Claimant Without Evidence is Bound to Accept Defendant’s Oath
❀ The Principle in Sharīʿah
When the claimant has no evidence, he is bound to accept the oath of the defendant — even if the defendant is a sinner or a transgressor.
◈ Evidence from the Hadith
➊ Hazrat Ashʿath bin Qays (رضي الله عنه) narrated:
"There was a dispute between me and another man regarding a well. We took the matter to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). He said:
شاهداك أو يمينه
"You must produce two witnesses, or else the oath will be taken from him."
I said:
إذن يحلف ولا يبالي
"Then he will take the oath carelessly without concern."
The Prophet (ﷺ) said:
من حلف على يمين يقتطع بها مال امرئ مسلم لقى الله وهو عليه غضبان
"Whoever swears an oath to unlawfully consume the wealth of a Muslim will meet Allah while He is angry with him."
[Bukhārī: 2669, 2670, Kitāb al-Shahādāt, Bāb al-Yamīn ʿalā al-Muddaʿā ʿAlayh fī al-Amwāl wa al-Ḥudūd; Muslim: 138]
➋ Another narration states:
Two men brought a dispute before the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). He said to one of them (a man from Kindah):
"Do you have evidence?" He said: "No."
The Prophet (ﷺ) said:
فلك يمينه
"Then you have only his oath."
The man replied:
الرجل فاجر لا يبالي على ما حلف عليه وليس يتورع من شيئ
"This man is a sinner; he does not care on what he swears and he does not refrain from anything."
The Prophet (ﷺ) said:
ليس لك منه إلا ذلك
"You have nothing against him except that."
[Muslim: 139, Kitāb al-Īmān, Bāb Waʿīd Man Iqtaṭaʿa Ḥaqq Muslim Bi-Yamīn Fājirah Bi-al-Nār; Abū Dāwūd: 2623; Tirmidhī: 1340; Aḥmad: 4/317]
➌ Another narration mentions:
اليمين على من أنكر
"The oath is upon the one who denies."
[Bayhaqī: 10/252]
