Tafseer of The Table · Al-Maaida · 5:106
O you who have believed, testimony [should be taken] among you when death approaches one of you at the time of bequest - [that of] two just men from among you or two others from outside if you are traveling through the land and the disaster of death should strike you. Detain them after the prayer and let them both swear by Allah if you doubt [their testimony, saying], "We will not exchange our oath for a price, even if he should be a near relative, and we will not withhold the testimony of Allah. Indeed, we would then be of the sinful."
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.
Discussion of the interpretation of His word: يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا شَهَادَةُ بَيْنِكُمْ إِذَا حَضَرَ أَحَدَكُمُ الْمَوْتُ حِينَ الْوَصِيَّةِ اثْنَانِ ذَوَا عَدْلٍ مِنْكُمْ (O you who believe, the testimony between you, when death approaches one of you at the time of the bequest, let it be that of two upright men from among you.)
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says to those who believe in Him: "O you who believe, the testimony between you," He says: let there be testimony among you, "when death approaches one of you at the time of the bequest," He says: at the moment of the bequest (waṣiyya), "by two upright men from among you," He says: two possessors of intellect, reason, and judgment among the Muslims. As in the following:-
12882 - Muḥammad ibn Bashshār and ʿUbayd Allāh ibn Yūsuf al-Jubayrī related to us, both saying: Muʾammal ibn Ismāʿīl related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab, concerning His word: وَأَشْهِدُوا ذَوَيْ عَدْلٍ مِنْكُمْ [Surah al-Ṭalāq: 2] (And call two upright men from among you to witness), he said: possessors of intellect.
The exegetes differed over the interpretation of His word: "two upright men from among you."
Some of them said: by it is meant: from your community of faith.
* Mention of who said that:
12883 - Ḥumayd ibn Masʿada related to us, saying: Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab, he said: two witnesses "who are upright from among you," from the Muslims.
12884 - ʿImrān ibn Mūsā al-Qazzāz related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Wārith ibn Saʿīd related to us, saying: Isḥāq ibn Suwayd related to us, on the authority of Yaḥyā ibn Yaʿmar, concerning His word: "two upright men from among you," from the Muslims.
12885 - Ibn Bashshār and Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, both saying: Ibn Abī ʿAdī related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab, concerning His word: "two upright men from among you," he said: two from the adherents of your religion.
12886 - Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Ibn Idrīs related to us, on the authority of Ashʿath, on the authority of Ibn Sīrīn, on the authority of ʿAbīda, he said: I asked him about the word of Allah, the Exalted, whose mention is exalted: "two upright men from among you," he said: from the community of faith.
12887 - Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Ibn Idrīs related to us, on the authority of Hishām, on the authority of Ibn Sīrīn, on the authority of ʿAbīda, in similar fashion — except that he said therein: from the adherents of the community of faith.
12888 - Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of Hishām, on the authority of Ibn Sīrīn, he said: I asked ʿAbīda about this verse: "two upright men from among you," he said: from the adherents of the community of faith.
12889 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Ibn ʿAwn, on the authority of Ibn Sīrīn, on the authority of ʿAbīda, in similar fashion.
12890 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Ḥusayn related to us, on the authority of Zāʾida, on the authority of Hishām, on the authority of Ibn Sīrīn, he said: I asked ʿAbīda, and he mentioned the like of it.
12891 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Ibn Mahdī related to us, on the authority of Ḥammād, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ — and he said: Mālik ibn Ismāʿīl related to us, on the authority of Ḥammād ibn Zayd, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ — on the authority of Mujāhid, the like of it.
12892 - 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: "two upright men from among you," he said: two upright men from the adherents of Islam.
12893 - Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His word: "two upright men from among you," he said: from the Muslims.
12894 - Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, he said: Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab used to say: "two upright men from among you," that is: from the adherents of Islam.
* * *
And others said: by it is meant: two upright men from the tribe of the testator. And that is an opinion related from ʿIkrima, ʿAbīda, and a number of others besides the two of them.
* * *
And they differed over the nature of "the two" whom Allah mentioned in this verse — what it is and who the two of them are.
Some of them said: the two of them are two witnesses who testify concerning the bequest of the testator.
* * *
And others said: the two of them are two executors of the bequest (waṣiyyān).
* * *
And the interpretation of those who claimed that the two of them are witnesses, concerning His word: "the testimony between you," is: let two witnesses who are upright from among you testify concerning your bequest.
* * *
And the interpretation of those who said: "The two of them are executors, not witnesses," concerning His word: "the testimony between you," is in the sense of presence and attendance upon that which the sick person charges the two of them with — derived from your expression: "I attended (shahidtu) the bequest of so-and-so," in the sense of: I was present at it.
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar said: And the more correct of the two interpretations of His word "two upright men from among you" is the interpretation of the one who interpreted it in the sense that the two of them are from the community of faith, and not that of the one who interpreted it as the two of them being from the tribe of the testator.
