he is required to take an oath. Should he refuse to swear in a case involving bodily injury short of homicide, the retaliation (qiṣāṣ) is carried out against him; if he refuses in a case of homicide, he is imprisoned until he either confesses or swears. Abū Yūsuf and Muḥammad hold that in both situations he is simply kept in custody.

When the claimant says, “My witnesses are present,” the judge tells the defendant, “Give him a personal guarantor for three days.” If the defendant does so, that suffices; otherwise the judge orders him to remain in the claimant’s company—unless the claimant is a traveler passing through, in which case the defendant need only stay for the length of the court session.

If the defendant pleads, “So-and-so, who is absent, entrusted this item to me, or pledged it with me, or I seized it from him,” and he produces evidence to that effect, no litigation remains between him and the claimant. If, however, he says, “I bought it from the absentee,” he remains a full adversary in the suit.

If the claimant alleges, “It was stolen from me,” and supports his claim, while the possessor says, “So-and-so deposited it with me,” and likewise furnishes proof, the dispute is not dismissed. But if the claimant says, “I purchased it from So-and-so,” and the possessor replies, “So-and-so deposited it with me,” the suit is dropped even without further evidence.

Oaths are sworn only by Allah, exalted be He, and are strengthened by mentioning His attributes. No one is sworn by divorce or emancipation. A Jew is sworn by saying, “By Allah who revealed the Torah to Moses”; a Christian, “By Allah who sent down the Gospel to Jesus”; and a Magian, “By Allah who created the fire.”

They are not sworn in their houses of worship, and no special time or place is required to intensify an oath for a Muslim.

Whoever claims, “I bought this man’s slave for one thousand,” and the other denies it, is made to swear by Allah, “There is no valid sale between us concerning him,” not “I did not sell.” In a claim of usurpation he swears by Allah, “You have no right to demand its return from me,” not “I did not seize it.” In a marriage claim he swears by Allah, “There is no existing marriage between us.”