Al-Sharḥ al-Mumtiʿ - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (15/398)

Al-Sharḥ al-MumtiʿIbn al-'Uthaymin

when two witnesses have borne testimony concerning a right owed by Zayd, then one of them gives his testimony and the second is asked to testify, but says to the claimant: “Your oath together with the witness is sufficient, for judgment may be given in financial matters on the basis of one witness and an oath.” Is it lawful for the second witness to say to the claimant, “You have a witness, so swear along with him, and judgment will be given in your favor on the basis of your oath”? We say: It is not lawful for him to refrain from giving testimony, due to the general import of Allah’s saying: “Whoever conceals it, his heart is indeed sinful” [al-Baqarah: 283].

There is also another condition which the author did not mention: the testimony must be acceptable to the judge. If it is not acceptable, then he is not required either to undertake the testimony or to give it. Thus, if a father asks his son to testify concerning a right owed to him, the son is not required to testify for him, because his testimony is not accepted by the judge; a child’s testimony in favor of his father is not accepted. The reverse likewise applies: if the son says to his father, “Come and testify,” the father is not required to testify, because his testimony is not accepted. Thus, there is no benefit in such testimony.

Similarly, if a person is known for open sin, and the judge will reject his testimony—for example, one who shaves his beard, where this judge is known to reject the testimony of one who shaves his beard—and someone comes to him and says, “Come and testify,” is he required to do so or not? He is not required to do so. If the claimant says to him, “Come and testify,” he may say, “I am not required to do so, because if I testified before the judge, he would not accept me, since I shave my beard.” The claimant may then say to him, “Testify; perhaps Allah will grant you repentance and you will let your beard grow.” Would he then be required to do so? The answer is that this is possible, and we say: he is obliged to let his beard grow, whether his testimony is accepted or not. But this man does not let his beard grow, so perhaps we may say: if the testimony is immediate, such that if a person were to repent, he would not

لو شهد شاهدان على زيد بحق، ثم أدى شاهد الشهادة، وطُلب من الثاني أن يشهد، فقال لصاحب الحق: يكفي يمينك مع الشاهد؛ لأنه يُقضى في المال بالشاهد واليمين، فهل يحل للشاهد الثاني أن يقول لصاحب الحق: عندك شاهد، واحلف معه، وسيقضى لك بيمينك؟ نقول: لا يحل له أن يمتنع عن الشهادة؛ لعموم قوله تعالى: ﴿وَمَنْ يَكْتُمْهَا فَإِنَّهُ آثِمٌ قَلْبُهُ﴾ [البقرة: ٢٨٣]. ويشترط ـ أيضاً ـ شرط لم يذكره المؤلف، وهو أن تكون الشهادة مقبولة لدى الحاكم، فإن لم تكن مقبولة لم يلزمه أن يشهد لا تحملاً ولا أداء، فلو طلب الأب من ابنه أن يشهد له بحق فإنه لا يلزمه أن يشهد له؛ لأن شهادته غير مقبولة عند الحاكم، فإن شهادة الولد لوالده لا تقبل، وكذلك العكس لو قال الولد لأبيه: تعال اشهد، فإنه لا يلزم الوالد أن يشهد؛ وذلك لأن شهادته غير مقبولة، فلا فائدة من الشهادة. وكذلك لو كان معروفاً بالفسق، وأن القاضي سيرد شهادته، كحالق اللحية ـ مثلاً ـ بحيث يُعرف هذا القاضي بردِّ شهادة حالق اللحية، وجاء إنسان وقال: تعال اشهد، فهل يلزمه أو لا؟ لا يلزمه، فإذا قال له صاحب الحق: تعال اشهد، قال: ما يلزمني؛ لأنني لو شهدت عند القاضي ما قبلني؛ لأني حالق اللحية، فقال له صاحب الحق: اشهد لعل الله يتوب عليك وتوفر لحيتك، فهل يلزمه حينئذٍ؟ الجواب: الاحتمال وارد، ونقول: يلزمه الإعفاء، سواء قبلت شهادته أم لم تقبل، لكن هذا الرجل غير معفٍ لحيته، فربما نقول: إذا كانت الشهادة فورية بحيث لو تاب الإنسان لم