And we have said that this is the more correct of the two interpretations of the verse because Allah, the Exalted, whose mention is exalted, addressed the believers in general terms with this, in His word: "O you who believe, the testimony between you when death approaches one of you at the time of the bequest, by two upright men from among you." It is therefore not permissible to restrict that which Allah, the Exalted, whose mention is exalted, made general, to the particular, except on the basis of a proof to which one ought to submit. And since that is so, it is obligatory that that to which He refers be posited in general terms, just as their mention was initially posited in general terms.
* * *
And the more correct of the two meanings of His word "the testimony between you" is the oath, and not "the testimony" that is given by one who possesses a testimony in favor of another, in favor of the one for whom it is, against the one against whom it is, before the judges. For we know of no ordinance for Allah, the Exalted, whose mention is exalted, in which the oath is made obligatory upon the witness, such that it would be permissible to take "the testimony" in this place as "the testimony" that some people give before the judges and the rulers.
And in the ordinance of the verse in this place — namely the oath upon the upright ones, and upon those who take their place, through the oath, as is evident from His word "you hold the two of them back after the prayer, and they swear by Allah" — lies the clearest proof of the correctness of what we have said about it: that "the testimony" therein is the oaths, and not the testimony by which judgment is given in favor of the one for whom testimony is borne against the one against whom testimony is borne; and the proof of the incorrectness of what contradicts it.
* * *
If someone were to say: have you, then, found in the ordinance of Allah, the Exalted, whose mention is exalted, an oath that is obligatory upon the claimant, such that your statement concerning the testimony in this place can hold as correct?
If you say: "No," then the incorrectness of your interpretation, as you interpreted it, becomes apparent, for according to this interpretation it must be that the two who swear in His word: "And if it is discovered that the two of them have committed a sin, then two others shall take their place from among those against whom the two of them committed it, namely the two nearest of kin, and they shall swear by Allah: verily, our testimony is truer than that of the two of them" — are the two claimants.
And if you say: "Yes indeed," then it is said to you: and in which ordinance of Allah, the Exalted, whose mention is exalted, have you found that? Then it is said: we have found that in most cases. And that is in the ordinance concerning the man who lodges a claim against a man for a sum of money, whereupon the one addressed acknowledges it in his favor but asserts that it has been paid: then the ruling is the ruling of the creditor — and the man who recognizes the goods in the hand of the man, while the one in whose hand they are asserts that he bought them from the claimant, or that the claimant gifted them to him, and what resembles that among cases too numerous to enumerate. And in this manner Allah, the Exalted, whose mention is exalted, made the oath obligatory in this place upon the two claimants who discovered the two traitors in that in which they committed treachery.
Abū Jaʿfar said: And the Arabists differed over what places His word "the testimony between you" and His word "two upright men from among you" in the nominative.
Some of the grammarians of Basra said: the meaning of His word "the testimony between you" is: the testimony of two upright men; then "the testimony" was omitted and "the two" were placed in its stead, so that they came into the nominative on the basis of which "the testimony" would have been in the nominative had it been placed in the sentence. He said: and that — in the omission of what has been omitted of it and the placing in stead of what is placed in the stead of the omitted — is equivalent to His word: وَاسْأَلِ الْقَرْيَةَ [Surah Yūsuf: 82] (And ask the town), by which is meant only: and ask the people of the town; and "the town" was placed in the accusative by "the people" being placed in the accusative, and it took its place. Then His word "or two others" was added in apposition to "the two."
* * *
And some of the grammarians of Kufa said: "the two" are placed in the nominative by "the testimony," that is: let two from the Muslims take you to witness, or two others from outside you.
* * *
And another of them said: "the testimony" was placed in the nominative by "when death approaches." He said: it was placed in the nominative by it because He said: "when death approaches," whereby He made it an omitted, freshly begun "testimony," which is not the testimony that was placed in the nominative generally for the whole of creation; for He, the Exalted, whose mention is exalted, said: "or two others from outside you," and this is a testimony that occurs only in this state, and it does not belong to that which is established.
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar said: And the more correct of these opinions concerning that, in my view, is the opinion of the one who said: "the testimony" is placed in the nominative by His word "when death approaches," because His word "when death approaches" has the meaning of: at the approach of death to one of you; and "the two" are placed in the nominative by the implicitly understood meaning, namely: that two witnesses [bear it] — and one made do, instead of saying "that they testify," with what had already occurred of the mention of "the testimony" in His word "the testimony between you."
And we have said that this is the most correct opinion because "the testimony" in this place is a verbal noun (maṣdar) and "the two" is a noun, and a noun cannot be a verbal noun. However, the Arabs sometimes place nouns in the position of verbs. And however the matter may be, it is more fitting for us to construe all this in its most correct form, so long as we find a way to it, than to construe it in its weakest form.
* * *
Discussion of the interpretation of His word: أَوْ آخَرَانِ مِنْ غَيْرِكُمْ (or two others from outside you)
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says to the believers: let there be testimony among you, when death approaches one of you, by two upright men from the Muslims, or two others from outside the Muslims.
* * *
And the exegetes differed over the interpretation of His word: "or two others from outside you."
