Chapter: Those Whose Integrity May Be Certified

In order to establish or impeach a witness’s probity, the testimony of no fewer than two upright men is required. Women may neither certify nor impeach, and their own integrity may be certified only by men.

When two men vouch for someone whom the judge does not know, that certification is not accepted in his court unless the person being certified is a stranger to the locality. If he is a resident of the town, the judge will not rule him upright until he has been specifically endorsed. It has also been said that if both certifiers are themselves strangers, their certification is acceptable.

Two men may validly certify the integrity of many individuals at once, whether in a single matter or in separate claims. And, according to Mālik, certification is not