Tafseer of The Cow · Al-Baqara · 2:282
O you who have believed, when you contract a debt for a specified term, write it down. And let a scribe write [it] between you in justice. Let no scribe refuse to write as Allah has taught him. So let him write and let the one who has the obligation dictate. And let him fear Allah, his Lord, and not leave anything out of it. But if the one who has the obligation is of limited understanding or weak or unable to dictate himself, then let his guardian dictate in justice. And bring to witness two witnesses from among your men. And if there are not two men [available], then a man and two women from those whom you accept as witnesses - so that if one of the women errs, then the other can remind her. And let not the witnesses refuse when they are called upon. And do not be [too] weary to write it, whether it is small or large, for its [specified] term. That is more just in the sight of Allah and stronger as evidence and more likely to prevent doubt between you, except when it is an immediate transaction which you conduct among yourselves. For [then] there is no blame upon you if you do not write it. And take witnesses when you conclude a contract. Let no scribe be harmed or any witness. For if you do so, indeed, it is [grave] disobedience in you. And fear Allah. And Allah teaches you. And Allah is Knowing of all things.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
O you who believe, when you contract a debt with one another for a fixed term
The explanation of the words of the Exalted: O you who believe, when you contract a debt with one another for a fixed term The Exalted, exalted be His praise, means by this: O you who believed in Allah and His Messenger, when you contract a debt with one another — that is, when you buy and sell among yourselves on credit, or purchase thereby, or trade among yourselves, or take it on credit — for a fixed term — He says: until a known time which you have fixed among yourselves. This may include the loan (qarḍ) and the advance-payment purchase (salam) in everything that is permitted. The salam is the purchase whose delivery-term becomes a debt owed by the seller to whom payment has been made in advance. It may also include the permitted sale of present property at deferred prices — all of this belongs to the deferred debts up to a fixed term, provided that their terms are known with a fixed limit.
Ibn ʿAbbās used to say: this verse was revealed specifically concerning the salam. Mention of the narration about that from him:
4946 — Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn ʿĪsā al-Ramlī related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, saying: Ibn ʿAbbās said concerning: O you who believe, when you contract a debt with one another for a fixed term — he said: the salam in wheat in a known measure up to a known term.
* — Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdallāh al-Makhzūmī related to me, saying: Yaḥyā ibn al-Ṣāmit related to us, saying: Ibn al-Mubārak related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Abī Ḥayyān, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: O you who believe, when you contract a debt with one another — he said: it was revealed concerning the salam in a known measure up to a known term.
* — ʿAlī ibn Sahl related to us, saying: Yazīd ibn Abī al-Zarqāʾ related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Abī Ḥayyān, on the authority of a man, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, he said: this verse was revealed: When you contract a debt with one another for a fixed term, then write it down concerning the salam in wheat in a known measure up to a known term.
* — Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Muḥabbib related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Abī Ḥayyān al-Taymī, on the authority of a man, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, he said: this verse was revealed: O you who believe, when you contract a debt with one another for a fixed term concerning the advance-payment (salaf) in wheat in a known measure up to a known term.
4947 — Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Muʿādh ibn Hishām related to us, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of Abī Ḥayyān, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, he said: I bear witness that the guaranteed advance-payment (salaf) up to a fixed term — that Allah, the Mighty and Exalted, permitted it and granted [leeway] therein. And he recited this verse: When you contract a debt with one another for a fixed term .
If a speaker were to say: what is the sense of His word "with a debt (bi-dayn)," when by His word "when you contract a debt with one another (tadāyantum)" He has already indicated it? And is there a contracting of debt without a debt, such that it was necessary to say "with a debt"?
It is said: since among the Arabs "tadāyannā" could be said in the meaning "we requited one another" and in the meaning "we gave and took from one another with a debt," Allah, by His word "with a debt," clarified the meaning that He intended to make known by His word "tadāyantum" and its ruling, and He let them know that it is the ruling of debt, not the ruling of requital.
Some have claimed that this is an emphasis, like His word: Then the angels prostrated, all of them together [15:30]. But there is no basis for what he said about that in this place.
The explanation of the words of the Exalted: then write it down The Exalted, exalted be His praise, means by His word: then write it down : write down the debt which you have contracted with one another for a fixed term, whether it was a sale or a loan.
The people of knowledge differed concerning the writing of the document thereof against the one upon whom it rests: is it obligatory or is it recommended?
Some of them said: it is an obligatory right and a binding duty. Mention of who said that:
4948 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Abū Zuhayr related to us, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk concerning his word: O you who believe, when you contract a debt with one another for a fixed term, then write it down — he said: whoever sold up to a fixed term was commanded to write it down, whether it was small or great, up to a fixed term.
4950 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, his word: O you who believe, when you contract a debt with one another for a fixed term, then write it down — he said: whoever contracts a debt, let him write it down, and whoever sells, let him call witnesses.
4951 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ concerning his word: When you contract a debt with one another for a fixed term, then write it down — this was obligatory.
4952 — And it was related to me on the authority of ʿAmmār, saying: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ, the like of it, and he added: he said: then there came the alleviation and the relief. He said: And if one of you entrusts another, let the one who was entrusted deliver up his trust, and let him fear Allah, his Lord .
4953 — Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, he said: it was related to us that Abū Sulaymān al-Marʿashī was a man who used to keep company with Kaʿb, and one day he said to his companions: do you know of anyone who was wronged and called upon his Lord, but was not answered? They said: how can that be? He said: a man who sold something but did not write it down and did not call witnesses, and when his claim fell due, his counterpart denied it. He called upon his Lord, but was not answered, because he had disobeyed his Lord.
And others said: the writing of the document of the debt was a duty, but His word abrogated it: And if one of you entrusts another, let the one who was entrusted deliver up his trust . Mention of who said that:
4954 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: al-Thawrī informed us, on the authority of Ibn Shubruma, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī, he said: there is no harm, when you trust him, that you do not write it down and do not call witnesses; because of His word: And if one of you entrusts another . Ibn ʿUyayna said: Ibn Shubruma said on the authority of al-Shaʿbī: to this it extends.
4955 — Al-Muthannā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb related to us, saying: Dāwūd related to us, on the authority of ʿĀmir concerning this verse: O you who believe, when you contract a debt with one another for a fixed term, then write it down up to this place: And if one of you entrusts another, let the one who was entrusted deliver up his trust — he said: therein alleviation was granted; whoever wishes to trust his companion, let him do so.