Some of them said: its meaning is: or two others from outside the adherents of your community of faith, in accordance with what we have said about it.
* Mention of who said that:
12895 - Ḥumayd ibn Masʿada and Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, both saying: Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab: "or two others from outside you," from the People of the Book.
12896 - Muḥammad ibn Bashshār and Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related to us, both saying: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, saying: I heard Qatāda relate, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab: "or two others from outside you," from the People of the Book.
12897 - Abū Ḥafṣ al-Jubayrī, ʿUbayd Allāh ibn Yūsuf, related to me, saying: Muʾammal ibn Ismāʿīl related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab, the like of it.
12898 - Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Ibn Abī ʿAdī related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of Saʿīd, the like of it.
12899 - Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Mughīra informed us, on the authority of Ibrāhīm and Sulaymān al-Taymī, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab, that the two of them said concerning His word: "or two others from outside you," they said: from outside the adherents of your community of faith.
12900 - Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Mughīra informed us, saying: there related to me one who heard Saʿīd ibn Jubayr say the like of it.
12901 - Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: al-Taymī informed us, on the authority of Abū Mijlaz, he said: from outside the adherents of your community of faith.
12902 - Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Mughīra, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, the like of it.
12903 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Mughīra, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, he said: if there was one of the Muslims in his vicinity, he took them to witness; and if not, then he took two men from the polytheists (mushrikūn) to witness.
12904 - ʿAmr ibn ʿAlī related to us, saying: Abū Qutayba related to us, saying: Hushaym related to us, on the authority of al-Mughīra, on the authority of Ibrāhīm and Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, concerning His word: "or two others from outside you," they said: from outside the adherents of your community of faith.
12905 - ʿAmr related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of Saʿīd: "or two others from outside you," he said: from the People of the Book.
12906 - ʿAmr related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Sawāʾ related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab, the like of it.
12907 - Hannād related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us — and Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us — on the authority of Shuʿba, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab, the like of it.
12908 - ʿImrān ibn Mūsā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Wārith ibn Saʿīd related to us, saying: Isḥāq ibn Suwayd related to us, on the authority of Yaḥyā ibn Yaʿmar, concerning His word: "two upright men from among you," from the Muslims; and if you find no Muslims, then from outside the Muslims.
12909 - Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Dāwūd related to us, on the authority of ʿĀmir, on the authority of Shurayḥ, concerning this verse: "O you who believe, the testimony between you when death approaches one of you at the time of the bequest, by two upright men from among you or two others from outside you," he said: if the man is in a foreign land and finds no Muslim whom he can take to witness concerning his bequest, and he takes a Jew, a Christian, or a Zoroastrian (majūsī) to witness, then their testimony is valid. And if two Muslim men come who testify contrary to their testimony, then the testimony of the Muslims is admitted and the testimony of the two others is annulled.
12910 - Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: al-Aʿmash informed us, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, on the authority of Shurayḥ: that he did not admit the testimony of the Jews and the Christians against a Muslim, except in the case of the bequest, and did not admit their testimony concerning the bequest except when they were on a journey.
12911 - ʿAmr ibn ʿAlī related to us, saying: Abū Muʿāwiya and Wakīʿ related to us, both saying: al-Aʿmash related to us, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, on the authority of Shurayḥ, he said: the testimony of the Jew and the Christian is not valid except on a journey, and on a journey it is not valid except in the case of a bequest.
12912 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, on the authority of Shurayḥ, in similar fashion.
12913 - ʿAmr ibn ʿAlī related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Zubayr al-Asadī related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, he said: Hishām ibn Hubayra wrote to Maslama concerning the testimony of the polytheists (mushrikūn) against the Muslims, and he wrote back: "The testimony of the polytheists against the Muslims is not valid except in the case of a bequest, and in the case of a bequest it is not valid unless the man is on a journey."
12914 - Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Ibn Idrīs related to us, on the authority of Ashhab, on the authority of Ibn Sīrīn, on the authority of ʿAbīda, he said: I asked him about the word of Allah, the Exalted, whose mention is exalted: "or two others from outside you," he said: from outside the community of faith.
12915 - Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Ibn Idrīs related to us, on the authority of Hishām, on the authority of Ibn Sīrīn, on the authority of ʿAbīda, in similar fashion.
12916 - Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of Hishām, on the authority of Ibn Sīrīn, he said: I asked ʿAbīda about it, and he said: from outside the adherents of the community of faith.
12917 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Hishām, on the authority of Ibn Sīrīn, on the authority of ʿAbīda, he said: from outside the adherents of the prayer.
12918 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Ibn Idrīs related to us, on the authority of Hishām, on the authority of Ibn Sīrīn, on the authority of ʿAbīda, he said: from outside the adherents of your religion.
12919 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Ḥusayn related to us, on the authority of Zāʾida, on the authority of Hishām, on the authority of Ibn Sīrīn, on the authority of ʿAbīda, he said: from outside the adherents of the community of faith.
