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THE
TESTIMONY OF WOMEN
Most
Qur’anic references to testimony
(witness) do not make any reference to
gender. Some references fully equate the
testimony of males and females.
And
for those who launch a charge
against their spouses and have (in
support) no evidence but their
own, their solitary evidence (can
be received) if they bear witness
four times (with an oath) by Allah
that they are solemnly telling the
truth; And the fifth (oath)
(should be) that they solemnly
invoke the curse of Allah on
themselves if they tell a lie. But
it would avert the punishment from
the wife if she bears witness four
times (with an oath) by Allah that
(her husband) is telling a like;
And the fifth (oath) should be
that she solemnly invokes the
wrath of Allah on herself if (her
accuser) is telling the truth. (Qur’an
24:6-9)
One
reference in the Qur’an distinguishes
between the witness of a male and a
female. It is useful to quote this
reference and explain it in its own
context and in the context of other Qur’anic
references to testimony:
O
you who believe! When you deal
with each other in transactions
involving future obligations in a
fixed period of time, reduce them
to writing. Let a scribe write
down faithfully as between the
parties: let not the scribe refuse
to write: as Allah has taught him,
so let him write. Let him who
incurs the liability dictate, but
let him fear his Lord, Allah, and
not diminish aught of what he
owes. If the party liable is
mentally deficient, or weak, or
unable himself to dictate, let his
guardian dictate faithfully. And
get two witnesses out of your own
men, and if there are not two men,
then a man and two women, such as
you choose for witnesses so that
if one of them errs, the other can
remind her.
The
witnesses should not refuse when
they are called on (for evidence).
Disdain not to reduce to writing
(your contract) for a future
period, whether it be small or
big: it is more just in the sight
of Allah, more suitable as
evidence, and more convenient to
prevent doubts among yourselves,
but if it be a transaction with
you carry out on the spot among
yourselves, there is not blame on
you if you reduce it not to
writing, But take witnesses
whenever you make a commercial
contract; and let neither scribe
nor witness suffer harm. If you do
(such harm), it would be
wickedness in you. So fear Allah;
for it is Allah that teaches you.
And Allah is well acquainted with
all things. (Qur’an 2:282)
A
few comments on this text are essential
in order to prevent common
misinterpretations:
First,
when generally considered, in some
instances of bearing witness to certain
civil contracts, two men are required or
one man and two women. Again, this is no
indication of the woman being inferior
to man. It is a measure of securing the
rights of the contracting parties,
because woman as a rule, is not so
experienced in practical life as man.
This lack of experience may cause a loss
to any party in a given contract. So the
Law requires that at least two women
should bear witness with one man. If a
woman of the witness forgets something,
the other one would remind her. Or if
she makes an error, due to lack of
experience, the other would help to
correct her. This is a precautionary
measure to guarantee honest transactions
and proper dealings between people. In
fact, it gives woman a role to play in
civil life and helps to establish
justice. At any rate, lack of experience
in civil life does not necessarily mean
that women is inferior to man in her
status. Every human being lacks one
thing or another, yet no one questions
their human status (2:282).
It
cannot be used as an argument that there
is a general rule in the Qur’an that
the worth of a female’s witness is
only half the male’s. This presumed
“rule” is voided by the above
reference (24:6-9), which explicitly
equates the testimony of both genders on
the issue at hand.
The
context of this passage (verse, or ayah)
relates to testimony on financial
transactions, which are often complex
and laden with business jargon. The
passage does not make a blanket
generalization that would otherwise
contradict 24:6-9, cited above.
The
reason for variations in the number of
male and female witnesses required is
given in the same passage. No reference
is made to the inferiority or
superiority of one gender’s witness or
the other’s. The only reason given is
to corroborate the female’s witness
and prevent unintended errors in the
perception of the business deal. The
Arabic term used in this passage, tadhilla,
literally means “loses the way,” “gets
confused,” or “errs.” But are
females the only gender that may err and
need corroboration of their testimony?
Definitely not, and that is why the
general rule of testimony in Islamic law
is to have two witnesses, even when they
are both male.
One
possible interpretation of the
requirements related to this particular
type of testimony is that in numerous
societies, past and present, women
generally may not be heavily involved
with and experienced in business
transactions. As such, they may not be
completely cognizant of what is
involved. Therefore, corroboration of a
woman’s testimony by another woman who
may be present ascertains accuracy and,
hence, justice. It would be unreasonable
to interpret this requirement as a
reflection on the worth of women’s
testimony, as it is the ONLY exception
discerned from the text of the Qur’an
. This may be one reason why a great
scholar like Al-Tabari could not find
any evidence from any primary text (Qur’an
or hadith) to exclude women from
something more important than testimony:
being herself a judge who hears and
evaluates the testimony of others.
It
must be added that unlike pure acts of
worship, which must be observed exactly
as taught by the prophet (P), testimony
is a means to an end, ascertaining
justice as a major objective of Islamic
law. Therefore, it is the duty of a fair
judge to be guided by this objective
when assessing the worth and credibility
of a given testimony, regardless of the
gender of the witness. A witness of a
female graduate of a business school is
certainly far more worthy than the
witness of an illiterate person with no
business education or experience.
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