with the claim, it is accepted; if it conflicts with it, it is rejected. Abū Ḥanīfah stipulates that the two witnesses must concur both in wording and in meaning. Hence, if one testifies to a debt of one thousand and the other to two thousand, their testimony is inadmissible. If one says the amount is one thousand and the other one thousand five hundred, while the plaintiff is claiming one thousand five hundred, their testimony is accepted for one thousand.
Should one witness affirm a debt of one thousand but add, “The debtor has already repaid five hundred of it,” his testimony is admitted for the thousand, while his statement that five hundred has been paid is not heard unless another witness corroborates him. A witness who knows of such partial payment ought not testify to a debt of one thousand until the claimant acknowledges receipt of the five hundred.
If two witnesses state that Zayd was killed on the Day of Sacrifice in Mecca, and another two maintain that he was killed on that same day in Kūfah, and all four appear before the judge together, neither testimony is accepted. If, however, one set arrives first and a judgment is issued on their word, the testimony of the second set that comes later is not accepted, and the judge will not even hear testimony offered to impeach the first witnesses, let alone rule on it.
A witness may not testify to anything he has not personally observed, apart from lineage, death, marriage, consummation, and a judge’s appointment; in these matters he may testify if informed by someone he trusts.
Secondary testimony—testifying to the testimony of others—is admissible in every right that is not nullified by doubt, but it is not accepted in ḥadd cases or in retributive killings. Two witnesses may testify to the testimony of two others, whereas one witness may not testify to the testimony of one.
The correct formula of appointment is for the original witness to say to the proxy witness, “Bear witness to my two statements that I testify that so-and-so, son of so-and-so, acknowledged to me such-and-such and authorized me to testify on his behalf.” If he omits the phrase “and authorized me,” it is still valid. When appearing in court, the proxy witness should say, “I testify that so-and-so, son of so-and-so, authorized me to bear witness to his testimony that he testifies that so-and-so acknowledged to him such-and-such, and he told me: ‘Bear witness to my testimony regarding that.’”
Proxy testimony is admissible only if the original witnesses have died, have travelled a distance of three days or more, or are so ill that they cannot attend the court session. And if the witnesses