Testimony of children

Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him) used to say that the testimony of children against one another is valid.

Shurayh (may Allah have mercy on him) considered valid the testimony of some children against one another.

Urwah (may Allah have mercy on him) used to say that the testimony of children is valid, and their first statement is the one to be taken.

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said concerning the testimony of children: Allah Almighty says: "such as you approve of as witnesses" [Al-Baqarah: 282], whereas children do not fall under "such as you approve of".

Sayyiduna Ibn al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: They are the more fit, when asked about what they saw, to testify.

Ibn Abi Mulaykah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I did not see the judges take any view other than the statement of Sayyiduna Ibn al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him).

Al-Hasan (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The testimony of children against adults is not valid, and the testimony of children against one another is valid when they are separated from one another.

Shurayh (may Allah have mercy on him) considered the testimony of children valid in cases of a tooth and a muwaddihah wound, and did not accept their testimony in anything else.

Makhul (may Allah have mercy on him) said: When a boy reaches the age of fifteen, his testimony is valid.

It is narrated from Dawud bin al-Husayn (may Allah have mercy on him) that a boy testified before one of the judges of Madinah, who was named Salamah bin Abd al-Rahman al-Makhzumi. He sent to Salim (may Allah have mercy on him) and al-Qasim (may Allah have mercy on him) and asked them about his testimony, and they said: If he has grown some pubic hair, his testimony is valid.

Ibn Sirin said concerning the testimony of children: Their testimony is to be written down, and it is to be investigated and scrutinised.

Humayd bin Abd al-Rahman (may Allah have mercy on him) said: It is to be investigated.

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: The testimony of children is not valid.

Ata (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The testimony of children is not valid before they grow up.

Amir (may Allah have mercy on him) did not consider the testimony of children valid.

Sulayman al-Hamdani (may Allah have mercy on him) said: When I was young I testified before Shurayh (may Allah have mercy on him). He touched part of my body with his finger and said: Testimony is not valid before reaching puberty.

Waki' (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Some children of the neighbourhood who had not reached puberty testified before Ibn Abi Layla (may Allah have mercy on him). He said: Write down the testimony of so-and-so and so-and-so, and that they are young and have not reached puberty. When they reach puberty, see: if they stand firm on it, the testimony is valid, and if they retract, that testimony is void.

Al-Sha'bi (may Allah have mercy on him) considered the testimony of children valid, and he would send for them and question them about it.

Shurayh (may Allah have mercy on him) accepted the testimony of boys concerning an ammah (a head wound reaching the membrane of the brain), and gave a judgement of four thousand dirhams.

Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) considered the testimony of children concerning children valid.