The Shaykh said, “It is forbidden to mimic people merely to provoke laughter, and both the one who does it and the one who orders it should be disciplined, for such mockery is harm.”

I add: This prohibition applies to modern stage plays as well, and singing today has become an “art” whose performers are encouraged and applauded—lā ḥawla wa-lā quwwata illā bi-llāh (there is no might nor power except with Allah).

Whenever the impediments in a person are removed—so a boy reaches puberty, a madman regains his reason, a non-Muslim embraces Islam, or an open sinner repents—their testimony becomes admissible, for the barrier has fallen and the required conditions are met. Allah knows best.

Testimony is not accepted between direct ascendants and descendants—that is, fathers and grandfathers upward, and children and grandchildren downward—for one another. Thus the testimony of a father for his son, or a son for his father, is rejected because the closeness of the tie raises suspicion.

By contrast, a brother may testify for his brother, and a friend for his friend, for the Qur’anic verses are general and no suspicion attaches.

The testimony of either spouse on behalf of the other is likewise inadmissible, since each benefits from the other’s property and their close relationship heightens the likelihood of bias. Their testimony against one another, however, is accepted, in keeping with Allah’s words: “Stand firmly for justice, as witnesses for Allah, even against yourselves, your parents, or your kin” (Qur’an 4:135). Accordingly, if a person testifies against his father, his son, or his wife—or she testifies against him—the testimony is accepted.

Nor is the testimony accepted of someone who, by that testimony, stands to gain a personal benefit or avert