4956 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Hārūn related to us, on the authority of ʿAmr, on the authority of ʿĀṣim, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī, he said: if he trusts him, then let him not call witnesses and not write anything down.
4957 — It was related to me on the authority of ʿAmmār, saying: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Khālid, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī, he said: they held the view that this verse: And if one of you entrusts another abrogated what came before it of writing and witnessing, as an alleviation and mercy from Allah.
4958 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, he said: someone other than ʿAṭāʾ said: And if one of you entrusts another abrogated the writing and the witnessing.
4959 — Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said: that was abrogated by His word: And if one of you entrusts another, let the one who was entrusted deliver up his trust . He said: had it not been for this passage, it would not be permitted for anyone to contract a debt except with a document and witnesses, or with a pledge; and when this came, it abrogated all of that, and the matter passed over to trust.
4960 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Ḥajjāj related to us, saying: Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ related to us, on the authority of Sulaymān al-Taymī, he said: I asked al-Ḥasan, I said: should everyone who concludes a sale call witnesses? He said: do you not see that Allah, the Mighty and Exalted, says: let the one who was entrusted deliver up his trust ?
* — Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb related to us, saying: Dāwūd related to us, on the authority of ʿĀmir concerning this verse: O you who believe, when you contract a debt with one another for a fixed term, then write it down up to this place: And if one of you entrusts another, let the one who was entrusted deliver up his trust — he said: therein alleviation was granted; whoever wishes to trust his companion, let him do so.
4961 — Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of Dāwūd, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī concerning his word: And if one of you entrusts another — he said: if you call witnesses, that is prudence, and if you do not call witnesses, then you are free and at ease.
4962 — Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, on the authority of Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Khālid, he said: I said to al-Shaʿbī: what do you think of the man who takes something from another on credit — is it incumbent upon him to call witnesses? He said: and he recited up to His word: And if one of you entrusts another — it abrogated what came before it.
4963 — ʿAmr ibn ʿAlī related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Marwān al-ʿUqaylī related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Abī Naḍra related to us, on the authority of Abī Saʿīd al-Khudrī: that he recited: O you who believe, when you contract a debt with one another for a fixed term — he said: and he recited up to: And if one of you entrusts another — he said: this abrogated what came before it.
The explanation of the words of the Exalted: then write it down, and let a scribe write it justly between you, and let no scribe refuse to write as Allah has taught him The Exalted, exalted be His praise, means by this: and let [him] write the document of the debt for a fixed term between the creditor and the debtor a scribe justly — that is, with truth and fairness in the document which he writes between the two of them, in a manner that does not wrong the rightful one of his right, nor diminish it, nor establish in favor of either of them an unlawful argument against the other, nor impose upon him what does not rest upon him. As:
4964 — Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda concerning his word: and let a scribe write it justly between you — he said: let the scribe fear Allah in his document, and let him not omit from it any right, nor add to it anything unlawful.
As for His word: and let no scribe refuse to write as Allah has taught him : it means: let no scribe, when commanded to do so, refuse to write between them the document of the debt, as Allah has taught him the writing of it and distinguished him with the knowledge thereof and deprived many of His creatures thereof.
The people of knowledge differed concerning the obligation of writing upon the scribe when he is commanded to do so, in accordance with their disagreement concerning the obligation of writing upon the one who has the right. Mention of who said that:
4965 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to us, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid concerning the word of Allah, the Mighty and Exalted: and let no scribe refuse — he said: it is obligatory upon the scribe to write.
4966 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, he said: I said to ʿAṭāʾ concerning his word: and let no scribe refuse to write — is it obligatory that he not refuse to write? He said: yes. Ibn Jurayj said: and Mujāhid said: it is obligatory upon the scribe to write.
* — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: and let no scribe refuse to write as Allah has taught him , the like of it.
4967 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Isrāʾīl, on the authority of Jābir, on the authority of ʿĀmir and ʿAṭāʾ concerning his word: and let no scribe refuse to write as Allah has taught him — both of them said: when they find no scribe and you are called, do not refuse to write for them.
Mention of who said that it is abrogated. We have already mentioned a group of those who said: everything in this verse of the command to writing, witnessing, and pledging is abrogated by the verse at the end of it. And I mention the word of those whom we did not mention there, concerning some of the meanings:
4968 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Abū Zuhayr related to us, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk: and let no scribe refuse — he said: it was incumbent, but it was abrogated by: let no scribe nor witness be harmed .
4969 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ: and let a scribe write it justly between you, and let no scribe refuse to write as Allah has taught him — this was obligatory upon the scribes.
And others said: it is on the basis of obligation, but it is obligatory upon the scribe when he is not occupied. Mention of who said that:
4970 — Mūsā related to me, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī concerning his word: and let a scribe write it justly between you, and let no scribe refuse to write as Allah has taught him — he says: let no scribe refuse to write if he is free.
The correct word concerning that is, in our view, that Allah, the Mighty and Exalted, commanded those who contract debts with one another for a fixed term to write the documents of the debt among themselves, and commanded the scribe to write that justly among them. And the command of Allah is a binding duty, unless a proof arises that it is guidance and recommendation. There is no indication that points to His command, exalted be His praise, to write the documents thereof, and His charge to the scribe not to refuse the writing thereof, being recommendation and guidance. It is thus a duty upon them which they may not neglect, and whoever of them neglects it bears sin by his neglect.
There is no basis for the excuse of one who relies upon the claim that the command to that is abrogated by His word: And if one of you entrusts another, let the one who was entrusted deliver up his trust . For Allah, exalted be His mention, permitted that only where there is no possibility of the document or of the scribe. But when the document and the scribe are available, then the duty — when the debt is for a fixed term — is that which Allah, exalted be His mention, commanded concerning it in His word: then write it down, and let a scribe write it justly between you, and let no scribe refuse to write as Allah has taught him .
The abrogating is only that whose ruling and the ruling of the abrogated cannot coexist in one and the same state, in the manner we have set forth. But that of which the one does not abrogate the ruling of the other does not belong at all to the abrogating and the abrogated.
