He also said, “Where necessity compels it—such as in the case of detainees, mishaps that occur among Bedouins, or among close-knit communities in which no upright person can be found—the testimony of those known to be truthful may be accepted even though they do not fully observe the prescribed limits.”

The jurists, may Allah have mercy on them, hold that two qualities are essential for uprightness:

1. Performing the obligatory duties—that is, the five daily prayers and the Friday prayer together with their regular Sunnah rites. Accordingly, the testimony of anyone who habitually neglects the regular Sunnah prayers or the witr (odd-numbered night) prayer is not admissible. Imām Aḥmad, may Allah have mercy on him, said of a man who consistently abandons the Sunnah prayers, “He is a wicked man; persistent neglect shows aversion to the Sunnah and casts suspicion upon him.”

   Just as fulfilling the obligations is required, so too is abstaining from what is forbidden: he must avoid major sins and must not persist in minor ones. Allah has forbidden accepting the testimony of a slanderer, and by analogy every perpetrator of a major sin is likewise disqualified. A major sin is one that incurs a prescribed punishment in this world or a threatened punishment in the Hereafter—such as consuming usury, bearing false witness, fornication, theft, drinking intoxicants, and the like. In short, the testimony of an openly sinful person is not accepted.

2. Observing muruʾah (social probity and decency), which means doing what adorns and befits a person—generosity, good manners, and kind treatment of neighbors—while avoiding what custom regards as base and degrading, such as singing for frivolous entertainment or playing the buffoon who makes people laugh with silly words or antics.