Testimony

Testimony is a personal claim in favor of one of the disputing parties and in another language. In other words, testimony is the non-ruling party's conclusive notification of a necessary right to the ruling party. Given the definition offered by the jurists, there is no right, privilege, or profit for the witness in the testimony; therefore, the testimony is a duty and not a right. In addition to jurists specifying that testimony is obligatory, the prohibition on obtaining compensation for providing testimony is also one of the effects of testimony being mandatory.

Testimony in Qur'an

The Holy Qur'an mentions testimony on multiple occasions, but none of the verses specify that the witness must be a man, except for verse 282 of Surah Al-Baqarah, which indicates that a witness is a man and that the testimony of two women is equivalent to that of one man.

1) Verses in which the gender of the witness is not specified.

The testimony of two upright Muslims is cited for a will in Surah Ma'idah verse 106, and it is stated that in the absence of a Muslim, the testimony of a non-Muslim may be used instead. ‘’Believers, when death approaches any one of you, let two just men from your own people (Muslims) or any two other men (People of the Book) if death befalls you on a journey, bear witness to the bequest…’’.

Verse 2 of Surah Talaq, which is generic in nature and does not specify whether the witness is a man or a woman. And bring to witness two just men from among you and establish the testimony for [the acceptance of] Allāh.

Three verses have been revealed about the adultery crime and the requirement of four witnesses to establish it and carry out the hadd punishment. From Surah An-verse Nisa's 15: ‘’Those who commit immorality [i.e., unlawful sexual intercourse] of your women - bring against them four [witnesses] from among you.’’ Verse 4 of Surah Noor: “And those who accuse chaste women and then do not produce four witnesses - lash them with eighty lashes’’.

Verse 13 of Surah Noor, which is about condemning slander and defamation and condemning slander of adultery without four witnesses: ‘’ Why did they [who slandered] not produce for it four witnesses? And when they do not produce the witnesses, then it is they, in the sight of Allāh, who are the liars’’

2) A verse stating that a witness must be a man. God Almighty says: ‘’ 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 (Al-Baqarah/282)’’ In this verse, which is specifically about writing a loan in transactions, two male witnesses are given top priority, and in the second, a woman's testimony is allowed if it is tied to a man's testimony, and the testimony of two women is likewise equivalent to the testimony of one man.

The reason behind the discrepancy in male and female testimonies

What inhibited the acceptance of women's testimony in the society of the Imams' era were cultural and social conditions, knowledge and awareness, and social roles, since, given their status in society, the presence of women in society throughout the time of the holy shari'a was extremely limited, and in fact, it can be said that the rule was the absence of women in society.

On the one hand, the status of women in society and the prevalent attitude toward them in society had impeded their growth in comparison to men. On the other hand, observing and seeing are required to testify; in fact, witnessing is a sensory and observational matter, and the requirement of this observation is social presence and participation; In order to remove this obstacle, the Holy Shari'a contrasted the testimony of two women with the testimony of one man, and this is not a sign of the superiority of a man. This is because, during the time of the Imams, the absence of women in society was the norm, and this principle prevented the testimony of a woman from being a reliable way to obtain certainty to prove the truth in the eyes of the Shari'a. Rather, it describes the Shari'a's emphasis on proving the right and achieving justice. Now that this barrier has been eliminated and conditions have been established in which the position of women has attained a relatively equal status with that of men, women have an equal scientific, social, and cultural presence as men, there is no longer an impediment to accepting the testimony of women in the society in terms of the degree of credibility as a proof of the claim compared to men; Therefore, in cases where the subjectivism of demonstrating non-hudud (Divine Laws) lawsuit is examined,  the testimony of women should be regarded as equivalent to that of men, both in terms of the number of witnesses and the Subject of the proof. In numerous Islamic rules and punishments, men and women are treated differently. For example, if a man apostates, his sentence is murder with a series of conditions, but if a woman apostates, her sentence is not murder. Either Islam has assigned men responsibilities that it has not assigned to women, or it has assigned women responsibilities that it has not allocated to men. The explanation for these variances is that men and women have different mood systems; as a result, their spirits and behaviors differ. Consequently, what God wants of a woman differs from what He expects of a man. God designed women for one purpose and men for a different one. Even if the two are composed of the same material, they are never equal. Therefore, justice requires that their tasks and responsibilities be distinct because if they are identical, it is contrary to God's justice.

According to Islam, testifying and informing the judge is never a privilege, but a duty and a responsibility; In other words, in order to respect the rights of others, Islam has made it obligatory for those who have accurate knowledge of disputes between individuals, to tell the truth and testify in front of a judge. Due to this, the Qur'an prohibits the hiding of testimony. Therefore, if someone's testimony is not accepted or is less accepted in court, it implies that his duty and responsibilities are less demanding, not that his rights have been violated.

Although it has nothing to do with one's imperfection and another's perfection, the duty of testifying is undoubtedly related to the creation, spirits, and the roles of men and women. For example, in some situations where the testimony relates to specific issues affecting women, the testimony of men is completely unacceptable because, in those situations, a man is essentially unable to serve as a witness, just as women are placed and accepted by two women as equal to the testimony of men. Although it has nothing to do with one's imperfection and another's perfection, the duty of testifying is undoubtedly related to the creation, spirits, and the roles of men and women. For example, in some situations where the testimony relates to specific issues affecting women, the testimony of men is completely unacceptable, because a man cannot be a witness in these situations, just as the testimony of two women is equivalent to that of one man.

All of these laws are founded on the wisdom and harmony between the legislative system (Tashri') and the system of creation (Takwin). Obviously, the legislation has no meaning if it is not adopted, adapted, and harmonized with the creational system. Insofar as it is compatible with the current capabilities of the creational system, the legislative system's value and efficacy are determined.

Conclusion

The suspicion of inequality pertains mainly to women's testimony and other concepts in which testimony is obtained, such as Witnesses, but there is no difference between men and women in terms of confession, claim, or expertise. The rationality of this inequality has nothing to do with the reasoning and thought processes of men and women; if it did, women and men would have to differ in expertise, which needs more reasoning and thought than testimony, which is not the case. The reason why women's testimony is not recognized in Hudud may be because the premise of the Holy Sharia is that the principle of acquittal should be followed to the greatest extent feasible and the accused should be exonerated so that the execution of Hudud is not assisted. One way to accomplish this objective is to restrict the methods of establishing such crimes under various pretexts, and one way to restrict is to limit the acceptance of Women witnesses.

From the perspective of jurisprudence and law, witnessing is a duty, not a right, and jurists who did not accept the testimony of women occasionally relieved women of a duty rather than denying them a right. In addition, this ruling has shielded them from the dangers that might occasionally befall a witness and the difficulties that may be necessary to appear in court. And by exempting women from a responsibility, not only are they assisted, but so is the family.