If His word: And if you are on a journey and find no scribe, then pledges taken in hand; and if one of you entrusts another, let the one who was entrusted deliver up his trust were to be the abrogating of His word: When you contract a debt with one another for a fixed term, then write it down, and let a scribe write it justly between you, and let no scribe refuse to write as Allah has taught him — then His word: And if you are ill or on a journey, or one of you comes from the privy, or you have touched the women and find no water, then perform the dry ablution with clean earth [5:6] would have to be the abrogating of the ablution with water in the place of residence when water is present there, and on the journey, which Allah, the Mighty and Exalted, prescribed by His word: O you who believe, when you rise for prayer, wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows [5:6]. And His word concerning the expiation of ẓihār: And whoever finds not [a slave to free], then a fast of two consecutive months [58:4] would have to be the abrogating of His word: then the freeing of a slave (raqaba), before they touch one another [58:3].
Then to the speaker who claims that the word of Allah, the Mighty and Exalted: And if one of you entrusts another, let the one who was entrusted deliver up his trust is the abrogating of His word: When you contract a debt with one another for a fixed term, then write it down it is said: what is the difference between him and the one who pronounced his word concerning the tayammum and what we mentioned, and claimed that everything permitted in a state of necessity because of the cause of necessity abrogates its ruling in the state of necessity from its ruling in all its states — analogous to his word that the command to write the documents of debts and rights is abrogated by His word: And if you are on a journey and find no scribe, then pledges taken in hand; and if one of you entrusts another, let the one who was entrusted deliver up his trust ?
If he says: the difference between me and him is that His word: And if one of you entrusts another is a statement standing apart from His word: And if you are on a journey and find no scribe, then pledges taken in hand , and that the ruling on the journey, when no scribe is available thereon, has already ended with His word: then pledges taken in hand . By His word: And if one of you entrusts another was intended only: when you contract a debt with one another for a fixed term and one trusts the other, then let the one who was entrusted deliver up his trust.
Then it is said to him: and what is the proof of that from foundational principle or analogy, when the ruling concerning the debt for which there is a way to the scribe and the document has already ended with His word: and Allah teaches you, and Allah is All-Knowing of all things ?
As for those who claimed that His word: then write it down and His word: and let no scribe refuse is by way of recommendation and guidance: they are asked for the proof of their claim about that, then they are confronted with all the rest of the commands of Allah, the Mighty and Exalted, which He commanded in His Book, and they are asked about the difference between what they claimed therein and what they denied in something else. They will not pronounce anything about any of that without being bound to the like of it in the other.
Mention of who said that the justice in His word: and let a scribe write it justly between you is the right (al-ḥaqq).
The explanation of the words of the Exalted: let him write, and let the one upon whom the debt rests dictate, and let him fear Allah, his Lord, and let him not diminish anything thereof He means by this: let the scribe write, and let the one upon whom the debt rests dictate, and that is the debtor (the garīm, the mudīn). He says: let the debtor undertake the dictation of the document of what he owes in debt to the owner of the money, before the scribe, and let the dictator, upon whom the right rests, fear Allah, his Lord; let him dread His punishment in falling short of any of the right of the rightful one, that he should diminish it for him unlawfully or take it from him unjustly, so that he is called to account for it where he can settle it only from his good deeds, or so that he loads upon himself some of that one's evil deeds. As:
4971 — It was related to me on the authority of ʿAmmār, saying: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ: let him write, and let the one upon whom the debt rests dictate — this was obligatory; and let him fear Allah, his Lord, and let him not diminish anything thereof — he says: let him not unlawfully take away anything thereof.
4972 — Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning his word: and let him not diminish anything thereof — he said: let him not diminish anything of the right of this man when he dictates.
The explanation of the words of the Exalted: And if the one upon whom the debt rests is foolish (safīh) or weak, or unable to dictate himself, then let his guardian dictate justly The Exalted, exalted be His praise, means by His word: And if the one upon whom the debt rests is foolish or weak : if the debtor upon whom the money rests is a fool — that is: ignorant of what is correct in that which he must dictate to the scribe. As:
4973 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: And if the one upon whom the debt rests is foolish — as for the fool: that is the one ignorant of dictation and of affairs.
And others said: no, the fool (safīh) in this place, whom Allah intended, is the small child. Mention of who said that:
4974 — Mūsā ibn Hārūn related to me, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: And if the one upon whom the debt rests is foolish — as for the fool: that is the small child.
4975 — Yaḥyā ibn Abī Ṭālib related to me, saying: Yazīd informed us, saying: Juwaybir informed us, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk concerning his word: And if the one upon whom the debt rests is foolish or weak — he said: that is the small child, then let his guardian dictate justly .
The most fitting of the two interpretations for the verse is the interpretation of the one who said: the fool in this place is the one ignorant of dictation and of the place of what is correct therein as against what is wrong, on account of what we set forth earlier, namely that the meaning of foolishness (al-safah) in the language of the Arabs is ignorance. Under His word: And if the one upon whom the debt rests is foolish may fall everyone who is ignorant of what is correct in what he dictates as against what is wrong therein, whether a child or an adult, a man or a woman. However, what is most fitting to the apparent meaning of the verse is that what is intended thereby is everyone who is ignorant of the place of the wrong in what he dictates and the right thereof, among the adult men over whom no guardianship is exercised, and the women. For He, exalted be His mention, began the verse with His word: O you who believe, when you contract a debt with one another for a fixed term , and the child and the one over whom guardianship is exercised may not contract a debt. And Allah, the Mighty and Exalted, distinguished among those whom He commanded to dictate the document of the debt between the fool, the weak, and the one unable to dictate. In His distinguishing, exalted be His praise, the weak from the fool and from the one unable to dictate the document — in the attribute by which He described each of them — there is an indication that each of the three categories which Allah described differs from the other two categories.
And when that is so, then it is known that the one of them who is described with foolishness, and not with weakness, is the one who has the ability to dictate, except that the duty of dictation was removed from him because of his ignorance of the place of the correct therein as against the wrong. And that the one of them who is described with weakness is the one unable to dictate, even though he is strong and intelligent, whether because of a speech defect of his tongue or its dumbness. And that the one who is described as "unable to dictate himself" is the one prevented from dictating, whether by imprisonment whereby he is unable to be present before the scribe who writes the document, so that he dictates it to him, or by his absence from the place of dictation, so that because of his absence he is unable to dictate the document.
