Testimony of Women

Allah, the Exalted, stated in the Glorious Qur'an:
(And get two witnesses out of your own men. And if there are not two
men (available), then a man and two women, such as you agree for
witnesses, so that if one of them (two women) errs,the other can
remind her.)
[2:282]
Allah clarifies to assure the rightsof others that testimonies will
not be valid unless two men, or one man and two women offer them.
Divine wisdom has granted women, in general, very sensitive emotions,
tender feelings, and a predisposition towards care and love of other
members of the family. This makes a woman capable of her natural task
of childbearing, nursing, taking careof all the needs of the young
child, etc. Based on these emotional characteristics of the woman, she
might very well follow her emotional inclinations and swerve from
harsh realities due to an emotional involvement in a case. A woman's
loving and kind feelings might overcome what she has witnessed, and
thus she may distort the story of her witness and testimony. At the
same time the biological changes that occur in her body due to menses,
pregnancy, child-birth and post-natal conditions reduce the sharpness
of her memory and may make her forget the details of the issue.
Therefore, a divine precautionary measure was established to eliminate
any shortcoming on a woman's part in any case of testimony. We would
like to point out here one of the essential principles of the legal
and judicial system in Islam, which states that the case is not valid
for proceedings if a doubt arises in the case. Therefore, the strength
of two female witnessesis intended to eliminate this doubt.
Besides testimony that involves other people's rights, Islam has
granted women full financial freedom in terms of independence and
financial decision-making, and made her exactly equal to men in that
regard. However, woman's natural role in life, in raising children and
caring for the family requires her to stay in the home for longer and
extended periods in comparison to men, thus limiting her knowledge and
experience to the affairs she stays involved in most of her life.
It is a false accusation to say that making the testimonies and
witnesses of two women equal to one man in certain cases is an insult
to the woman's intelligence and a dishonor to herintegrity. If that
were the case, a single woman's testimony would, likewise, not be
acceptable in the other affairs of women. Islamic jurisprudence
accepts a woman's testimony in all affairs that are private like in
confirming the virginity of a woman, delivery of a child,
clarification of female sexual defects, and other matters that mandate
examination due to a dispute. At the same time, it must be remembered
that Islamic law rejects a man's lone testimony in the least
significant financial matters such as lending or borrowing funds and
other transactions, since there must betwo. The critically serious
cases, wherein a woman's testimony must be doubled, is established in
order to preserve and prove the rights of individuals in the society
based on the reliability and irrefutability of that testimony.
Note that testimony in the Islamic law in itself is not a privilege
but a burden that many attempt to avoid, and for this reason Allah
(The Almighty) commanded people to offer theirtestimonies and not to
seek to escape or withhold it. Allah (The Almighty) stated in the
Glorious Qur'an:
(And the witnesses should not refuse when they are called on (for evidence).)
[2:281]
The address here is general for both male and female. Many people all
over the world try to avoid becoming a witness, and attempt to escape
involvement inoffering testimonies, because one is required to go to
the court, sit on the witness stand, take an oath to tell the truth,
be cross-examined and many other burdens. Financial and physical
burdens or threats may result from being a witness and offering
testimony. Islam therefore aims at eliminating many of these burdens
from the woman, unless she has a partner who witnesses as she does, in
matters involving many forms of testimony.
A man's single testimony is not acceptable in financial matters, since
there must be two male witnesses to prove the financial right of a
claimant, or one man and two women. We have never heard that anyone
considered this requirement an insult to man's intelligence or
contrary to his rights. This proves that the requirement is for the
protection against false accusations and mistakes. There are some
cases when the testimony of each is totally equal. For instance, the
testimony of a wife is exactly equal to the testimony of her husband
when a husband accuses his wife of committing adultery and he has no
evidence to prove his claim. Allah (The Almighty) stated in the
Glorious Qur'an:
(As for those who accuse their wives, but have no witnesses except
themselves, let them present their testimony four times, that by Allah
he is one of those who speak the truth. By the fifth (testimony, he
invokes) the Curse of Allah on himself, if he is of those who tell a
lie (against her) . She will avert the punishment (of stoning to
death)from her if she bears witness four times by Allah, that he (her
husband) is telling a lie. And the fifth (testimony) should be that
the Wrath of Allah be upon her if he (her husband) is speaking the
truth.)
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