the apparent meaning of what is stated in al-Mudawwana. Another view holds that they are not liable to the prescribed punishment unless they say, “He has committed unlawful intercourse; so-and-so, so-and-so, and so-and-so entrusted us with their testimony to that effect,” as opposed to saying, “So-and-so, so-and-so, and so-and-so entrusted us with their testimony that he has committed unlawful intercourse.” This is the position of Ibn al-Mawwāz, who regarded them as accusers only if they began their testimony by stating the accusation of unlawful intercourse.

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If we hold that they are accusers, as indicated in al-Mudawwana, they can avert the prescribed punishment from themselves only by presenting evidence that would make the person accused of unlawful intercourse liable to that punishment. They must therefore produce four witnesses other than themselves who testify either to the testimony of four witnesses or to having directly witnessed the unlawful intercourse. This accords with Ibn al-Qāsim’s position in al-Mudawwana and with what ʿĪsā narrated from him in the Book of Testimonies in al-ʿUtbiyya. Alternatively, if they number three, they may produce a single witness who joins them in testifying either to the testimony of the four witnesses or on the basis of his own direct observation. This accords with Yahyā’s narration from Ibn al-Qāsim, which does not require witnesses to appear together for their testimony concerning unlawful intercourse to be valid.

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If we likewise hold that they are accusers, are the witnesses whose testimony they relay subject to the prescribed punishment if they deny having given that testimony, if one of them denies it, or if they number fewer than four? This depends on the disagreement over whether an accuser’s testimony becomes inadmissible upon the accusation itself or only once the prescribed punishment has been carried out upon him. The latter is Ibn al-Qāsim’s position, contrary to that of Asbagh, one of Ibn al-Mājishūn’s two positions, and the position of al-Shāfiʿī.

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If we hold that witnesses who relay the testimony of others, when numbering fewer than four, are not accusers unless they say, “He has committed unlawful intercourse,” as Muhammad ibn al-Mawwāz maintained, then their testimony makes those whose testimony they relay liable to the prescribed punishment if the latter number fewer than four, deny having given the testimony, or it is denied by