12920 - ʿAmr ibn ʿAlī related to us, saying: Abū Dāwūd related to us, saying: Abū Ḥurra related to us, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Sīrīn, on the authority of ʿAbīda: "or two others from outside you," he said: from outside the adherents of your community of faith.
12921 - ʿAmr ibn ʿAlī related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿUthmān related to us, saying: Hishām ibn Muḥammad related to us, saying: I asked Saʿīd ibn Jubayr about [the word of Allah: "or two others from outside you," he said: from outside the adherents of your community of faith].
12922 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Mālik ibn Ismāʿīl related to us, on the authority of Ḥammād ibn Zayd, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, the like of it.
12923 - ʿAmr related to us, saying: Abū Dāwūd related to us, saying: Ḥammād ibn Zayd related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, he said: from outside the adherents of your community of faith.
12924 - 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: "or two others from outside you," from outside the adherents of Islam.
12925 - Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Abū Bakr ibn ʿAyyāsh related to us, saying: Abū Isḥāq said: "or two others from outside you," he said: from the Jews and the Christians — he said: Shurayḥ said: the testimony of the Jew and the Christian is not valid except in the case of a bequest, and in the case of a bequest it is not valid except on a journey.
12926 - Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Zakariyyā informed us, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī: that a man of the Muslims was approached by death in this Daqūqā. He said: thus death approached him and he found no one of the Muslims whom he could take to witness concerning his bequest; therefore he took two men of the People of the Book to witness. They came to Kufa and went to al-Ashʿarī and informed him of it, and they brought his estate and his bequest. Then al-Ashʿarī said: this is a matter that has not occurred since that which took place in the time of the Messenger of Allah — peace and blessings be upon him! And he made the two of them swear and confirmed their testimony.
12927 - ʿAmr ibn ʿAlī related to us, saying: Abū Dāwūd related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Mughīra al-Azraq, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī: that Abū Mūsā judged by it in Daqūqā.
12928 - ʿAmr related to us, saying: ʿUthmān ibn al-Haytham related to us, saying: ʿAwf related to us, on the authority of Muḥammad: that he used to say concerning His word: "two upright men from among you or two others from outside you," two witnesses from the Muslims and the non-Muslims.
12929 - Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said: "or two others from outside you," from outside the adherents of Islam.
12930 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Saʿd related to us, saying: Abū Ḥafṣ informed us, on the authority of Layth, on the authority of Mujāhid, he said: from outside the adherents of Islam.
12931 - Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAyyāsh informed me, saying: Zayd ibn Aslam said concerning this verse: "the testimony between you" — the entire verse —, he said: that concerned a man who died while there was no one of the adherents of Islam with him, and that was at the beginning of Islam, when the land was a territory of war and the people were unbelievers, except that the Messenger of Allah — peace and blessings be upon him — and his companions were in Medina; and the people inherited from one another by means of the bequest. Then the bequest was abrogated (nusikhat) and the fixed shares of inheritance were prescribed, and the Muslims acted in accordance with that.
* * *
And others said: rather, its meaning is: or two others from outside your tribe and your kin-group.
* Mention of who said that:
12932 - ʿAmr ibn ʿAlī related to us, saying: ʿUthmān ibn al-Haytham ibn al-Jahm related to us, saying: ʿAwf related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning His word: "two upright men from among you or two others from outside you," he said: two witnesses from your people and from outside your people.
12933 - ʿAmr related to us, saying: Abū Dāwūd related to us, saying: Ṣāliḥ ibn Abī al-Akhḍar related to us, on the authority of al-Zuhrī, he said: it has become established practice (sunna) that the testimony of an unbeliever (kāfir) is not valid, neither in the place of residence nor on a journey; it is exclusively among the Muslims.
12934 - Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, he said: al-Ḥasan used to say: "two upright men from among you," that is: from his kin-group; "or two others from outside you," he said: from outside his kin-group.
12935 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Abū Usāma related to us, on the authority of Thābit ibn Zayd, on the authority of ʿĀṣim, on the authority of ʿIkrima: "or two others from outside you," he said: from outside the adherents of your tribe.
12936 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Ibn Mahdī related to us, on the authority of Thābit ibn Zayd, on the authority of ʿĀṣim, on the authority of ʿIkrima: "or two others from outside you," he said: from outside your tribe.
12937 - ʿAmr ibn ʿAlī related to us, saying: Abū Dāwūd related to us, saying: Thābit ibn Zayd related to us, on the authority of ʿĀṣim al-Aḥwal, on the authority of ʿIkrima, concerning the word of Allah, the Exalted, whose mention is exalted: "or two others from outside you," he said: from outside the adherents of his tribe — meaning by it: from the Muslims.
12938 - Al-Ḥārith ibn Muḥammad related to me, saying: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related to us, saying: Mubārak related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan: "or two others from outside you," he said: from outside your kin-group and from outside your people, all of them from the Muslims.
12939 - Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Ayyūb, on the authority of Ibn Sīrīn, on the authority of ʿAbīda, concerning His word: "or two others from outside you," he said: two Muslims from outside your tribe.
