Conditions for accepting a witness

In Islamic law of evidence (bayyinah), a witness must meet several conditions of competence before his testimony can be admitted before a judge. This chapter first examines the condition of being a Muslim when testifying against a Muslim, then the admissibility of non-Muslims' testimony among themselves, and then the conditions of free status, puberty, attentiveness and good memory, uprightness ('adalah) and speech. For each condition, the positions of the four schools are set out with their proofs from the Quran, the Sunnah and reason, along with references to the classical authorities.

Parts of this section

• Testifying against a Muslim: the case of the traveler's bequest
• Fifth condition: being alert and retaining what is witnessed