There is a customary practice among us, an old one, which is that when two men refer their dispute to a specific judge, each of them brings five men from among his relatives, and they swear an oath that
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The questioner : There is a customary practice among us, an old one, which is that when two men refer their dispute to a specific judge to adjudicate between them regarding what they differ on, each of them brings five men from among his relatives, and they swear an oath, meaning they take an oath, that their party is in the right and that everything he says is true against the other man, even though they were not present for the dispute that occurred between their party and the other man. Is there a sin upon them for this, O honorable Shaykh?
The Shaykh : Yes, this manner of calling witnesses is contrary to the Shari'ah in two respects. The first respect is regarding the number, for the number of witnesses in the Shari'ah differs from what the questioner mentioned, and there is nothing in the Shari'ah where the witnesses are five. The highest number of witnesses in testimony is four men, and that is in testimony regarding unlawful sexual intercourse.
Then the second contravention is that these people testify while they were not present, and testimony without the witness's knowledge is false testimony, which is forbidden, indeed it is among the major sins. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) enumerated the greatest of the major sins, and he was leaning on something, but when he reached false testimony, he sat up and said: And he kept repeating it until the Companions said, "May he have been silent." This is evidence of the greatness of false testimony and that it is among the greatest of the major sins. It is obligatory for a person to be upright in his testimony for Allah (Mighty and Majestic), upright in justice, not testifying for anyone except with what he knows, and not testifying against anyone except with what he knows. He should not be driven by the kinship of a relative, the wealth of a rich person, or the friendship of a friend to testify for him, nor should he be driven by the enmity of an enemy, the distance of a distant person, or the poverty of a poor person to testify against him. Rather, his testimony should be for Allah (Mighty and Majestic): [An-Nisa 4:135] And the judges in all Muslim lands must seek justice and judge by what Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has revealed. For whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed, Allah the Exalted has described him with three descriptions: disbelief, oppression, and open sinfulness, according to what this judgment entails. Therefore, all Muslim judges, rulers, and those with the highest authority among them must not refer to anything except the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), so that happiness is achieved for them and their peoples, and honor and dignity are attained for this Islamic nation.
The questioner : May Allah reward you, O honorable Shaykh. Also, a second question in the listener's letter says.
The Shaykh : Yes, this manner of calling witnesses is contrary to the Shari'ah in two respects. The first respect is regarding the number, for the number of witnesses in the Shari'ah differs from what the questioner mentioned, and there is nothing in the Shari'ah where the witnesses are five. The highest number of witnesses in testimony is four men, and that is in testimony regarding unlawful sexual intercourse.
Then the second contravention is that these people testify while they were not present, and testimony without the witness's knowledge is false testimony, which is forbidden, indeed it is among the major sins. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) enumerated the greatest of the major sins, and he was leaning on something, but when he reached false testimony, he sat up and said:
Beware of false speech, and beware of false testimony
ألا وقول الزور، ألا وشهادة الزورO you who have believed, be persistently standing firm in justice, witnesses for Allah, even if it be against yourselves or parents and relatives. Whether one is rich or poor, Allah is more worthy of both. So follow not [personal] inclination, lest you not be just. And if you distort [your testimony] or refuse [to give it], then indeed Allah is ever, with what you do, Acquainted.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءامَنُوا كُونُوا قَوَّامِينَ بِالْقِسْطِ شُهَدَاءَ لِلَّهِ وَلَوْ عَلَى أَنفُسِكُمْ أَوِ الْوَالِدَيْنِ وَالأَقْرَبِينَ إِنْ يَكُنْ غَنِيًّا أَوْ فَقِيرًا فَاللَّهُ أَوْلَى بِهِمَا فَلا تَتَّبِعُوا الْهَوَى أَنْ تَعْدِلُوا وَإِنْ تَلْوُوا أَوْ تُعْرِضُوا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرًاThe questioner : May Allah reward you, O honorable Shaykh. Also, a second question in the listener's letter says.