Allah thus removed from them the duty of dictating it, because of the causes which we have described, when they are present in them, and He excused them for the omission of dictation on that account. And upon the lapsing of that duty for them, He commanded the guardian of the rightful one to dictate it, and said: And if the one upon whom the debt rests is foolish or weak, or unable to dictate himself, then let his guardian dictate justly — He means the guardian of the rightful one.
There is no basis for the word of the one who claimed that the fool in this place is the small child, and that the weak is the adult simpleton. For if that were so as he said, then that would require that His word: or unable to dictate himself be the one of the intelligent men, who lawfully dispose of their property and themselves, but is incapable of dictating, whether through a defect in his tongue by dumbness or another ailment, or through his absence from the place of the document. And if that were its meaning, then the meaning of His word: then let his guardian dictate justly would lapse, for over the intelligent, legally competent one no guardianship is exercised over his property, even if he is dumb or absent, and no disposal by anyone else over his property is lawful except by his charge. In the correctness of that meaning lies that which judges the incorrectness of the word of the one who claimed that the fool in this place is the small child or the adult simpleton. Mention of who said that:
4976 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ: And if the one upon whom the debt rests is foolish or weak, or unable to dictate himself, then let his guardian dictate justly — he says: the guardian of the rightful one.
4977 — Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, his word: And if the one upon whom the debt rests is foolish or weak, or unable to dictate himself, then let his guardian dictate justly — he said: he says: if he was incapable of that, then let the owner of the debt dictate justly.
Mention of the narration of who said: by "the weak" in this place was intended: the simpleton, and by His word: then let his guardian dictate justly : the guardian of the fool and the weak.
4978 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Abū Zuhayr related to us, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk: And if the one upon whom the debt rests is foolish or weak, or unable to dictate himself — he said: the guardian of the fool or the weak was commanded to dictate justly.
4979 — Mūsā related to me, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: as for the weak, that is the simpleton.
4980 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: as for the weak, that is the simpleton.
4981 — Yūnus related to us, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said: And if the one upon whom the debt rests is foolish or weak — who does not discern it, so that he establishes for this one his right while he does not know it; his guardian then stands in his place until he establishes for this one his right.
We have already demonstrated the soundest of the two interpretations concerning that. As for His word: then let his guardian dictate justly : he means: with the right.
The explanation of the words of the Exalted: And call to witness two witnesses from your men The Exalted, exalted be His praise, means by this: and call to witness over your rights two witnesses. One says: so-and-so is my witness over this money, and my witness concerning it. As for His word: from your men : it means: from your free Muslim men, and not from your slaves (ʿabīd), nor from your free disbelievers (kuffār). As:
4982 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: And call to witness two witnesses from your men — he said: the free.
* — Yūnus related to me, saying: ʿAlī ibn Saʿīd informed us, on the authority of Hushaym, on the authority of Dāwūd ibn Abī Hind, on the authority of Mujāhid, the like of it.
The explanation of the words of the Exalted: And if there are not two men, then a man and two women, from those whom you accept as witnesses The Exalted, exalted be His praise, means by this: and if there are not two men, then let there be a man and two women for the testimony. "The man and the two women" are put in the nominative by reference to the "being" (al-kawn); and if you wish, you may say: if there are not two men, then let a man and two women bear witness about it; and if you wish: if there are not two men, then a man and two women who bear witness about it. And if you say: if there are not two men, then a man and two women, that is correct; all of this is permissible. And if it were in the accusative ("then a man and two women"), that would be permissible on the basis of the interpretation: if there are not two men, then call to witness a man and two women. And His word: from those whom you accept as witnesses : it means: from the upright ones whose religion and virtue are accepted. As:
4983 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ concerning his word: And call to witness two witnesses from your men — he says: in the debt, and if there are not two men, then a man and two women — and that is in the debt, from those whom you accept as witnesses. He says: upright ones.
4984 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Abū Zuhayr related to us, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk: And call to witness two witnesses from your men — Allah, the Mighty and Exalted, commanded that they call to witness upright ones from among their men, and if there are not two men, then a man and two women, from those whom you accept as witnesses .
The explanation of the words of the Exalted: so that if one of the two [women] errs, the one may remind the other The Qurʾān-reciters differed concerning the recitation of this. Most of the people of the Ḥijāz and Medina and some of the people of Iraq recited: so that if one of the two errs, the one may remind the other with a fatḥa on the hamza of "an" and the accusative on "taḍilla" and "tudhakkira," in the meaning: if there are not two men, then a man and two women, so that the one may remind the other if she errs. With them this is of the foreplaced whose meaning is the postplaced; for the reminding, with them, is that which must come in the place of "erring," because the meaning is what we have described in their words. They said: we put "tudhakkira" in the accusative only because the condition, when it was foreplaced, connected with what came before it, so that its answer was referred back to it, as you say in speech: it pleases me that the asker asks and then is given, in the meaning: it pleases me that the asker be given if or when he asks — for what pleases you is the giving, not the asking. But because his word "that he asks," when it was foreplaced, connected with what came before it, namely his word "it pleases me," "an" was put with a fatḥa and the accusative effected by it; then there was made to follow upon it his word "is given," and it was put in the accusative by the accusative of his word "it pleases me that he asks," joining onto it as an apposition, even though it has the meaning of the condition.
And others recited it likewise so, except that they recited it with a sukūn on the dhāl of "tudhkira" and lightening of its kāf. And those who recited it so differed among themselves concerning the interpretation of their recitation of it in that manner. Some of them directed it to the meaning: then the one makes the other a male [witness] by their coming together — in the meaning that their testimony, when she and the testimony of her companion come together, is valid, just as the testimony of one man in the debt is valid. For the testimony of each of them singly is not valid in that wherein it was valid of the debts, except by the coming together of two upon one testimony, so that the testimony of both then comes to the level of the testimony of one man. It is as though each of the two, according to the interpretation of the one who interprets it in this meaning, made her companion a male [witness] with her. And this was based on the word of the Arabs: "so-and-so bore a male at her mother's," that is: she bore him as a male child; "she is a woman who bears males (mudhkira)" when she bears male children. This is a statement related from Sufyān ibn ʿUyayna, that he used to say it.
