Testifying to a sales contract without knowing the two parties

Question:
Honorable Shaykh, is direct testimony permissible, such as testifying to a land sales contract where the seller and buyer are in front of me, but I do not know them?

Answer:
If you do not know them, do not testify against them. That is, if you testify that so-and-so sold to so-and-so, stating that he sold to so-and-so, and you were not present for the sale, that is not permissible. However, if they ask you to bear witness to the contract, that is bearing witness (tahammul). This is called bearing witness, not testifying (shahadah). There is a difference between bearing witness and testifying. If they say, “Come, may Allah reward you, testify to the sales contract between us,” that is bearing witness. Were you invited to bear witness?