on the testimony of a single man or a single woman (1), by the consensus of the Muslims—especially since most of them do not admit a husband’s testimony (2). Among these scholars are some who do not render judgment on the basis of one witness (3) and an oath; and those who do render judgment on the basis of one witness and an oath will not rule in favor of the claimant until they have required him to swear.

The Fourth Point:

His statement:

“She then brought Umm Ayman, who testified on her behalf to that effect. He said, ‘She is a woman whose statement is not accepted.’ Yet they have all narrated that the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said, ‘Umm Ayman is one of the women of Paradise.’”

The response:

This is the argument of an ignoramus steeped in ignorance (4): he seeks to argue in his own favor, only to furnish an argument against himself. Had this statement been made by al-Hajjāj ibn Yūsuf, al-Mukhtār ibn Abī Ubayd, or others like them, its speaker would have spoken the truth. The statement of a single woman is not accepted as a basis for awarding property to a claimant who seeks to take what apparently belongs to another. How much more so, then, when such a statement is reported from Abū Bakr al-Siddīq—may Allah be pleased with him?!

As for the hadith he cited and claimed that they had all narrated, this report is unknown in any of the Islamic collections, nor is any hadith scholar known to have narrated it (5). And Umm