12940 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: al-Layth related to me, saying: ʿUqayl related to me, saying: I asked Ibn Shihāb about the word of Allah, the Exalted, whose mention is exalted: "O you who believe, the testimony between you when death approaches one of you," up to His word: وَاللَّهُ لا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الْفَاسِقِينَ (And Allah does not guide the iniquitous people). I said: what do you think of the two whom Allah mentioned, from outside the adherents of the testator — are the two of them from the Muslims, or are the two of them from the People of the Book? And what do you think of the two others who take their place — do you regard the two of them as being from [outside] the adherents of the testator, or are the two of them from outside the Muslims? Ibn Shihāb said: we have not heard concerning this verse from the Messenger of Allah — peace and blessings be upon him — any tradition that I can mention, nor from the leaders of the community, a sunna; and we used sometimes to discuss this with people of our scholars, but they mentioned concerning it no known sunna, nor a statement of a just leader, but their opinion differed about it. And the opinion that pleased us most about it was that of those who said: it concerns that which takes place among the heirs from the Muslims; some of them are present with the deceased whom they inherit, and some of them are absent from him; and whoever attends him testifies as to what he has bequeathed in favor of the nearest of kin, and they inform whoever of them was absent of what they witnessed of the bequest. If they accept that, his bequest is valid; and if they suspect that the two have altered the statement of the deceased and given preference by the bequest to whomever they wished, while the deceased had bequeathed them nothing, then the two who testify about that swear after the prayer — and that is the prayer of the Muslims — and they swear by Allah: "if you are in doubt, we shall not purchase any price with it, even if it concerns a near relative, and we shall not conceal the testimony of Allah; verily, we would then be among the sinners." And when the two of them have sworn to that, their testimony and their oaths are valid, so long as it is not discovered that the two of them [have committed a sin in any of it; and if it is discovered that the two of them have committed a sin in any of it], two others take their place from among the heirs, namely from the opposing party who deny what the first two, who were the first time under oath, testified against him; and they swear by Allah: "our testimony is [truer than that of the two of you]," to the giving of the lie to you or the annulling of what the two of you testified — وَمَا اعْتَدَيْنَا إِنَّا إِذًا لَمِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ (and we have not transgressed; verily, we would then be among the wrongdoers) — ذَلِكَ أَدْنَى أَنْ يَأْتُوا بِالشَّهَادَةِ عَلَى وَجْهِهَا أَوْ يَخَافُوا أَنْ تُرَدَّ أَيْمَانٌ بَعْدَ أَيْمَانِهِمْ (that is nearer to their bringing the testimony in its proper form, or fearing that oaths will be turned back after their oaths), the verse.
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar said: And the more correct of the two interpretations about that, in our view, is the interpretation of the one who interpreted it as: or two others from outside the adherents of Islam. That is because Allah, the Exalted, made known to His believing servants, in the case of the bequest, the testimony of two upright men from the believers, or two from the non-believers. And there is no ground in the language for saying: the nature of the testimony of believers from among you, or two men from outside your kin-group; rather one says: the nature of the testimony of two men from your kin-group or from outside your kin-group — or two men from the believers or from outside the believers.
And since there is no ground for that in the language, it is not permissible to construe the meaning of the word of Allah, the Exalted, whose mention is exalted, otherwise than in its best form.
And we have already demonstrated earlier that His word, the Exalted: "two upright men from among you," means only: from the adherents of your religion and your community of faith, with that which is sufficient for whoever is brought to understand it.
And since that has become correct by what we have demonstrated upon it, it is known that the meaning of His word "or two others from outside you" is only: or two others from outside the adherents of your religion and your community of faith. And since that is so, it makes no difference whether the two others who are from outside the adherents of our religion are two Jews, or two Christians, or two Zoroastrians, or two idolaters, or of whatever religion they may be. For Allah, the Exalted, whose mention is exalted, did not single out two others of a particular community of faith, to the exclusion of another community of faith, provided that the two of them are from [outside] the adherents of Islam.
* * *
Discussion of the interpretation of His word: إِنْ أَنْتُمْ ضَرَبْتُمْ فِي الأَرْضِ فَأَصَابَتْكُمْ مُصِيبَةُ الْمَوْتِ (if you travel through the land and the calamity of death befalls you)
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says to the believers: the nature of the testimony between you when death approaches one of you at the time of the bequest is that two upright men from among you testify, O believers, or two other men from outside the adherents of your community of faith, if you have traveled to and fro through the land.
* * *
And we have already set out earlier for what reason the traveler is called: "the one who travels through the land (al-ḍārib fī al-arḍ)."
"And the calamity of death befalls you," He says: and death descends upon you.
* * *
And the majority of the exegesis construed this place in the sense of succession (taʿqīb) and not of free choice (takhyīr), and they said: its meaning is: the testimony between you when death approaches one of you at the time of the bequest is that of two upright men from among you if the two of them are found; and if the two of them are not found, then two others from outside you. And whoever did that did so only because he construed the meaning of "the testimony" in His word "the testimony between you" in the sense of the testimony that obliges the persons to the appearance of the witness before the judge, or that invalidates it.
