he is liable, for he could have secured his brother’s right but chose not to; therefore indemnity becomes binding upon him, just as it would if he had been able to rescue him from destruction yet failed to do so… End of Ibn al-Qayyim’s words.

For the assumption and delivery of testimony to be obligatory, the witness must be safe from harm. If taking or giving testimony would expose him to injury—whether to his person, his reputation, his property, or his family—the obligation lapses. Allah the Exalted says, “Let no scribe be harmed, nor any witness” (Qur’an 2:282), and the Prophet ﷺ declared, “There is to be neither harm nor reciprocating harm.” Allah knows best.

The witness is also required to have actual knowledge of what he testifies to; it is unlawful for him to testify on the basis of conjecture. Allah says, “Do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge” (Qur’an 17:36), and, “None bear witness to the truth except those who know” (Qur’an 43:86)—meaning that he must testify with insight and certainty. Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with them both) reported that the Prophet ﷺ was asked about testimony. He replied, “Do you see the sun?” The man said, “Yes.” The Prophet said, “Testify with a clarity like that, or refrain.” Al-Khallāl transmitted it in his Jāmiʿ. Al-Bayhaqī remarked that it does not come through a dependable chain, but Ibn Ḥajar said, “Its meaning, however, is sound.”

Such knowledge is acquired in one of three ways:

1. Hearing the matter directly from the party concerned, in which case he testifies to what he heard;
2. Seeing the event himself, in which case he testifies to what he saw; or
3. Receiving the information through widespread, recurrent transmission (istifāḍa) in matters that are ordinarily impossible to establish otherwise—such as lineage or death. Even then, he may not rely on istifāḍa unless it reaches him from so many people that it yields certainty.