The Ruling on the Testimony of a Fasiq (Open Sinner) Doctor and Shaving the Beard
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The questioner:
If a doctor shaves his beard, he mixes with women. Does this make him a fasiq (open sinner)? It depends on his own character; is it one of the major sins, or is it among the forbidden things that are not major sins? And if it is among the minor sins, does persisting in it make it a major sin? Does persisting in a minor sin turn it into a major one? Or is there a discussion regarding this? If the doctor is skilled but is a fasiq (open sinner), yet he is not known for lying, is his testimony accepted or not?
The Shaykh:
His testimony is not accepted in legal rulings. Legal rulings do not accept the testimony of a fasiq (open sinner). Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Hujurat 49:6] In legal rulings, only the testimony of a person of integrity is accepted.
If a doctor shaves his beard, he mixes with women. Does this make him a fasiq (open sinner)? It depends on his own character; is it one of the major sins, or is it among the forbidden things that are not major sins? And if it is among the minor sins, does persisting in it make it a major sin? Does persisting in a minor sin turn it into a major one? Or is there a discussion regarding this? If the doctor is skilled but is a fasiq (open sinner), yet he is not known for lying, is his testimony accepted or not?
The Shaykh:
His testimony is not accepted in legal rulings. Legal rulings do not accept the testimony of a fasiq (open sinner). Allah the Exalted said:
O you who have believed, if there comes to you a disobedient one with information, investigate
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِن جَاءَكُمْ فَاسِقٌ بِنَبَإٍ فَتَبَيَّنُوا
Source
شرح زاد المستقنع [62] — alfawzan.live (1:12:50)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.