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Injunctions of the Qur'an
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Ahadith of the Holy Prophet
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Her Evidence in the Light of Qur'an and Hadith
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Views of the
Scholars
I
‑ INJUNCTIONS OF THE QUR'AN
Verses of
the Holy Qur'an regarding the evidence of woman are quoted below:
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O ye who
believe! when ye 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
ye choose, for witnesses, so that if one of them errs; the other can
remind her. (2:282)
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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 lie;
And the
fifth (oath) should be that she solemnly invokes the wrath of Allah on
herself if (her accuser) is telling the truth. (24:6‑9)
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When the
female (infant), buried alive, is questioned —For what crime she was
killed; (81:8‑9)
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II ‑ AHADITH OF THE HOLY PROPHET
Traditions
of Prophet Muhammad (may peace be upon him) on the evidence of woman are
as follows:‑
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Anas
reported that a Jew grinded the head of a girl between two stones. It
was questioned to her: who has done this to you? So and so, so and
so‑till he named the Jew. She then nodded her head. The Jew was
brought and he confessed. Then the Messenger of Allah passed order
about him and his head was grinded with stones. (Bukhari and Muslim)
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Wael‑b‑Hujr
reported that a woman came out at the time of the Messenger of Allah
intending to say prayer. A man forced her and dragged her and
satisfied his lust with her. She raised alarm but he went away. She
passed by a host of the refugees and said: That man did with me such
and such thing. They overtook him and came with him to the Messenger
of Allah. He said to her: Go back because Allah has forgiven you and
he said about the man: Stone him to death... (Tirmizi, Abu Daud)
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Oqbah‑b‑Haris
reported that he married the daughter of Abu Ehab‑b‑Abdul Aziz. A
woman came and said: I have indeed suckled Oqbah and the girl that is
married to him. Oqbah said to her: I don't know that you have suckled
me, nor you have informed me. He then sent for Abu Ehab and asked his
family. They said: we did not know that she suckled our daughter. He
then rode to the Messenger of Allah at Madinah and asked him. The Holy
Prophet exclaimed: How? It is said: Oqbah divorced her and she married
another husband. (Bukhari)
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Ayesha
reported. that the Messenger of Allah said: The deposition of a
treacherous man and treacherous woman is not admissible... (Tirmizi)
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The
Prophet is reported to have said: The evidence of a woman is
admissible in matters in which it is not possible for men to see or
observe. (Hedaya)
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III ‑ HER EVIDENCE IN THE LIGHT OF QUR'AN AND
HADITH
Law of
evidence and the position of woman as witness is briefly discussed in
the light of the, Holy Qur'an and Sunnah as under‑.‑
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The
Qur'an says about evidence "And get two witnesses, out of your own
men, and if there are not two men, then a man and two women, such as
ye choose for witnesses, so that if one of them errs (through
forgetfulness) the other can remind her..." (2:282).
From this verse,
it is generally contended by the critics of Islam that Islam renders
two women equal to one man in the matters of evidence. However, this
criticism is totally baseless and unfounded if judged by an unbiased
mind. Firstly, this injunction of the Qur'an pertains to the business
and commercial transactions only which are so often very complicated
and ambiguous to understand even by an expert businessman. A woman
being generally not involved in such difficult transactions has no
knowledge or understanding of them and, therefore, she is likely to
get confused. Secondly, from the words of the Qur'an it is clear that
actually evidence would be given by one woman and the other would be
present merely to remind her if she forgets. Thirdly, the presence of
two women is for the purpose of moral support and boosting the
confidence of the woman witness as the company of the other woman
would raise the morale of the female witness. The atmosphere of courts
being dominated by men‑the judges, the lawyers, the litigants and the
witnesses being generally men‑‑ woman is likely to get confused and,
forget in such an awe‑inspiring atmosphere.
