What is the apportionment of liability when a judge rules based on the testimony of one man and ten women, and all witnesses retract?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Judicial Rulings
Primary text
If the testimony consists of one man and ten women, and they all retract their testimony after a ruling, the man bears one-sixth of the liability, and each woman bears one-half of one-sixth (i.e., one-twelfth) of the liability. This aligns with the opinion of Abu Hanifa and Al-Shafi'i, based on the principle that ten women are equivalent to five men, thus making the total testimony equivalent to six men.
Supporting text
The alternative view held by Abu Yusuf and Muhammad maintains that the liability should be split such that the man bears half and the women bear the other half, as the man represents half of the evidentiary party.