and the rejection of testimony are two rulings for slander, so they are both established by it, and the failure to fulfill one of them does not prevent the establishment of the other. Their saying that "it is only realized by lashing" is incorrect, because the lashing is the ruling for the slander whose realization was hindered; therefore, it is not carried out before the realization of the slander. How can it be permissible for a hadd to be carried out before its cause is realized, only to become realized thereafter (15)? This is invalid.

Section: As for the slanderer in the context of insults, his testimony and his narration are rejected until he repents. As for the witness to adultery, if the evidence is not complete, his narration is accepted, but not his testimony. It has been narrated from al-Shafi'i that his testimony is not rejected. Our argument is that Umar did not accept the testimony of Abu Bakrah and said to him: "Repent, and I will accept your testimony," yet his narration remained acceptable; and we know of no disagreement regarding the acceptance of the narration of Abu Bakrah, despite Umar rejecting his testimony.

1903 - Issue: He said: (And his repentance is that he declares himself a liar.)

The outward meaning of the words of Ahmad and al-Khiraqi is that the repentance of the slanderer is his declaring himself a liar, by saying: "I lied in what I said." This is the stated position of al-Shafi'i and the choice of al-Istakhri among his companions. Ibn Abd al-Barr said: Among those who stated this were Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib, 'Ata', Tawus, al-Sha'bi, Ishaq, Abu 'Ubayd, and Abu Thawr; this is based on what al-Zuhri narrated, from Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib, from Umar, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), that he said regarding His saying, the Exalted: "Except for those who repent after that and correct themselves, then indeed Allah is Forgiving, Merciful" (3). He said: "His repentance is his declaring himself a liar" (4). This is because the honor of the slandered person was stained by his slander, so his declaring himself a liar removes that stain, and thus repentance is achieved through it. The Qadi mentioned that if the slander was an insult, then repentance from it is to declare himself a liar; but if it was testimony, then repentance from it is to say: "The slander is forbidden and false, and I will not return to what I have said." This is the view of some of the companions of al-Shafi'i. He said: "This is the school of thought, because he might be truthful, so he is not ordered to lie, and the report is interpreted as an admission of falsehood, as it is a type of declaration of being a liar."