How do we reconcile the saying of Allah the Exalted, “And take two witnesses from among your men,” with the hadith in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ruled that the proof lies with the claimant?
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The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : He ruled based on the witness.
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : This is the meaning of “the proof lies with the claimant.” The scholars said that *al-bayinah* (clear proof) means two witnesses, while others said that *al-bayinah* is that by which the truth is established and strong, apparent circumstances. However, the oath of the claimant is added to this. “Two men” is what was mentioned regarding the acceptance of testimony. He said: meaning, seek those who will testify. So at the beginning of testimony, if we want to testify, we must choose two men. If they are not available, then one man and two women. As for the acceptance of testimony, that is a different matter.
The questioner : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions. Al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Abu al-Yaman narrated to us, Shu'ayb narrated to us from al-Zuhri.
The Shaykh : The important point we understood in the previous lesson is that the correct view is that one translator is sufficient, as evidenced by the fact that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was content with the translation of Zayd ibn Thabit, but with two or three conditions: that he has knowledge of the language from which he is translating and the language to which he is translating, and knowledge of the subject matter as well, the meanings that are to be translated, so that he does not make a mistake. For example, if we were to bring a grammarian to translate jurisprudential issues, that would not lead to suspicion or certainty that his translation is correct.
The Shaykh : He ruled based on the witness.
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : This is the meaning of “the proof lies with the claimant.” The scholars said that *al-bayinah* (clear proof) means two witnesses, while others said that *al-bayinah* is that by which the truth is established and strong, apparent circumstances. However, the oath of the claimant is added to this. “Two men” is what was mentioned regarding the acceptance of testimony. He said:
Take witnesses
استشهدواThe questioner : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions. Al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Abu al-Yaman narrated to us, Shu'ayb narrated to us from al-Zuhri.
The Shaykh : The important point we understood in the previous lesson is that the correct view is that one translator is sufficient, as evidenced by the fact that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was content with the translation of Zayd ibn Thabit, but with two or three conditions: that he has knowledge of the language from which he is translating and the language to which he is translating, and knowledge of the subject matter as well, the meanings that are to be translated, so that he does not make a mistake. For example, if we were to bring a grammarian to translate jurisprudential issues, that would not lead to suspicion or certainty that his translation is correct.