inform him of it and present it to the judge.
If two upright men bring a third party between them to effect a reconciliation and he does in fact settle the dispute, then one of them later approaches him asking him to testify to an admission the other made in his absence, he must not testify to that admission; he may, however, testify to the reconciliation itself.
If two men say, “Listen to what we say but do not testify against us,” he should refuse. Should he nevertheless listen and his testimony later be required, he is obliged to give it.
Whoever has written his name on a sealed will, then verifies and is certain that it is indeed the same document, may lawfully testify to it. Whatever the will contains—such as the emancipation of slaves or anything else—is carried out when there are two or more witnesses. If there is only one witness, his testimony is accepted in matters of bequest provided the claimant also takes an oath.
If a person recognizes his own testimony in his handwriting yet cannot recall it, he must not testify if he is doubtful about anything in the document; but if nothing therein troubles him, he may testify. The judge should rule on the basis of such testimony once the witness affirms that the writing is his own hand, even if no further evidence has been produced regarding the exact sum of money or similar particulars.
A statement concerning inheritance is not valid testimony when the witness merely says, “I know of no heir for him in this town or this region.” He must say, “To my knowledge he has no heir other than those I have named, anywhere in any land.” Nor should he declare flatly, “He has no heir whatsoever in any land,” for fear that such an absolute claim might turn out to be false. Some of Malik’s companions—among them Muḥammad ibn Maslamah and ʿAbd al-Malik—transmitted that a categorical statement is acceptable testimony, but my own view is that such absoluteness must be understood as limited to the witness’s knowledge: that is, “According to what I know, he has no heir on earth besides them.”
If a single witness testifies that the deceased has no heir other than the claimant, and no one else comes forward, the claimant shall swear an oath alongside that witness and be awarded the estate; on that basis, however, neither lineage nor clientage is established.
If a group of people testify that a certain tract of land belongs to the claimant but they do not specify its boundaries