When is the physical discipline and public disgrace for false testimony to be carried out, and when is it not applicable?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Judicial Rulings
Primary text
Discipline and public disgrace are only to be carried out once it is definitively established that the witness intentionally committed perjury, either through their own admission or through irrefutable evidence, such as testifying to an event occurring in Syria at a time when the defendant is known to have been in Iraq, testifying that a man was killed when he was alive, or testifying about property possession for a period the witness knows is factually impossible (e.g., the animal being in possession for three years when the true period was less, or testifying about an event occurring after the death or before the birth of the person involved). These circumstances prove the lie and establish intent.
Supporting text
Discipline is not administered if there is a contradiction between two testimonies, if the witness's wickedness is merely apparent, or if the witness made an error in testimony. This is because wickedness does not inherently prevent truthfulness, contradiction does not definitively prove the falsehood of one testimony specifically, and error can happen to a righteous, truthful person unintentionally, for which there is forgiveness, based on the verse: {And there is no blame upon you for what you have made a mistake in, but [only for] what you intended by your hearts} (Quran 33:5) and the Hadith regarding forgiveness for error, forgetfulness, and compulsion.