Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri — by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
❖ Question
Can a judicial decision be made based on one witness and one oath?
❖ Answer
If the claimant possesses one witness, then the judge may take an oath from him (the claimant) and issue a ruling in his favor. In this situation, no oath will be taken from the defendant.
❀ Narration of Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh bin ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما
قضى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم بشاهد ويمين
“The Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم gave judgment based on one witness and an oath.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1712)
❀ Narration of Sayyidunā Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه
إن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قضى باليمين مع الشاهد الواحد
“The Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم issued judgment with an oath along with a single witness.”
(Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 3610; Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 1343 — sanad ṣaḥīḥ)
Imām al-Tirmidhī graded it ḥasan gharīb, and Imām Abū ʿAwanah (6015) and Imām Ibn Ḥibbān (5073) declared it ṣaḥīḥ.
❀ Narration of Sayyidunā Jābir رضي الله عنه
إن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قضى باليمين مع الشاهد
“The Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم passed judgment with an oath along with a witness.”
(Musnad Aḥmad: 3/305; Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 1344; Sunan Ibn Mājah: 2369 — sanad ḥasan)
