What are the conditions for the testimony of four witnesses in proving adultery?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Ḥudūd (Prescribed Penalties)
Primary text
There are seven conditions required for the testimony of witnesses in proving adultery. The first condition is that there must be four witnesses; this is an established consensus, based on the Quranic injunctions requiring four witnesses for such an act (Quran 4:15 and Quran 24:13). The second condition is that all witnesses must be men; the testimony of women is not accepted in this regard under any circumstances. The third condition is freedom; the testimony of slaves is not accepted. The fourth condition is justice ('adalah); the testimony of the unrighteous or the person whose justice is unknown is not accepted. The fifth condition is that the witnesses must be Muslims; the testimony of Dhimmis is not accepted because their justice cannot be confirmed. The sixth condition is that they must describe the act of fornication explicitly, using descriptive language such as seeing the male organ in the female organ like the eye of a kohl stick in its container or a rope in a well, as established in the incident of Ma'iz.
Supporting text
A dissenting opinion regarding the second condition is reported from Attah and Hammad, who accepted three men and two women, but this is considered an anomalous view not to be relied upon. Regarding the third condition, a narration from Ahmad and the view of Abu Thur suggest accepting the testimony of slaves based on the generality of texts, but the main view rejects this because their testimony in other rights is disputed, creating a doubt that wards off Hadd punishments. Regarding the sixth condition, some scholars permit the witnesses to look at the private parts to establish the testimony, and stating the specific location of the adultery and identifying the involved parties is considered necessary by some scholars (like Al-Qadi) to ensure the testimony is not about an act where the woman's permissibility is disputed, or that witnesses are testifying about different acts, based on the Prophet's questioning of Ma'iz about which specific admission justified the Hadd.