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In no
other matters, except the commercial transactions of complicated
nature referred to in verse No. 282 of chapter 2, does the Qur'an
command its believers to equate the evidence of two women with one
man. In the matter of Lian or imprecation where the husband charges
his wife of adultery, the testimony of the woman would be equal to her
husband (Al‑Qur'an 24:6‑9) On the Day of judgement, God will ask the
infant female child who was buried alive and only on her evidence, He
would punish the person guilty of this heinous crime even without
listening to or looking at the offender. (Al‑Qur'an 81:'8‑9).
Traditions of the
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him); reproduced above establish
beyond any doubt that the Prophet of Islam punished the Jew guilty of
grinding the head of a girl between two stones on the evidence of the
girl alone, and on the evidence of a woman alone who had been raped,
the Prophet (peace be upon him) punished the man who was guilty. So
much so that the evidence of a woman who had fostered the man and the
woman of very respectable families in their infancy, caused the breach
of their marriage, since foster brother and sister cannot be united in
marriage according to Islamic Law.
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In the
matters which pertain to women specially‑and mind it! these are not
few matters since the women constitute half of human beings‑the
evidence of a woman would carry rather more weight than the evidence
of man. Encyclopaedia of Seerah says:
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However,
in some other fields, a woman witness may not only suffice but may
also over‑ride the evidence of many men and women, especially in
fields where expert and sound knowledge is needed in which women may
be more proficient than a men.
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In case
of agreements and contracts where written deeds are to be executed, it
is possible to have witnesses of one's own choice. But in criminal
cases like theft, adultery, etc., it is not possible to have witnesses
of one's choice as we have to depend on the evidence of those persons
who were eyewitnesses to such incidents, they may be males or
females. So
in such situations, the
evidence of a woman would not only be admissible but also would be
equally reliable as that of a man.
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IV ‑ VIEWS OF THE SCHOLARS
Views of
some of the eminent modern scholars of Islam regarding the injunction of
Qur'an pertaining to the evidence of a .woman are furnished as under for
clearer comprehension and understanding:
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1. Allama
Muhammad Asad in his book "The Message of the Qur'an" writes as under:
"The
stipulation that two women may be substituted for one male witness
does not imply any reflection on woman's moral or intellectual
capabilities: it is obviously due to the fact that, as a rule, women
are less familiar with business procedures than men and, therefore,
more liable to commit mistakes in this respect."
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Encyclopaedia of Seerah explains it in these words:‑
"As women are
generally not involved in business matters, especially when contracts
of credit with complex terms and conditions are drawn up, they would
not normally be interested in such contracts. For this reason, there
is every likelihood that they may not remember accurately the terms of
such business dealings and, therefore, the evidence of one woman may
not suffice for the purposes of right judgement. Besides, the
atmosphere of the law courts is so awe‑inspiring that even men of
sound judgement are sometimes confused and puzzled regarding legal
matters and their implications in law suits. What would be the
position of an ordinary woman who is dragged into business matters in
which she is neither interested nor has any knowledge of in general?
In view of this delicate situation bf the woman witness in such cases,
the Qur'an suggests that a woman supporter should accompany the woman
witness in order to provide her with company and to encourage her, so
that she may not get confused in the awe‑provoking atmosphere of the
court and be able to give true testimony. This support of a woman
companion is therefore proposed to help a woman witness to keep calm
and enable her to give sound evidence. The words of the Qur'an are
very meaningful in this respect, "So that if one of them errs, the
other can remind her." (2:282). This is a clear indication that the
requirement of a second woman is meant to be more of a support and
encouragement for the woman witness, so that she can give the right
evidence rather than to act as a second witness. Her presence is
required to keep the main woman witness in her right and sound mind so
that she may not err but give the right evidence."
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Ahmad
Ali, in his translation of the Holy Qur'an explains the evidence of a
woman in these words: "The presence of two women does riot mean that
both are witnesses, or that the evidence of one woman is half of that
of a man. In no other place in the Qur'an two women have been
suggested as witnesses except here, because this is a case of a
special transaction and women, not being adepts at business, were more
likely to get confused than men."
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