Al-Tafsīr al-Qayyim - Ibn al-Qayyim - (479)

Al-Tafsīr al-QayyimIbn al-Qayyim

from them the zakat due on their wealth. If you do not see such signs, treat them as you would disbelievers.” Khālid did so. He reached them and heard their calls to the Maghrib and ‘Ishā’ prayers. He collected their zakat and found nothing among them but obedience and goodness. He then returned to Allah’s Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and informed him of what had happened. Then the following was revealed:

49:6 “O you who believe, if an evildoer brings you news, verify it.”

News (naba’) is a report of a significant matter beyond one’s immediate knowledge. “Verification” means seeking to establish its truth and gaining full knowledge of it.

There is a subtle point here: Allah, glorified be He, did not command that an evildoer’s reports and testimony be rejected outright and declared false. Rather, He commanded verification. If independent indications and evidence establish the truthfulness of a report, that evidence should be acted upon, regardless of who brought it.

This, then, is the approach to adopt regarding an evildoer’s reports and testimony. Many evildoers speak truthfully in their accounts, narrations, and testimony. Indeed, many take the utmost care to tell the truth, while their sinful conduct concerns other matters. Such a person’s reports and testimony should not be rejected. Were the testimony and narrations of such people rejected, most rights would go unenforced and many authentic reports would be discarded. This is particularly relevant to someone whose sinful conduct consists of lying: if his lies are frequent and repeated, so that they outweigh his truthful statements, neither his reports nor his testimony is accepted.

If, however, he has lied only rarely, once or twice, the scholars hold two views on whether his testimony and reports should consequently be rejected. Both views are reported from Imam Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him.

[Surah al-Hujurāt (49): verse 12]

“O you who believe, avoid much suspicion. Indeed, some suspicion is sinful. And do not spy or backbite one another. Would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You would detest it. And fear Allah; indeed, Allah is Ever Accepting of repentance, Most Merciful.” (12)

منهم زكاة أموالهم. وإن لم تر ذلك فاستعمل فيهم ما تستعمل في الكفار» ففعل ذلك خالد، ووافاهم، فسمع منهم أذان صلاتي المغرب والعشاء، فأخذ منهم صدقاتهم، ولم ير منهم إلا الطاعة والخير. فرجع إلى رسول الله ﷺ وأخبره الخبر. فنزلت ٤٩: ٦ يا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِنْ جاءَكُمْ فاسِقٌ بِنَبَإٍ فَتَبَيَّنُوا. والنبأ هو الخبر الغائب عن المخبر، إذا كان له شأن. «والتبيّن» طلب بيان حقيقته، والإحاطة بها علما. وهاهنا فائدة لطيفة. وهي أنه سبحانه لم يأمر برد خبر الفاسق وتكذيبه وشهادته جملة. وإنما أمر بالتبين. فإن قامت قرائن وأدلة من خارج تدل على صدقه عمل بدليل الصدق، ولو أخبر به من أخبر. فهكذا ينبغي الاعتماد في رواية الفاسق وشهادته. وكثير من الفاسقين يصدقون في أخبارهم ورواياتهم وشهاداتهم، بل كثير منهم يتحرى الصدق غاية التحري، وفسقه من جهات أخر. فمثل هذا لا يرد خبره ولا شهادته، ولو ردت شهادة مثل هذا وروايته لتعطلت أكثر الحقوق، وبطل كثير من الأخبار الصحيحة، ولا سيما من فسقه من جهة الكذب: فإن كثر منه وتكرر، بحيث يغلب كذبه على صدقه. فهذا لا يقبل خبره ولا شهادته. وإن ندر منه مرة أو مرتين ففي رد شهادته وخبره بذلك قولان للعلماء، وهما روايتان عن الإمام أحمد ﵏. [سورة الحجرات (٤٩) : آية ١٢] يا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اجْتَنِبُوا كَثِيراً مِنَ الظَّنِّ إِنَّ بَعْضَ الظَّنِّ إِثْمٌ وَلا تَجَسَّسُوا وَلا يَغْتَبْ بَعْضُكُمْ بَعْضاً أَيُحِبُّ أَحَدُكُمْ أَنْ يَأْكُلَ لَحْمَ أَخِيهِ مَيْتاً فَكَرِهْتُمُوهُ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَوَّابٌ رَحِيمٌ (١٢)