Matn Abī Shujāʿ - Abu Shuja' - (47)

of human beings are divided into three categories.

Cases for which nothing less than the testimony of two men is accepted. These are matters that do not concern wealth and are normally witnessed by men.
Cases in which the judge may accept either two male witnesses, or one male and two females, or one witness together with the claimant’s solemn oath. These are claims whose underlying purpose is financial.
Cases in which one male and two females, or four women alone, are sufficient. These involve matters that men do not ordinarily observe.

As for the rights of Allah Most High, women’s testimony is not accepted, and they too fall into three categories.

Matters that require no fewer than four witnesses, namely fornication (zina).
Matters for which two witnesses suffice, that is, the other prescribed penalties (hudud) apart from fornication.
Matters established by a single witness, namely the sighting of the Ramadan crescent.

The testimony of a blind person is admissible only in five situations: when establishing death, lineage, unrestricted ownership, translation (acting as an interpreter), anything he testified to before losing his sight, and testimony concerning an item placed under restraint.

Finally, testimony is not accepted from anyone whose statement would secure a personal benefit for himself or spare him a loss.

الآدميين فهي على ثلاثة أضرب ضرب لا يقبل فيه إلا شاهدان ذكران وهو ما لا يقصد منه المال ويطلع عليه الرجال وضرب يقبل فيه شاهدان أو رجل وامرأتان أو شاهد ويمين المدعي وهو ما كان القصد منه المال وضرب يقبل فيه رجل وامرأتان أو أربع نسوة وهو ما لا يطلع عليه الرجال وأما حقوق الله تعالى فلا تقبل فيها النساء وهي على ثلاثة أضرب ضرب لا يقبل فيه أقل من أربعة وهو الزنا وضرب يقبل فيه اثنان وهو ما سوى الزنا من الحدود وضرب يقبل فيه واحد وهو هلال رمضان ولا تقبل شهادة الأعمى إلا في خمسة مواضع: الموت والنسب والملك المطلق والترجمة وما شهد به قبل العمى وما شهد به على المضبوط ولا تقبل شهادة جار لنفسه نفعا ولا دافع عنها ضررا.