❖ Testimony of the Unjust, Treacherous, or a Slanderer: Sharʿī Rejection and Validity After Repentance ❖
By: Imran Ayub Lahori
Sharʿī Rule
- Testimony of the following is not accepted:
- The unjust (ghayr ʿādil)
- The treacherous (khāʾin)
- An enemy against his opponent
- One accused of dishonor
- A dependent testifying for the family he depends on
- A slanderer (qādhif)
✿ Qur’ānic Evidences
① ﴿وَأَشْهِدُوا ذَوَيْ عَدْلٍ مِّنكُمْ﴾ (al-Ṭalāq: 2)
“Take two just men from among you as witnesses.”
② ﴿مِمَّن تَرْضَوْنَ مِنَ الشُّهَدَاءِ﴾ (al-Baqarah: 282)
“…from those witnesses whom you are pleased with.”
③ ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِن جَاءَكُمْ فَاسِقٌ بِنَبَإٍ فَتَبَيَّنُوا﴾ (al-Ḥujurāt: 6)
“O believers! If a sinful person comes to you with news, verify it.”
④ Scholarly consensus (ijmāʿ): Testimony of a fāsiq is not accepted.
(al-Baḥr al-Zakhkhār 5/24; Nayl al-Awṭār 5/387; al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah 2/562)
✿ Prophetic Guidance
Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said:
لا تجوز شهادة خائن ولا خائنة ولا ذى غمر على أخيه ولا تجوز شهادة القانع لأهل البيت
“The testimony of a treacherous man or woman, one who bears malice against his brother, and a dependent in favor of the family he depends on, is not permissible.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ Abū Dāwūd: 3067, 3600; Musnad Aḥmad 2/181; al-Dāraquṭnī 528; al-Bayhaqī 10/200 – graded ḥasan)
Another narration:
لا تجوز شهادة خائن ولا خائنة ولا زان ولا زانية
“The testimony of a treacherous man, treacherous woman, adulterer, or adulteress is not permissible.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ Abū Dāwūd: 3068, 3601; Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl: 2669)
✿ Scholarly Views
- Jumhūr (Mālik, al-Shāfiʿī, Aḥmad):
The testimony of an enemy is not accepted. - Abū Ḥanīfah:
The testimony of an enemy may be accepted.
Rājiḥ (stronger): Enemy’s testimony is not accepted.(Nayl al-Awṭār 5/387)
✿ Special Case: The Qādhif (Slanderer)
Allah تعالى says:
﴿وَالَّذِينَ يَرْمُونَ الْمُحْصَنَاتِ … فَاجْلِدُوهُمْ ثَمَانِينَ جَلْدَةً وَلَا تَقْبَلُوا لَهُمْ شَهَادَةً أَبَدًا وَأُو۟لَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْفَـٰسِقُونَ﴾ (al-Nūr: 4)
“Those who accuse chaste women and do not bring four witnesses, flog them with eighty stripes and never accept their testimony. They are the fāsiqūn.”
Is his testimony accepted after repentance (tawbah)?
- Mālik, al-Shāfiʿī, Aḥmad, Ibn Ḥazm, Bukhārī, Jumhūr:
Yes, his testimony is accepted after repentance.
Evidence:
① The exception in the verse: ﴿إِلَّا الَّذِينَ تَابُوا﴾ (al-Nūr: 5)
② Ḥadīth: التائب من الذنب كمن لا ذنب له – “One who repents from sin is like one who never sinned.” (Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Mājah: 3427, 4250)
③ If a kāfir’s repentance is accepted, then the slanderer’s should be as well.
④ ʿUmar رضي الله عنه flogged three for qadhf and told them: “Repent, and your testimony will be accepted.” Two repented, Abū Bakrah did not, and his testimony was rejected. (Muṣannaf ʿAbd al-Razzāq 7/384) - Abū Ḥanīfah:
Repentance removes fisq but does not restore testimony, citing the Qur’ānic word “abadan” (ever).
Conclusion (Rājiḥ View):
- Testimony of the unjust, treacherous, malicious, dependent, or a slanderer is invalid.
- If the slanderer sincerely repents, his testimony becomes acceptable again. This is the position of the jumhūr and is the stronger, correct opinion.
