regarding the authenticity of this hadith: “The best of witnesses is the one who testifies to the truth before he is asked, or before his testimony is sought.”

The questioner : He asks about the authenticity of this hadith “The best of witnesses is the one who testifies to the truth before he is asked, or before his testimony is sought”?

The Shaykh : Yes. The questioner brought this hadith with its meaning, otherwise it is authentic.

The questioner : Very well.

The Shaykh : And its wording is A person may testify to something, and the one in whose favor the testimony is given may not know about it. It is obligatory for him, if he sees that the case has been brought before the judge, to go to the one in whose favor the testimony is given and inform him that he has testimony in his favor, so that the one in whose favor the testimony is given can obtain his right through this testimony.