4985 — That was related to me on the authority of Abū ʿUbayd al-Qāsim ibn Sallām, that he said: it was related to me on the authority of Sufyān ibn ʿUyayna that he said: the interpretation of His word: then the one reminds the other is not of reminding after forgetting; it is only of "making male" (al-dhakr), in the meaning that she, when she testifies together with the other, their testimony becomes as the testimony of a man.
And others among them directed it to the meaning of reminding after forgetting.
And others recited it: "if (in) one of the two errs, then the one reminds the other" with a kasra on the "in" of his word "in taḍilla" and the nominative on "tudhakkiru" with doubling. It is as though it has the meaning of the commencement of the report about what the two women do: if one of the two forgets her testimony, the other reminds her, by establishing the one who remembers for the one who forgets and bringing it to her remembrance, and cutting it off from what came before it. The meaning of the speech, according to the one who recites it so, is: and call to witness two witnesses from your men, and if there are not two men, then a man and two women, from those whom you accept as witnesses; for if one of the two errs, the other reminds her — by way of resuming the report about her act, if one of the two forgets her testimony, namely the reminding by the other of the two of her forgetting companion. This is a recitation which al-Aʿmash used to recite, and those who took it from him. Al-Aʿmash put "taḍilla" in the jussive only because it is in the position of the apocope by the particle of the condition, namely "in." The interpretation of the speech according to his recitation is: if she errs (in taḍlal); and when one of the two lāms was assimilated into the other, he gave it the lightest vowel-movement; and he put "tudhakkiru" in the nominative with the fāʾ, because it is the answer to the condition.
The correct recitation thereof, in our view, is the recitation of the one who recites it with a fatḥa on the "an" of his word: so that one of the two errs and with doubling of the kāf of his word: then the one reminds the other and the accusative on its rāʾ, in the meaning: if there are not two men, then let a man and two women bear witness, with a view to this, that if one of the two errs, the other reminds her. As for the accusative on "fa-tudhakkira": that is by linkage to "taḍilla," and the "an" was put with a fatḥa because it stands in the place of "kay" (so that), while it stands in the position of a condition, with the answer after it omitted, sufficed with its fatḥa — I mean the fatḥa of the "an" which has the meaning of "kay" — and the joining of the second, I mean "fa-tudhakkira," onto "taḍilla," so that it be known that that which came in the place of what it would have governed, and which is visible, pointed to it and conveyed the meaning and the governance thereof, namely of "kay."
We chose that in the recitation only because of the unanimity of the authority of the early and the later reciters thereon, and the standing-alone of al-Aʿmash and those who recited his recitation therein with that wherein he stood alone from them. It is not permitted to abandon a recitation which the Muslims have widely transmitted among themselves for something else. And as for our choice of "fa-tudhakkira" with doubling of the kāf: that is in the meaning of conveying the reminding by the one to the other and making it known to her by causing it to penetrate to her so that she remembers; the doubling is more fitting for that than the lightening.
As for what is related from Ibn ʿUyayna of the interpretation which we have mentioned, that is a mistaken interpretation for which there is no basis for many reasons. The first: that it contradicts the word of all the interpreters. The second: that it is known that the erring of one of the two women in the testimony about which she testified is only her straying from it through her forgetting of it, just as the straying of the man in his debt when he becomes confused about it and deviates from the right. And when one of the two is of that attribute, how can the other become a male [witness] with her, while she forgets her testimony and errs in it? The one of them who errs in her testimony at that moment undoubtedly needs the reminding (al-tadhkīr) more than the making-male (al-idhkār). Unless he intended that the one who remembers, when her companion falls short in remembering her testimony, will spur her to remember what she could no longer remember and so forgot, so that she strengthens her with the reminding until she makes her like a man in her strength in remembering what she could no longer remember thereof — as one says of the strong one in his work: "male (dhakar)," and as one says of the sharp sword in its blow: "a male sword (sayf dhakar)," and "a male man (rajul dhakar)," by which is meant: sharp in his work, strong of grip, firm of resolve. If Ibn ʿUyayna intended this, then that is one of the modes of interpreting it; except that, when he interprets it so, his interpretation comes down to the import of our interpretation which we have given concerning it, even though the recitation according to that meaning diverges from the recitation which we have chosen, in that it then changes the correct recitation into that whose recitation he chose, namely the lightening of the kāf of his word "fa-tudhkira." We know of no one who interpreted it so and chose to recite it so in that meaning. The correct thing in his word, since the matter is general in the manner we have described, is thus that which we have chosen.
Mention of who interpreted His word: so that one of the two errs, then the one reminds the other in accordance with our interpretation which we have given concerning it:
4986 — Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, his word: And call to witness two witnesses from your men; and if there are not two men, then a man and two women, from those whom you accept as witnesses, so that if one of the two errs, the one may remind the other — Allah knew that there would be rights, and He took for some of them from others the securing; so take the securing of Allah, for it is more obedient to your Lord and better preserves your possessions. And by my life, if he is godfearing, the document only increases him in goodness, and if he is corrupt, it is better that he pay when he knows that there are witnesses against him.
4987 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ: so that if one of the two errs, the one may remind the other — he says: so that if one of the two forgets, the other reminds her.
4988 — Mūsā ibn Hārūn related to me, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: so that one of the two errs — he says: one of the two forgets the testimony, then the other reminds her.
4989 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Abū Zuhayr related to us, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk: so that one of the two errs — he says: if one of the two forgets, the other reminds her.
4990 — Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning his word: so that if one of the two errs, the one may remind the other — he said: both [recitations] are a linguistic form and they are equal, and we recite: fa-tudhakkira .
The explanation of the words of the Exalted: And let the witnesses not refuse when they are called The interpreters differed concerning the state in which Allah forbade the witnesses to refuse to answer when they are called by this verse. Some of them said: its meaning is: let the witnesses not refuse to answer when they are called to bear witness over the document and the rights. Mention of who said that:
4991 — Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, his word: And let the witnesses not refuse when they are called — a man used to go round in the great camp in which the people were, and he would call them to the testimony, but none of them would follow him. He said: Qatāda used to interpret this verse: And let the witnesses not refuse when they are called as to bear witness for a man against a man.
