[And no one among the Companions or others has said this] (14). If he intended by this actions that occur with mutual consent, such as a loan, receipt thereof, pledge, sale, separation, and the like, then it is permissible.
Section: If two witnesses are present for an account between two individuals (15) and they stipulate that they shall not preserve anything against them, the two witnesses may still testify to what they heard from them, and this is not invalidated by their condition (16); because the witness may testify to what he heard or knows, and that has already been acquired by him, whether he was asked to witness or heard it by chance. Likewise, they testify regarding contracts by their presence and regarding crimes by observing them, and they do not need to be asked to bear witness. This is the opinion of Ibn Sirin, Malik, al-Thawri, and al-Shafi'i.
Section: Rights are of two types. The first is a right belonging to a specific individual, such as financial rights, marriage, and other contracts and punishments, such as retaliation (qisas), the punishment for slander (qadhf), and an endowment (waqf) for a specific individual. Testimony regarding it is not heard except after a claim (da'wa), because the testimony therein is a right of an individual, so it cannot be fulfilled except after his demand and permission, and because it is an argument supporting a claim and proof for it, so it is not permissible for it to precede (17) it. The second type is that which is a right belonging to a non-specific individual, such as an endowment for the poor, the needy, all Muslims, or for a mosque, a water source, a public graveyard, or a bequest for anything of that nature, and the like; or that which is a right belonging to Allah Almighty, such as the fixed punishments (hudud) purely for Allah Almighty, zakat, or expiation. Testimony regarding these does not require a prior claim, because there is no specific individual claimant among humans who is entitled to it and demands it. For this reason, Abu Bakra and his companions testified against al-Mughira, and al-Jarud and Abu Hurayra testified against Qudama ibn Maz'un for drinking wine, and those who testified against al-Walid ibn Uqba for drinking wine also did so without a prior claim, so their testimony was accepted. For this reason, acceptance or consent from anyone is not considered in the initiation of an endowment. Likewise, matters that do not involve the right of either of the two disputing parties (18), such as the prohibition of a wife through divorce or zihar, or the manumission of a slave, are matters in which hisbah (bearing witness for the sake of God) is permissible, and a claim is not required. If two witnesses testify to the emancipation of a male or female slave,
(14) This appears in M after his saying: "Did he ask you to bear witness or not?" (15) In A: "two men". (16) In A and M: "their condition". (17) In the original: "its preceding". (18) Omitted from: the original.