Chapter: On Legal Claims and Evidentiary Proofs

1. The term “claims” (daʿawā) is the plural of daʿwā, which in ordinary Arabic means “a request or demand.” Allah the Exalted says, “And they shall have whatever they ask” (Q 36:57), meaning: whatever they request and desire.

2. In juristic usage, a claim is a person’s attribution to himself of the right to something that lies in another’s possession or is owed by him.

3. “Evidences” (bayyināt) is the plural of bayyina, literally “a clear sign.” In practice it denotes anything that establishes the truth—such as the testimony of witnesses or an oath.

4. The scholar Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy upon him) said: “In the Law, a bayyina is whatever clarifies and manifests the truth. Allah, exalted be He, has appointed upon the truth signs and indicators that point to it and make it plain. Whoever discounts these signs and indicators entirely will have rendered many rulings inoperative and squandered numerous rights …” End of quote.

5. The distinction between the plaintiff (al-muddaʿī) and the defendant (al-muddaʿā ʿalayh) is as follows: the plaintiff is the one who, were he to fall silent, would be left alone—he is the one making the demand; the defendant is the one who, were he to fall silent, would not be left alone—he is the one from whom the demand is made.