Can creditors of a bankrupt person swear an oath with a witness to prove a debt owed to the bankrupt?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of the Insolvent (Bankruptcy)
Primary text
When a right is established by one just witness against a bankrupt person, and the creditor refrains from swearing the accompanying oath, the creditors of the bankrupt person cannot swear the oath in his place to establish the debt. If the bankrupt person establishes a right through one witness and swears the oath with that witness, the wealth is established, and the rights of the creditors are attached to it. If the creditor refuses to swear, they are not compelled, as their sincerity is unknown, and the right would be established by testimony alone if not for the necessity of the oath. If the creditors claim they can swear alongside the witness, this is not permitted.
Supporting text
The view of the later Shafi'i school supports this position. The older opinion held that the creditors could swear alongside the witness because their rights had attached to the asset, similar to heirs swearing concerning inherited property. The refutation is that creditors are establishing ownership for another party (the bankrupt) to which their rights are attached; thus, they are like a wife swearing to establish her husband's ownership for maintenance, or heirs before the death of the deceased, where the inheritance has not yet transferred to them, unlike after death when they establish their own ownership through their oaths.