Thus, in every case that entails a fixed legal punishment, we do not require the person to swear an oath. As for that which entails discretionary punishment, if it concerns a right owed to Allah, no oath is required; but if it concerns a human right, we may require an oath. An example of a right owed to Allah is when someone is told, “You flirted with a woman.” Flirting with a woman entails discretionary punishment, not a fixed legal punishment. If he says, “I never flirted,” we do not require him to swear an oath. However, if she herself alleges that he did so, we may require him to swear an oath, since a human right is involved.

His statement: “The denier is required to swear an oath regarding every human right”—whether involving sale, purchase, lease, endowment, mortgage, or anything else. In all human rights, the denier is required to swear an oath. The evidence for this is the statement of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him: “The evidence is upon the claimant, and the oath is upon the one who denies.” (1) The hadith indicates that what is meant is human rights, for there is no claimant and defendant except in matters involving human rights. The author then made the following exceptions:

“Except marriage, divorce, resumption of marriage, abstention from marital relations by oath, the original status of slavery, clientage, a slave-woman’s bearing a child to her master, lineage, retaliatory punishment, and accusation of unlawful sexual intercourse.” These are ten matters that they excluded, though there is scholarly disagreement concerning them. However, the established position of the school is that they are exceptions.

First: marriage. Who is it that claims marriage? It was previously mentioned that if a woman claims marriage merely for the sake of establishing the marriage itself, her claim is not heard at all. But if she claims it in order to seek a bridal gift or maintenance, her claim is heard, though it is accepted only with evidence. Thus, if she claims