especially in relation to Qur±àn 2:282. In summary,
the majority opinion amongst the four schools is
that for transactions, two males, or one male and
two females, are required. In the other areas of law,
whether personal or penal, three male witnesses are
specified. In situations specific to women, female
witnesses are accepted, but the number required
varies with the different schools. To a large extent,
the four schools of jurisprudence make reference to
Qur±an 2:282 as the foundation of their reasoning,
followed by the application of qiyàs.
Other jurists provide contrary opinions to those
given by the four main schools. For instance, in the
area of the ™add offences, Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya
(d. 1350) reported that the testimony of eight
women would be sufficient to establish that adul-
tery had been committed, and punishment would
follow accordingly. ≠Atà±Ibn AbìRabà™(d. 732)
and ¢awùs Ibn Kaysàn (d. 725) reported that wom-
ens’ testimonies along with those of men are
acceptable in any ™add crime, including zinà,
where the testimonies of two women and three men
can establish the case. Al-£asan al-Baßri (d. 110)
also reported that two women and three men can
establish the case. Ibn £azm al-æàhirì(d. 1064)
believed that the testimonies of two men, four
women, or one man and two women are admissible
as proof in ™addcrimes, except in the case of zinà
where a minimum of four male witnesses is
required. Although these jurists differ from the
general view and maintain that women can be wit-
nesses in ™addcases, they are still acting in accor-
dance with Qur±àn 2:282. Another renowned
jurist, AbùJa±far Mu™ammad ibn Jarìr al-¢abarì
(d. 923), maintained that in areas other than com-
mercial and financial matters, he was unable to
locate any evidence from the original sources which
would exclude women from acting as judges who
hear and evaluate the testimony of others. In cases
concerning finance and commerce, following Qur±àn
2:282, al-¢abarìstates that the second female wit-
ness may be required to “remind” the first since
women are rarely involved in these matters.
Prominent jurists such as Taqìal-Dìn Ibn Taymiyya
(d. 1327) and Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (d. 1350)
concur with al-¢abarì’s opinion and conclude that
testimony cannot be determined by gender, but
instead must be established by credibility alone.
Thus, when a woman offers credible testimony, the
judge must admit it just as he would admit the cred-
ible testimony of a man. Therefore, it is evident that
renowned jurists differed with the generally held
notion regarding women as witnesses.
Regardless of the viewpoints that exist indicating
that women may be witnesses in ™add cases,476 law: women as witnesses
according to human rights advocates, generally this
has not been nor is it currently the practice in the
Muslim world. In countries such as Pakistan,
Egypt, Nigeria, Sudan, Afghanistan, Malaysia, and
Iran, the respective penal codes demand two male
witnesses or one male and two female witnesses for
cases involving commercial or financial transac-
tions, and do not accept women as witnesses in
™addrelated cases. According to human rights
activists, the effects of implementing Islamic law in
this fashion have been detrimental in certain cases
involving women who have been sexually assaulted
or raped. However, according to the Sharì≠a, in the
case of sexual assault, bayinna(evidence) is what is
required in order to support a case. None of the
aforementioned countries actually implement
Sharì≠a in the full sense of the term. Rather, their
constitutions are based on a mixture of religious
and culturally related enactments.
The notion of accepting women as witnesses is an
area of disagreement amongst the jurists and the
schools of law, although such disagreement is not
an issue in Islamic law. Concepts have been exam-
ined and verdicts stated, to the best of the jurists’
knowledge, within a specific time frame and within
a specific environment. Qur±àn 2:282 pertains to
business and commercial transactions which are
complicated and ambiguous, even for an expert
businessman. It is true that a woman who normally
is not involved in such difficult transactions may
have neither knowledge nor understanding of the
matter and is likely to get confused, especially in the
court environment, which is dominated by men.
This is also true in recent history where judges,
lawyers, litigants, and witnesses are generally men.
In no matters other than the transactions referred to
in 2:282 does the Qur±àn equate the evidence of two
women with one man. On the contrary, in the mat-
ter of imprecation where the husband charges his
wife with adultery, the testimony of the woman is
equal to that of her husband. Thus, the status of
women as witnesses in all legal cases, including
those involving the ™udùdordinances, may require
further examination by contemporary jurists.
Furthermore, according to human rights advocates,
in criminal cases such as adultery, it is not possible
according to various state constitutions to demand
witnesses of a specific gender. The situation is simi-
lar in cases of rape and sexual assault, although the
Sharì≠a requires evidence to prove or disprove sex-
ual assault. The practice of women serving as wit-
nesses, as well as other rights and freedoms of
women in the legal sphere of Islam, are complex
matters requiring the accurate comprehension of
the original texts. Within the guidelines of Islamic