4992 — It was related to me on the authority of ʿAmmār, saying: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ concerning his word: And let the witnesses not refuse when they are called — he said: a man used to go round among the numerous people calling them to bear witness, but none of them would follow him. Then Allah, the Mighty and Exalted, revealed: And let the witnesses not refuse when they are called .
4993 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda concerning his word: And let the witnesses not refuse when they are called — he said: do not refuse to testify when you are called to a testimony.
And others said in the same meaning as these, except that they said: it is incumbent upon the one who is called to bear witness over the rights, when no other is found; but when another is found, he is free in answering it: if he wishes, he answers, and if he wishes, he does not answer. Mention of who said that:
4994 — Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Jābir, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī, he said: let the witnesses not refuse when they are called — he said: if he wishes, he testifies, and if he wishes, he does not testify; but when no other is found, he testifies.
And others said: its meaning is: let the witnesses not refuse when they are called to bear witness against the one against whom the summoner wishes to give testimony, and to render the testimony that they have. Mention of who said that:
4995 — Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Abū ʿĀmir related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan: And let the witnesses not refuse when they are called — he said: al-Ḥasan said: the rendering [of the testimony] and the bearing witness.
4996 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us concerning his word: And let the witnesses not refuse when they are called — he said: al-Ḥasan used to say: it gathers two matters: do not refuse, when [the testimony] rests with you, to testify; and do not refuse, when you are called to a testimony.
4997 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, his word: And let the witnesses not refuse when they are called — he means: whoever of the Muslims is needed, let him testify over a testimony if it rests with him, and it is not permitted for him to refuse when he is called.
* — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAmr ibn ʿAwn related to us, saying: Hushaym informed us, on the authority of Yūnus, on the authority of al-Ḥasan: And let the witnesses not refuse when they are called — he said: for the rendering of it, and let him not [arbitrarily] begin with it when he calls him to make him testify, and when he calls him to render it.
And others said: no, its meaning is: let the witnesses not refuse when they are called to render the testimony that they have for the summoner, by answering him in rendering it. Mention of who said that:
4998 — Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: And let the witnesses not refuse when they are called — he said: when he has [already] testified.
* — Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, on the authority of ʿĪsā, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: And let the witnesses not refuse when they are called — he said: when they had [already] testified before that.
* — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: And let the witnesses not refuse when they are called — he says: when they have [already] been called to witness.
* — Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid concerning his word: And let the witnesses not refuse when they are called — he said: when a testimony rests with you and you are called.
4999 — Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, saying: Layth related to us, on the authority of Mujāhid concerning his word: And let the witnesses not refuse when they are called — he said: when there is a testimony, render it; and when you are called to testify, go if you wish, and do not go if you wish.
5000 — Sawwār ibn ʿAbdallāh related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Malik ibn al-Ṣabbāḥ related to us, on the authority of ʿImrān ibn Ḥudayr, he said: I said to Abū Mijlaz: there are people who call me to testify among them, and I find it disagreeable to testify among them. He said: leave what you find disagreeable; but when you have [already] testified, answer when you are called.
5001 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Jābir, on the authority of ʿĀmir, he said: the witness has the choice so long as he has not testified.
5002 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Hushaym related to us, on the authority of Yūnus, on the authority of ʿIkrima concerning his word: And let the witnesses not refuse when they are called — he said: for the rendering of the testimony.
5003 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAmr ibn ʿAwn related to us, saying: Hushaym informed us, on the authority of Abī ʿĀmir, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, he said: it is concerning the rendering of the testimony.
* — Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Abū ʿĀmir al-Muzanī related to us, saying: I heard ʿAṭāʾ say: that is concerning the rendering of the testimony, he means his word: And let the witnesses not refuse when they are called .
5004 — Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Abū Ḥurra informed us, he informed us on the authority of al-Ḥasan: that a questioner asked him and said: I am called to the testimony and I find it disagreeable to testify about it. He said: then do not answer, if you wish.
5005 — Yaʿqūb related to us, saying: Hushaym related to us, on the authority of Mughīra, he said: I asked Ibrāhīm, I said: I am called to the testimony and I fear that I will forget. He said: then do not testify, if you wish.
5006 — Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Abū ʿĀmir related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, he said: for the rendering.
5007 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Sharīk, on the authority of Sālim al-Afṭas, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr: And let the witnesses not refuse when they are called — he said: when they have [already] testified.
* — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Suwayd ibn Naṣr related to us, saying: Ibn al-Mubārak informed us, on the authority of Sharīk, on the authority of Sālim, on the authority of Saʿīd: And let the witnesses not refuse when they are called — he said: it is the one with whom the testimony rests.
5008 — Mūsā related to me, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, his word: And let the witnesses not refuse when they are called — he says: let the witness not refuse to come forward and testify when he is free.
5009 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, he said: I said to ʿAṭāʾ: And let the witnesses not refuse when they are called ? He said: they are the ones who have [already] testified. He said: and it does not harm a person to refuse to testify if he wishes. I said to ʿAṭāʾ: how is that? When he is called to write, he is obliged not to refuse, and when he is called to testify, he is not obliged to testify if he wishes? He said: so it is: it is obligatory upon the scribe to write, but it is not obligatory upon the witness to testify if he wishes; the witnesses are numerous.
5010 — Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning his word: And let the witnesses not refuse when they are called — he said: when he has [already] testified, let him not refuse when he is called to come, render a testimony, and complete it.
5011 — Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: And let the witnesses not refuse — he said: al-Ḥasan used to interpret it: when a testimony rests with him and he is called to render it.
5012 — Yaḥyā ibn Abī Ṭālib related to me, saying: Yazīd informed us, saying: Juwaybir informed us, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk concerning his word: And let the witnesses not refuse when they are called — he said: when a man has his testimony written down, or renders testimony and testifies for a man, and the scribe who writes the document — they are called to the place where the right is adjudicated, then it rests upon them that they answer and testify with that about which they were called to witness.
And others said: it is a command of Allah, the Mighty and Exalted, to the man and the woman to answer when he is called to testify about what he has [not yet] established of the rights, on his own initiative, and not [merely] the rendering of the testimony; but it is a command of recommendation, not of obligation. Mention of who said that:
5013 — Abū al-ʿĀliya al-ʿAbdī Ismāʿīl ibn al-Haytham related to me, saying: Abū Qutayba related to us, on the authority of Fuḍayl ibn Marzūq, on the authority of ʿAṭiyya al-ʿAwfī concerning his word: And let the witnesses not refuse when they are called — he said: you are commanded to testify; if you wish, testify, and if you wish, do not testify.
