The Testimony of Women in Islamic Law

The only verse in the entire Qur’an to equate the testimony of twowomen to that of one man is the so-called verse of debt (ayat al dayn),which occurs in Qur’an 2:282. This verse contains a significant amount ofmaterial that later jurists categorized variously as recommended or merelyinstructional (irshad) and without legal import. However, a very few juristsopined that the recording of debts, witnessing, and all other matters dealtwith in the verse may be categorized as obligatory (wajib).Whether we agree or disagree with a particular school, there is nearunanimity among all jurists that the Qur’an’s mention of testimony in relationto transactions was revealed to advise Muslims on how they mightreduce the possibility of misunderstandings arising among themselves.Therefore, the entire matter of testimony was revealed to humanity by wayof instruction. Obviously, instruction is one thing, while binding legal preceptsare another matter entirely.The verse of debt, moreover, may be seen as connecting testimony, thetaking of witnesses, the agreement of both parties to the contract at the timeof its ratification, and the judge’s (qadi)ep tance of testimony given bythe witnesses, as follows:and call upon two of your men to act as witnesses; and if two menare not available, then a man and two women from among such asare acceptable to you as witnesses . . . (2:282)The verse goes on to explain the reason for seeking testimony from twowomen in place of the testimony of one man, by saying “. . . so that if oneof them should make a mistake, the other could remind her” (2:282).Thus, the verse indicates clearly that there are differences in the abilityof women to serve, under the prevailing social conditions, as competentwitnesses and givers of testimony in cases involving financial transactions.The relevant wording implies that, in general, transactions were not oftenmatters of concem to women at that time. It also indicates that the actualwitness would be one woman, even though her testimony might require thesupport of another woman, who would “remind” her if necessary. Thus,one woman acts as a guamntor for the accuracy of the other‘s testimony

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• In search of Islamic view of justice on women testimony

  Open Access•Husni Mubarrak•IJTIHAD Jurnal Wacana Hukum Islam…•2017

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