circles of the mosque, and he says: 'Whoever sees me, let him not testify falsely.' It was also narrated from (18) Abd al-Malik ibn Ya'la, the judge of Basra, that he ordered the shaving of the front halves of their heads, the blackening of their faces, and that they be paraded through the markets, along with the person for whom they testified. Our position is that this is mutilation (muthla), and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forbade mutilation (20). As for what was narrated from Umar, it has also been narrated from him to the contrary, that he imprisoned him for a day and then released him. In sum, there is no fixed legal punishment for this, so whatever the judge does based on what he deems appropriate (21), as long as it does not lead to violating a text or the implication of a text, he is permitted to do so. Nothing of this is to be carried out against him (22) until it is verified that he is indeed a false witness and that he did so intentionally, either by his own admission (23), or if he testifies against a man regarding an action in the Levant at a certain time, and it is known that the person testified against was in Iraq at that time, or he testifies to the killing of a man while he is still alive, or that this animal has been in the possession of this person for three years while its age is less than that, or he testifies against a man that he did something at a time when he had died before that time, or was not yet born until after it, and similar things by which his lying is ascertained and his intent to do so is known. As for the conflicting of two sets of evidence, or the appearance of his immorality (fisq), or his error in his testimony, he is not to be disciplined for this; because immorality does not prevent truthfulness, and from the conflict of two sets of evidence, it is not known which one is false, and error may occur to a truthful, upright person without it being intentional, so he is pardoned for it. Allah the Almighty has said: "And there is no blame upon you for that in which you have erred but [only for] what your hearts intended" (24). And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "My nation is forgiven for error, forgetfulness, [and what they are coerced into] (25)."

Section: Whenever it is known that the two witnesses testified falsely, it becomes clear that the judgment was void, and it is necessary to overturn it; because we have established their lying regarding what they testified to, and the invalidity of what was judged. If what was judged was property, it is returned to its owner. If it was the destruction of something, the two witnesses are liable for it; because they were the cause of its destruction, unless