5014 — Abū al-ʿĀliya related to me, saying: Abū Qutayba related to us, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Thābit al-ʿAṣrī, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, the like of it.
The most fitting of these statements for the correct is the statement of the one who said: its meaning is: let the witnesses not refuse to answer when they are called to render the testimony and complete it before a person of authority or a judge who takes from the one upon whom it rests what rests upon him in favor of the one to whom it belongs. We say only that this statement is more in accord with the correct than all the rest of the statements, because Allah, the Mighty and Exalted, said: And let the witnesses not refuse when they are called . He commanded them only to answer the call to the testimony, and He gave them the name "witnesses (shuhadāʾ)," and it is not permitted that the name "witnesses" be given to them unless they have already been called to witness before that and have testified about that concerning which their testimony gave them the name "witnesses." Before they are called to witness about anything, it is not permitted to name them "witnesses." For if that name were due to them while they have not yet been called to witness about anything by virtue of which they would deserve this name through their testimony, then there would not be on earth anyone of sound mind but he would deserve to be called "witness," in the meaning that he will testify, or that he is suited to testify — even though it is incorrect to name him with that name, except for the one who has a testimony for another, or the one who has [already] rendered his testimony, so that this name is due to him on that account.
It is thus known that by His word: And let the witnesses not refuse when they are called is intended the one whose attribute we have described, namely the one to whom a testimony is entrusted or who has testified, and then is called to complete it; for the one who has not been called to witness and to whom no testimony is entrusted before testifying deserves neither the name "witness (shahīd)" nor "witness (shāhid)," on account of what we have described earlier. Moreover, in the addition of the alif-lām to "the witnesses (al-shuhadāʾ)" there is a clear indication that the one indicated by the prohibition against omitting the answering of the testimony is particular persons known for the testimony, and that they are the ones whom Allah, the Mighty and Exalted, commanded the rightful ones to call to witness by His word: And call to witness two witnesses from your men; and if there are not two men, then a man and two women, from those whom you accept as witnesses . And when that is so, then it is known that they were only commanded to answer their summoner to render their testimony, after they have been called to witness and have testified. If it were a command to whoever of the people turned away and was called to the testimony to testify about it, then it would have been said: and let no witness (shāhid) refuse when he is called.
Nevertheless, even though the matter is so, we say concerning the one who is called for a testimony to testify about it, when he is in a place where there is no one other than him suited for the testimony, that it is incumbent upon him to answer his summoner to that, just as it is incumbent upon the scribe when the writing is charged to him in a place where there is no scribe other than him that it is incumbent upon him to write, just as it is incumbent upon the one who is in a place where there is no one other than him who knows the faith and the legal rulings of Islam, and there reaches him someone who is ignorant of the faith and the prescribed duties of Allah and asks him to teach him and to set that forth to him, that he teach him and set it forth to him.
We did not impose that which we imposed upon the man of answering the testimony, when he is called on his own initiative to testify about what he was called to witness, on the basis of this verse, but on the basis of other proofs, namely what we have mentioned. For we imposed upon the man the upholding of the right of his Muslim brother, to the extent that he is able to uphold it. And "the witnesses (al-shuhadāʾ)" is the plural of "witness (shahīd)."
The explanation of the words of the Exalted: And be not too weary to write it down, small or great, up to its term The Exalted, exalted be His praise, means by this: and be not too weary, O you who supply people on credit up to a term, to write down the small of the right — that is, the little thereof — or the great of it — that is, the much thereof — up to its term — up to the term of the right; for the document better keeps track of the term and the money.
5015 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Suwayd related to us, saying: Ibn al-Mubārak informed us, on the authority of Sharīk, on the authority of Layth, on the authority of Mujāhid: And be not too weary to write it down, small or great, up to its term — he said: it is the debt.
The meaning of His word: and be not too weary (lā tasʾamū) is: be not bored. One says of that: "I became bored (saʾimtu), so I am bored (asʾam), with boredom (saʾāma and saʾama)." Of that is the word of Labīd:
"Indeed, I have grown weary of the boredom of life and its length, and the asking of these people: how is Labīd?"
And of that is the word of Zuhayr:
"I have grown weary of the burdens of life, and whoever lives eighty years — may you have no father — becomes bored."
He means: I became bored. Some grammarians of Basra said: the interpretation of His word: up to its term is: up to the term of the witness, and its meaning is: up to the term within which his testimony is valid. But we have already set forth the statement concerning that.
The explanation of the words of the Exalted: that is more just with Allah The Exalted, exalted be His praise, means by His word: that — namely the writing of the document of the debt up to its term — and He means by His word "more just (aqsaṭ)": more equitable with Allah. One says of that: "the judge acted equitably (aqsaṭa), so he acts equitably (yuqsiṭu), with equity (iqsāṭ), and he is equitable (muqsiṭ)," when he is just in his judgment and attains the right therein. And when he does wrong, it is said: "he was unjust (qasaṭa), so he is unjust (yaqsiṭu), with injustice (qusūṭ)." Of that is the word of Allah, the Mighty and Exalted: And as for the unjust (al-qāsiṭūn), they are firewood for hell (jahannam) [72:15] — He means the wrongdoers. In accordance with what we have said about that spoke the community of the interpreters. Mention of who said that:
5016 — Mūsā related to me, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, his word: that is more just with Allah — he says: more equitable with Allah.
The explanation of the words of the Exalted: and more upright for the testimony The Exalted, exalted be His praise, means by this: and more correct for the testimony. Its origin is from the word of the speaker: "I straightened it out of its crookedness (aqamtuhu)," when you made it straight so that it stood upright. The document was more just with Allah and more correct for the testimony of the witnesses about what is in it only because it contains the wordings which the seller, the buyer, the owner of the debt, and the debtor acknowledged against themselves, so that there arises no discord among the witnesses in their wordings at their testimony, because of the coming together of their testimony about what the document contains. And when their testimony about that comes together, then the adjudication of the judgment among them is clearer for the one to whom recourse is made among the judges for judgment, alongside other causes. And it is more just with Allah, because He commanded it, and following the command of Allah is undoubtedly with Allah more equitable and more just than omitting it and turning away from it.