* Mention of a number of those who interpreted it thus:
12941 - ʿImrān ibn Mūsā al-Qazzāz related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Wārith ibn Saʿīd related to us, saying: Isḥāq ibn Suwayd related to us, on the authority of Yaḥyā ibn Yaʿmar, concerning His word: "two upright men from among you," from the Muslims; and if you find no Muslims, then from outside the Muslims.
12942 - Muḥammad ibn Bashshār and Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related to us, both saying: Ibn Abī ʿAdī related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab, concerning His word: "two upright men from among you or two others from outside you," he said: two from the adherents of your religion; "or two others from outside you," from the People of the Book, when he is in a land where he finds none other than them.
12943 - Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Dāwūd related to us, on the authority of ʿĀmir, on the authority of Shurayḥ, concerning this verse: "the testimony between you," up to His word: "or two others from outside you," he said: if the man is in a foreign land and finds no Muslim whom he can take to witness concerning his bequest, and he takes a Jew, a Christian, or a Zoroastrian to witness, then their testimony is valid.
12944 - Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to me, saying: Aḥmad ibn Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "O you who believe, the testimony between you when death approaches one of you at the time of the bequest, by two upright men from among you," he said: this concerns the place of residence; "or two others from outside you," on a journey; "if you travel through the land and the calamity of death befalls you," this is the man whom death reaches during his journey while there is no one of the Muslims present with him, and he then summons two men of the Jews, the Christians, and the Zoroastrians and makes his bequest to the two of them.
12945 - Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Mughīra informed us, on the authority of Ibrāhīm and Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, that the two of them said concerning this verse: "O you who believe, the testimony between you" — the verse — , he said: when death approaches the man on a journey, let him take two men from the Muslims to witness. And if he finds no two men from the Muslims, then two men from the People of the Book.
12946 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: "O you who believe, the testimony between you," up to His word: "two upright men from among you" — this concerns the one who dies while the Muslims are with him, and Allah charged him to take, concerning his bequest, two upright men from the Muslims to witness. Then He said: "or two others from outside you if you travel through the land and the calamity of death befalls you" — this concerns the one who dies while there is no one of the Muslims with him, and Allah, the Exalted, whose mention is exalted, charged him to take the testimony of two men from outside the Muslims.
* * *
And others construed that in the sense of free choice (takhyīr), and they said: by "the testimony" in this place are meant only the oaths concerning the bequest that the testator made to the two of them, and the entrusting by the deceased to the two of them of that with which he charged them of property, so that they would deliver it after his death to his heirs, if doubt arises about the two of them. They said: and a man sometimes entrusts his property to whomever he deems suitable as a place of trust, of believer and unbeliever, on a journey and in the place of residence. And we have already mentioned earlier the report of a number of those who proclaimed this opinion, and we shall mention the rest of it, if Allah, the Exalted, wills, hereafter.
* * *
Discussion of the interpretation of His word: تَحْبِسُونَهُمَا مِنْ بَعْدِ الصَّلاةِ فَيُقْسِمَانِ بِاللَّهِ إِنِ ارْتَبْتُمْ لا نَشْتَرِي بِهِ ثَمَنًا وَلَوْ كَانَ ذَا قُرْبَى (you hold the two of them back after the prayer, and they swear by Allah, if you are in doubt: "We shall not purchase any price with it, even if it concerns a near relative")
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says to those who believe in Him and in His Messenger: the testimony between you when death approaches one of you is, if two upright men from among you testify, or if he has made the bequest to the two of them — or two others from outside you, if you were on a journey and death overtook you, and you made the bequest to the two of them and handed over to the two of them what you had with you of property and estate for your heirs. And when you have then made the bequest to the two of them and handed over to the two of them what you had with you of property, and the calamity of death has befallen you, and the two of them deliver to your heirs what you entrusted to them, and the two of them are accused of treachery that they are alleged to have committed in that which was entrusted to them — then the ordinance concerning the two of them at that time is that you hold the two of them back. He says: you keep the two of them standing after the prayer. And in the statement there is something omitted, where one made do with the indication of what is visible of it upon what was omitted, namely: "and the calamity of death has befallen you, while you had entrusted your bequest to the two of them and handed over to the two of them what you had with you of property" — then you hold the two of them back after the prayer; "and they swear by Allah if you are in doubt," He says: then the two of them swear by Allah if you accuse the two of them of treachery in that which was entrusted to them, of altering a bequest entrusted to them or changing it. And "the doubt (al-irtiyāb)" is the accusation. "We shall not purchase any price with it," He says: the two of them swear by Allah: we shall not purchase, with our oaths by Allah, any price. He says: we shall not swear falsely for a recompense that we would accept for it, or for property that we would take away with it, or for a right that we would deny to this people whose patron and whose deceased made the bequest to us.
* * *
And "the hāʾ" in His word "with it (bihi)" refers to the mention of "Allah," and by it are meant the oath and the swearing; but because the mention of swearing by Him had already occurred before it, and the meaning of the statement was known, one made do with that instead of repeating the mention of the oath and the swearing.
