This is based on the Prophet’s ﷺ saying: “Shall I not tell you of the best of witnesses? It is the one who brings his testimony before he is asked for it.” (1) This indicates the merit of one who testifies before being asked to do so.

The correct view is that the matter requires distinction. If the person in whose favor testimony is to be given is unaware of the testimony, then the witness should give it even if he has not been asked. For example, a witness may have heard the person against whom testimony is to be given make an admission, while the person in whose favor it is given is unaware of it. He may have admitted in the witness’s presence that so-and-so has a claim against me for such-and-such, or that the property in my possession belongs to so-and-so, or the like. If the person in whose favor testimony is to be given does not know of this, then, when one knows that the case has reached the court, he must testify and convey the testimony, lest that person’s right be lost.

But if the person in whose favor testimony is to be given knows of it and remembers it, the witness should not testify until he is asked for the testimony. For if he hastens to do so, he may be suspected of excessive partiality toward the person in whose favor he testifies, or hostility toward the person against whom he testifies.

As for the hadith censuring people who testify without being asked to do so, it need not refer specifically to delivering testimony. It is possible that its meaning is that they testify without having witnessed the matter, in which case it describes them as giving false testimony. There is no doubt that false testimony is among the gravest of major sins. This is the intended meaning of the Prophet’s ﷺ words: “They give testimony without being asked to do so.” As for his ﷺ words, “They give testimony before being asked to do so,” they are to be understood in light of his ﷺ words, “They give testimony without being asked to do so.” Thus, the distinction we have mentioned is the correct one.