The explanation of the words of the Exalted: and most apt that you not doubt The Exalted, exalted be His praise, means by His word: and most apt (adnā) : and nearest, from "al-dunuww": that is nearness. And He means by His word: that you not doubt : of not doubting in the testimony. As:
5017 — Mūsā related to us, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: that is most apt that you not doubt — he says: that you not doubt in the testimony. It is [a verb on the pattern of] iftaʿala, from "al-rība" (the doubt). The meaning of the speech is: and be not too weary, O community, to write down the right which you have due from those whom you supplied on credit up to a term, be that right small or great, little or much; for that document of yours is more just with Allah and more correct for the testimony of your witnesses about it, and it is for you most apt that you not doubt that about which your witnesses testified against you of the right and the term, when it is written down.
The explanation of the words of the Exalted: unless it is a present trade (tijāra ḥāḍira) which you conduct among yourselves, then there is no sin upon you if you do not write it down Then He, exalted be His mention, excepted from that which He forbade them — namely that they should be too weary to write the documents of their rights against their debtors with the rights they have over them — that which is due to them against them of a right from an exchange against cash from hand to hand. He granted them alleviation in omitting the writing of the documents thereof, because each of them — I mean of the sellers and the buyers — receives, when the obligation among them in that which they exchange is in cash, that which is due to him against his counter-contractors, before they part. They thus have no need in that for the writing by either of the two parties against the other party of a document with that which is due to them against them, when they have already mutually received the obligation that was due to them. Therefore the Exalted said, exalted be His mention: unless it is a present trade which you conduct among yourselves — with no term therein, nor deferral, nor credit — then there is no sin upon you if you do not write it down — he says: there is no fault upon you if you do not write it down, namely the present trade. In accordance with what we have said about that spoke a group of the interpreters. Mention of who said that:
5018 — Mūsā related to me, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, his word: unless it is a present trade which you conduct among yourselves — he says: with you in the town, which you see, so that it is taken and given; then there is no sin upon these if they do not write it down.
5019 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Abū Zuhayr related to us, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk: And be not too weary to write it down, small or great, up to its term up to His word: then there is no sin upon you if you do not write it down — he said: Allah commanded that you not be too weary to write it down, small or much, up to its term, and He commanded that what was from hand to hand be testified about, small or great that be, and He granted them alleviation not to write it down.
The Qurʾān-reciters differed concerning the recitation of this. Most of the reciters of the Ḥijāz and Iraq and most of the reciters recited: "unless it is a present trade (tijāratun ḥāḍiratun)" in the nominative, and some reciters of the Kūfans stood alone by reciting it in the accusative. That is, even though it is permissible in Arabic — since the Arabs put the indefinite nouns and the nouns furnished with an apposition in the accusative with "kāna," and conceal therewith in "kāna" an unknown [subject], so that they say: "if it were good food, then bring it to us," and put it in the nominative and say: "if there were good food, then bring it to us," making the indefinite noun's predicate follow it in the same case.
What I choose, however, of the recitation, with which I then do not permit recitation by anything else, is the nominative in "the present trade," because of the unanimity of the reciters thereon, and the exceptional character of the one who recited that in the accusative among them; and one does not throw the exceptional against the authority. And of what has come in the accusative is the word of the poet:
"O my two eyes, do you weep for ʿAfāq when there were stabbings between them and embracing?"
And the word of another:
"By Allah, my people — what a people for a noble woman — when there was a day with stars, most hideous!"
The Arabs do that only with the indefinite nouns, on account of what we have described of making the predicates of the indefinite nouns follow their names [in case]. The rule with them was that there be with it a noun in the nominative and a noun in the accusative; and when they put both in the nominative, they had in mind making the indefinite noun be followed by its predicate, and when they put both in the accusative, they had in mind "kāna" being accompanied by a noun in the accusative and a noun in the nominative, and they found that the indefinite noun is followed by its predicate, and they concealed in "kāna" an unknown [subject], on account of its capacity for the concealed.
Some people thought that the one who recited it: unless it is a present trade recited it only in the meaning: unless there be a present trade (yakūna tijāratan ḥāḍiratan), and claimed that it obliges its reciter to recite "yakūna" with a yāʾ, and he neglected the place of the soundness of his recitation from the standpoint of grammatical inflection, and imposed upon him what is not obligatory upon him. That is because the Arabs, when they place with "kāna" a feminine indefinite noun with its apposition or its predicate, sometimes make "kāna" feminine and sometimes masculine, so that they say: "if she were a small girl (kānat jāriyatan ṣaghīratan), then buy her," and "if there were a small girl (kāna jāriyatan ṣaghīratan), then buy her," making "kāna" masculine, even though the apposed indefinite noun is sometimes in the accusative and sometimes in the nominative, and even though they sometimes make [it] feminine.
Some grammarians of Basra claimed that his word: "unless it is a present trade" — in which "the present trade" is in the nominative — [is so] because "yakūn" has the meaning of completeness and needs no predicate, in the meaning: unless it exists, or comes to pass, or occurs. But he imposed upon himself what was not obligatory upon him, for he imposed that upon himself only when he found no accusative for "kāna" and found "the present trade" in the nominative, and he neglected the permissibility that his word which you conduct among yourselves is the predicate of "kāna," so that he would thereby desist from what he imposed upon himself. What the Basran whom we cited said is not incorrect in Arabic, except that what we say is more in accord with the language of the Arabs and more correct in meaning, namely that in his word which you conduct among yourselves there are two possibilities: the one is that it is in the position of the accusative, since it takes the place of the predicate of "kāna," and "the present trade" is its name [subject]; and the other is that it is in the position of the nominative as an apposition to "the present trade," because the predicate of the indefinite noun follows it, so that its interpretation is: unless it is a present trade which is conducted among you.
The explanation of the words of the Exalted: And call witnesses when you trade with one another He means by this, exalted be His praise: and call witnesses over the small and the great of what you trade with one another of your rights, the immediate and the deferred thereof, the cash and the on-credit. For my alleviation for you in omitting the writing of the documents among you concerning that which passes among you of rights, for the one against the other, from a present trade which circulates among you from hand to hand and in cash, is not an alleviation from me for you in omitting the [writing of the document thereof ...]
