• And that the words of Allah are perfect and complete in every respect—truthful in all their reports and absolutely just in their rulings, commands, and prohibitions. Consequently, any issue that departs from justice into wrongdoing, or from benefit into corruption, is not part of the sacred law. Allah’s legislation has come with sound, well-constructed principles and branches that accord with correct reason, sound analogy, and the fair balance.

• Allah and His Messenger have issued a variety of rulings that branch out from this tremendous principle and clarify its general import:

• Allah has ruled that the acknowledgement of the one upon whom a right is due is binding, whether the amount is small or great, as was indicated earlier in the verse on debt.

• He has also ruled that proof rests with the claimant—whether he seeks to establish a right or to clear himself of an established obligation—while the oath is required of the one who denies.

These two maxims are the pivot of the vast majority of legal disputes:
• The acknowledgement of the liable party is accepted, provided he is legally competent to dispose of his property.
• Every claimant is charged with producing evidence.

In the Law, evidence is a comprehensive term for anything that makes the truth manifest. Proofs vary in strength: some reach the level of certainty, while others—such as circumstantial indicators and contextual clues—produce a preponderance of probability.

There are numerous criteria for weighing competing claims. When the considerations are equal and the amounts or quantities are identical, equity is achieved either by dividing them equally and adjusting any increase or decrease accordingly, or, if division is impossible, by drawing lots.