"Even if it concerns a near relative," He says: the two of them swear by Allah: we shall not seek, with our swearing by Allah, any recompense, nor lie therein in favor of anyone, even if the one in whose favor we swear were a relative of ours.
* * *
And in accordance with what we have said about it the report is related from Ibn ʿAbbās.
* Mention of who said that:
12947 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya ibn Ṣāliḥ related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word: "or two others from outside you if you travel through the land and the calamity of death befalls you" — this concerns the one who dies while there is no one of the Muslims with him, and Allah charged him to take the testimony of two men from outside the Muslims. And if doubt arises about their testimony, the two of them are placed under oath after the prayer by Allah: "we have not purchased with our testimony any paltry price."
* * *
And His word "you hold the two of them back after the prayer" concerns the prayer of the afternoon prayer (ṣalāt al-ʿaṣr). And the meaning of the statement is: or two others from outside you, whom you hold back after the prayer if you are in doubt about the two of them, and the two of them swear by Allah: we shall not purchase any price with it, even if it concerns a near relative.
* * *
And they differed over "the prayer" that Allah, the Exalted, mentioned in this verse when He said: "you hold the two of them back after the prayer."
Some of them said: it is the afternoon prayer (al-ʿaṣr).
* Mention of who said that:
12948 - Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Zakariyyā informed us, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī: that a man of the Muslims was approached by death in Daqūqā, and he found no one of the Muslims whom he could take to witness concerning his bequest, therefore he took two men from the People of the Book to witness. He said: they came to Kufa, went to al-Ashʿarī and informed him of it, and they brought his estate and his bequest. Then al-Ashʿarī said: this is a matter that has not occurred since that which took place in the time of the Messenger of Allah — peace and blessings be upon him! He said: then he made the two of them swear after the afternoon prayer: by Allah, they have not betrayed, not lied, not altered anything, not concealed anything, and not changed anything, and verily, this is the bequest of the man and his estate. He said: and he confirmed their testimony.
12949 - Ibn Bashshār and ʿAmr ibn ʿAlī related to us, both saying: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Abū Bishr, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr: "or two others from outside you," he said: when the man is in the land of shirk and makes the bequest to two men from the People of the Book, then the two of them swear after the afternoon prayer.
12950 - Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Mughīra, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, in similar fashion.
12951 - Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: "O you who believe, the testimony between you," up to "and the calamity of death befalls you" — this concerns a man who died in a foreign part of the land, and left his estate, and made his bequest, and two men testified concerning his bequest. If doubt arises about their testimony, the two of them are placed under oath after the afternoon prayer. And one used to say: at that time the oaths are confirmed.
12952 - Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Hushaym related to me, saying: Mughīra informed us, on the authority of Ibrāhīm and Saʿīd ibn Jubayr: that the two of them said concerning this verse: "O you who believe, the testimony between you," they said: when death approaches the man on a journey, let him take two men from the Muslims to witness; and if he does not find them, then two men from the People of the Book. And when the two of them come with his estate, and the heirs believe the two of them, their word is accepted; and if they accuse the two of them, the two of them are placed under oath after the afternoon prayer: by Allah, we have not lied, not concealed anything, not betrayed, and not altered anything.
12953 - ʿAmr ibn ʿAlī related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn al-Qaṭṭān related to us, saying: Zakariyyā related to us, saying: ʿĀmir related to us: that a man died in Daqūqā, and he found no one whom he could take to witness concerning his bequest except two Christian men from her inhabitants. Abū Mūsā made the two of them swear after the afternoon prayer in the mosque of Kufa: by Allah, they have concealed nothing and altered nothing, and this is the bequest. And he confirmed it.
* * *
And others said: rather, the two of them are placed under oath after the prayer of the adherents of their religion and their community of faith.
* Mention of who said that:
12954 - Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to me, saying: Aḥmad ibn Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "O you who believe, the testimony between you," up to His word: "two upright men from among you," he said: this concerns the bequest at death; he makes his bequest and takes two men from the Muslims to witness concerning what he has and what he owes; he said: this concerns the place of residence. "Or two others from outside you," on a journey; "if you travel through the land and the calamity of death befalls you" — this is the man whom death reaches during his journey while there is no one of the Muslims present with him, and he then summons two men of the Jews, the Christians, and the Zoroastrians, and makes the bequest to the two of them and hands over to them his inheritance, and the two of them receive it. If the adherents of the deceased accept the bequest and recognize the property of their near relative, they leave the two men in peace; and if they doubt, they bring the two of them before the authority. That is His word: "you hold the two of them back after the prayer if you are in doubt." ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās said: it is as though I am looking at the two unbelieving foreigners (ʿilijayn) when the two of them were brought to Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī in his house. He opened the document, and the adherents of the deceased denied and charged the two of them with treachery. Abū Mūsā wished to place the two of them under oath after the afternoon prayer, but I said to him: "The two of them do not care about the afternoon prayer, but place the two of them under oath after their prayer according to their religion." Then the two men are kept standing after their prayer according to their religion, and they swear by Allah: we shall not purchase any paltry price, even if it concerns a near relative, and we shall not conceal the testimony of Allah; verily, we would then be among the sinners — that their near relative verily bequeathed this, and that this verily is his estate. And the leader says to the two of them, before they swear: if the two of you have concealed or betrayed anything, I shall disgrace you among your people, and your testimony shall not be admitted, and I shall punish the two of you! And when he says that to the two of them, then that is nearer to their bringing the testimony in its proper form.
