How to Deal with a False Witness

Hazrat Abdullah bin Aamir bin Rabee'ah narrates that Hazrat Umar bin Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) had made a false witness stand in a sheet in the evening and was reproaching him.

Hazrat Shurayh, may Allah have mercy on him, would send the false witness to the mosque or market and have it announced: We have rejected his testimony (he is a liar).

Hazrat Abu Husain (may Allah have mercy on him) says that Hazrat Qasim (may Allah have mercy on him) was sitting with me. He asked: When Hazrat Shurayh caught a false witness, what would he do with him? I replied: He would write his name down, and if he was from among the Arabs, he would send him to the mosque, and if he was from among the Mawali, he would send him to the marketplace and inform the people about him.

Hazrat Ja'd narrates that I was present with Hazrat Shurayh, and he had the turban removed from the head of a false witness and had him beaten with "khafaqat" (khafaqat refers to an instrument with which one is beaten; it is possible that it refers to shoes).

It is narrated from Hazrat Abdul Karim Al-Jazari (may Allah have mercy on him) that some people testified about the sighting of the Ramadan moon before Hazrat Umar bin Abdul Aziz. He declared them liars, gave each of them seventy lashes, and invalidated their testimony.

Hazrat Zuhri (may Allah have mercy on him) says that a false witness will be given corporal punishment.

Hasan says that the false witness will be punished, and it will be made known among the people, and it will be announced that he is a false witness.

Hazrat Sha'bi (may Allah have mercy on him) says that a false witness will be given less than forty, thirty-five, thirty-six, or thirty-seven lashes.

Hazrat Umar bin Abdul Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him) gave seventy lashes to a false witness.

When a false witness came to Hazrat Shurayh, he would have his turban removed and have him beaten with sandals.