The threshold of testimony in false accusation of adultery and in unlawful sexual intercourse
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
The Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, says: The author (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned that two witnesses are sufficient for the testimony in false accusation of adultery (qadhf), and in Surat al-Nur Allah the Exalted says:[An-Nur 24:4]
The Shaykh:
What is this regarding? It is regarding the false accusation itself, the qadhf. That is, if so-and-so accused so-and-so, he is asked to produce four witnesses. If he makes the accusation, he is told: Bring four witnesses.
The questioner:
The Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, asks: Does this apply to marriage contracts, such as in testimony?
The Shaykh:
I say: The two witnesses are for the hadd, the hadd of false accusation (qadhf). As for the four, they are for establishing unlawful sexual intercourse (zina), for establishing the hadd of zina. Yes.
The Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, says: The author (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned that two witnesses are sufficient for the testimony in false accusation of adultery (qadhf), and in Surat al-Nur Allah the Exalted says:
And those who accuse chaste women and then do not produce four witnesses - lash them with eighty lashes
وَالَّذِينَ يَرْمُونَ الْمُحْصَنَاتِ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَأْتُوا بِأَرْبَعَةِ شُهَدَاءَ فَاجْلِدُوهُمْ ثَمَانِينَ جَلْدَةًThe Shaykh:
What is this regarding? It is regarding the false accusation itself, the qadhf. That is, if so-and-so accused so-and-so, he is asked to produce four witnesses. If he makes the accusation, he is told: Bring four witnesses.
The questioner:
The Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, asks: Does this apply to marriage contracts, such as in testimony?
The Shaykh:
I say: The two witnesses are for the hadd, the hadd of false accusation (qadhf). As for the four, they are for establishing unlawful sexual intercourse (zina), for establishing the hadd of zina. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، 141/139 شرح زاد المستقنع/ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com (45:27)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.