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar said: And the more correct of the two opinions about that, in our view, is the opinion of the one who said: "you hold the two of them back after the afternoon prayer." For Allah, the Exalted, made "the prayer" in this place definite by the insertion of "the alif and the lām" (the definite article) into it, and the Arabs insert that only with something known — whether with a kind, or with a single thing familiar and known to the interlocutors. And since that is so, and since there is agreement that by "the prayer" in this place not all prayers are meant, it is not permissible that by it be meant the prayer of the one placed under oath from the Jews and the Christians, for they have prayers that are not one, such that it would be known that this is what is meant. And since that is so, it is correct that it is a particular prayer of the prayers of the Muslims. And since that is so, and since it is authentically related from the Prophet — peace and blessings be upon him — that he, when he caused the mutual cursing (liʿān) to take place between the two of the tribe of ʿAjlān, caused it to take place between the two of them after the afternoon prayer and not after any other prayer — it is known that that which is meant by His word "you hold the two of them back after the prayer" is the prayer that the Messenger of Allah — peace and blessings be upon him — used to prefer for placing under oath whomever he wished to make the oath more weighty for. This is in addition to what the adherents of unbelief in Allah know of the glorification of that time, and that is on account of its nearness to the setting of the sun.
* * *
And Ibn Zayd used to say concerning His word "we shall not purchase any price with it," which is:-
12955 - Yūnus ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related that to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His word: "we shall not purchase any price with it," he said: we shall not accept any bribe (rishwa) for it.
* * *
Discussion of the interpretation of His word: وَلا نَكْتُمُ شَهَادَةَ اللَّهِ إِنَّا إِذًا لَمِنَ الآثِمِينَ (106) (and we shall not conceal the testimony of Allah; verily, we would then be among the sinners) (106)
Abū Jaʿfar said: The reciters differed in the recitation of it.
The great mass of the reciters of the cities recited it: (wa-lā naktumu shahādata Llāhi), with the annexation of "the testimony" to "Allah" in a genitive construction, and with the kasra on the name of Allah, the Exalted — meaning by it: we shall not conceal any testimony for Allah that rests with us.
* * *
And it is mentioned of al-Shaʿbī that he recited it as follows:-
12956 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Abū Usāma related to us, on the authority of Ibn ʿAwn, on the authority of ʿĀmir: that he used to recite: (wa-lā naktumu shahādata, Llāhu innā idhan la-mina l-āthimīn) — with the separation of the hamza (in an interrogative form) and the kasra on the name of Allah — thus Ibn Wakīʿ related it to us.
* * *
And it is as though al-Shaʿbī construed the meaning of the statement as: that the two of them swear by Allah: we shall not purchase any price with it, nor conceal any testimony that rests with us. Then he began an oath with an interrogative form: by Allah, that if the two of them were to purchase a price with their oaths or to conceal His testimony that rests with the two of them, they would verily be among the sinners.
* * *
And there is related of al-Shaʿbī concerning the recitation of it a report that contradicts this report, and that is what:-
12957 - Aḥmad ibn Yūsuf al-Taghlibī related to me, saying: al-Qāsim ibn Sallām related to us, saying: ʿAbbād ibn ʿAbbād related to us, on the authority of Ibn ʿAwn, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī: that he recited: (wa-lā naktumu shahādatan Llāhi innā idhan la-mina l-āthimīn). Aḥmad said: Abū ʿUbayd said: one pronounces "testimony (shahāda)" with tanwīn and "Allah" with kasra, in a connected construction. He said: and some have related it with the separation of the hamza in an interrogative form.
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar said: And my recollection concerning the recitation of al-Shaʿbī is that it was without the interrogative form.
* * *
And some recited it: (wa-lā naktumu shahādatan Llāha), with tanwīn on "the testimony" and with the accusative on the name of "Allah," in the meaning: and we shall not conceal for Allah any testimony that rests with us.
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar said: And the most correct of the recitations of it, in our view, is the recitation of the one who recited: (wa-lā naktumu shahādata Llāhi), with the annexation of "the testimony" to the name of "Allah" and with the kasra on the name of "Allah," because this is the widespread recitation among the reciters of the cities, the correctness of which the community does not mutually contest.
* * *
And Ibn Zayd used to say concerning the meaning of it: and we shall not conceal the testimony of Allah, even if it lies far away.
12958 - Yūnus related that to me, saying: Ibn Zayd related it to us, on the authority of him.
