al-Moulakhas al-Fiqhi - Salih Al-Fawzan - (2/653)

To establish the remaining prescribed punishments (ḥudūd) other than the ḥadd for adultery—such as the ḥadd for slanderous accusation (qadhf), the ḥadd for intoxicants, and the punishments for theft, highway robbery, and retaliatory retribution (qiṣāṣ)—the testimony of two men is sufficient, and women’s testimony is not admissible for these cases.

With regard to matters that are neither punitive nor financial, are not undertaken for financial gain, and are ordinarily witnessed by men—such as marriage, divorce, and the revocation of a revocable divorce (rajʿah)—the testimony of two men is accepted. Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah and his student Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on them both, held that women’s testimony should also be accepted in the case of revocation, because it is easier for them to be present at that moment than at the drafting of written documents.

In matters of property and whatever aims at property—such as a sale, a deferred term, a lease, and the like—either the testimony of two men, or of one man and two women, is accepted. This follows Allah’s words: “Call to witness two witnesses from among your men; but if there are not two men, then one man and two women” (Q 2:282). The context of this noble verse makes clear that it pertains specifically to financial transactions.

The eminent scholar Ibn al-Qayyim, d. 751 AH, said: “The Muslims are unanimously agreed that in monetary cases the testimony of one man together with two women is admissible, and the same applies to all related issues: a sale, stipulating its term of deferment, the option to cancel, pledges, a bequest to a specified individual, gifting to him, endowment in his favor, guarantees of funds, destruction of property, a claim to the enslavement of someone of unknown lineage, naming the dower, and specifying the compensation in khulʿ.” End quote.

The wisdom—Allah knows best—behind accepting a woman’s testimony in financial matters is that such dealings are frequent and are usually witnessed by both men and women; accordingly, the Sacred Law made the evidentiary requirement in this domain more accommodating.

ويقبل لإثبات بقية الحدود غير حد الزنى كحد القذف وحد المسكر والسرقة وقطع الطريق والقصاص رجلان، ولا تقبل فيها شهادة النساء. وما ليس بعقوبة ولا مال ولا يقصد به المال ويطلع عليه الرجال غالبا؛ كنكاح وطلاق ورجهة؛ يقبل فيها رجلان، واختار شيخ الإسلام ابن تيمية وتلميذه ابن القيم رحمهما الله قبول شهادة النساء على الرجعة؛ لأن حضورهن عند الرجعة أيسر من حضورهن عند كتابة الوثائق. ويقبل في المال وما يقصد به المال؛ كالبيع، والأجل، والإجارة ... ونحو ذلك؛ يقبل فيها رجلان، أو رجل وامرأتان؛ لقوله تعالى: ﴿وَاسْتَشْهِدُوا شَهِيدَيْنِ مِنْ رِجَالِكُمْ فَإِنْ لَمْ يَكُونَا رَجُلَيْنِ فَرَجُلٌ وَامْرَأَتَان﴾ ، وسياق الآية الكريمة يدل على اختصاص ذلك بالأموال. قال العلامة ابن القيم ﵀: "اتفق المسلمون على أنه يقبل في الأموال رجل وامرأتان، وكذا توابعها من البيع والأجل فيه والخيار فيه والرهن والوصية للمعين وهبته والوقف عليه وضمان المال وإتلافه ودعوى رق مجهول النسب وتسمية المهر وتسمية عوض الخلع" انتهى. والحكمة والله أعلم في قبول شهادة المرأة في المال؛ أنه تكثر فيه المعاملة، ويطلع عليه الرجال والنساء غالبا، فوسع الشرع في باب ثبوته.