قال: فانْطَلقَ الرجلُ لِيَحْلِفَ له، فقال رسولُ اللهِ -صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ- لمَّا أدْبَر: "لَئِنْ حَلَفَ عَلَى مَالِهِ لِيَأْكُلَهُ ظُلْمًا، لَيَلْقَيَنَّ اللهَ وَهُوَ عَنْهُ مُعْرِضٌ". قال التِّرْمِذِىُّ (٤): هذا حديثٌ حسنٌ صحيحٌ. ورَوَى محمدُ بنُ عُبَيْدِ اللهِ العَرْزَمِىُّ (٥)، عن عمرِو بنِ شُعَيبٍ، عن أبيه، عن جَدِّه، أنَّ النَّبِىَّ -صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ- قالَ: "الْبَيِّنَةُ عَلَى المُدَّعِى، وَالْيَمِينُ عَلَى الْمُدَّعَى عَلَيْهِ" (٦). قال التِّرْمِذِىُّ: هذا حديثٌ فى إسنادِه مَقالٌ، والعَرْزَمِىُّ يُضعَّفُ فى الحديثِ من قِبَلِ حِفْظِه، ضعَّفَه ابنُ المُباركِ وغيرُه، إلَّا أنَّ أهلَ العلمِ أجْمَعوا على هذا. قال التِّرْمِذِىُّ: والعَملُ على هذا عندَ أهلِ العلمِ مِن أصْحابِ النَّبِىِّ -صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ-
(١) فى ب، م: "فى الشهادات".(٢) سورة البقرة ٢٨٢.(٣) سورة الطلاق ٢.(٤) تقدم تخريجه، فى: ١٣/ ٤٤٤.(٥) فى م: "العزرمى".(٦) تقدم تخريجه، فى: ٦/ ٥٨٧. وانظر: ٦/ ٥٢٥، ١٠/ ٥٣٠.
