and acting upon it, regardless of whether it agrees with analogy or contradicts it.

1892 - Issue: He said: (And their testimony is not permissible in anything other than that.)

The school of Abu 'Abd Allah is that the testimony of the People of the Book is not accepted regarding anything against a Muslim or a non-Muslim, other than what we have mentioned. Approximately twenty people have narrated this from him. Among those who said their testimony is not accepted are: al-Hasan, Ibn Abi Layla, al-Awza'i, Malik, al-Shafi'i, and Abu Thawr. Hanbal reported from Ahmad that the testimony of some of them against others (1) is accepted. Al-Khallal declared him to have erred in this narration, as did his companion Abu Bakr, who said: "This is undoubtedly an error." Ibn Hamid said: "Rather, the issue involves two narrations." Abu Hafs al-Barmaki (2) said: The testimony of captives for one another is accepted regarding lineage if one of them claims that the other is his brother. The first position is the school's doctrine, and it is apparent that whoever narrated otherwise is mistaken. A group of scholars held that the testimony of some of them against others is accepted, then they differed; some of them said: Disbelief in its entirety is a single creed, so the testimony of a Jew against a Christian and a Christian against a Jew is accepted. This is the view of Hammad, Sawwar, al-Thawri, al-Batti, and Abu Hanifah and his companions. From Qatadah, al-Hakam, Abu 'Ubayd, and Ishaq, it is narrated: The testimony of each creed against its own is accepted, but the testimony of a Jew against a Christian or a Christian against a Jew is not accepted. It is narrated from al-Zuhri and al-Sha'bi as in our view and as in their view. They argued by what was narrated from (3) Jabir, that the Prophet (peace and blessings of God be upon him) permitted the testimony of the People of the Dhimma against one another. It was narrated by Ibn Majah (4). Furthermore, because some of them have authority over others, the testimony of some of them against others is accepted, like the Muslims. Our evidence is the statement of God, the Exalted: {And bring to witness two just men from among you} (5). And He, the Exalted, said: {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} (6). The disbeliever is not a just person, nor is he from us, nor from our men, nor