Signing a certificate for what the signer did not witness
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
This questioner says: I work for the Commission for Promoting Virtue and Prohibiting Vice, and sometimes we arrest some of those who commit wrongs, such as prostitution and intoxicants, may Allah protect us.
The Shaykh:
Let us look at the question.
The questioner:
The questioner says: I work for the Commission for Promoting Virtue and Prohibiting Vice, and sometimes we arrest some of those who commit wrongs, such as prostitution and intoxicants, may Allah protect us from them. He says: And I was present and witnessed some of what is established against the accused,
The Shaykh:
Yes.
The questioner:
but when giving testimony, I signed for the entire incident along with some of my colleagues. Is my work in this correct? And does it fall under false testimony?
The Shaykh:
I did not understand the question. What is he saying?
The questioner:
He means that he witnesses some of what is established against the accused; he witnesses some of the wrong, but he signs with his colleagues' testimony for the entire incident. Is this considered false testimony?
The Shaykh:
Do not sign for what you did not learn. Do not sign for what you are not certain occurred. Say: This is what I did not see, and I do not sign for it. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you,
This questioner says: I work for the Commission for Promoting Virtue and Prohibiting Vice, and sometimes we arrest some of those who commit wrongs, such as prostitution and intoxicants, may Allah protect us.
The Shaykh:
Let us look at the question.
The questioner:
The questioner says: I work for the Commission for Promoting Virtue and Prohibiting Vice, and sometimes we arrest some of those who commit wrongs, such as prostitution and intoxicants, may Allah protect us from them. He says: And I was present and witnessed some of what is established against the accused,
The Shaykh:
Yes.
The questioner:
but when giving testimony, I signed for the entire incident along with some of my colleagues. Is my work in this correct? And does it fall under false testimony?
The Shaykh:
I did not understand the question. What is he saying?
The questioner:
He means that he witnesses some of what is established against the accused; he witnesses some of the wrong, but he signs with his colleagues' testimony for the entire incident. Is this considered false testimony?
The Shaykh:
Do not sign for what you did not learn. Do not sign for what you are not certain occurred. Say: This is what I did not see, and I do not sign for it. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you,
Source
وجوب الأمر بالمعروف والنهي عن المنكر، بداية من قول المُصَنِّف : وقد كان المسلمون في عهده وعهد أصحابه — islamhouse.com (43:31)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.