What is the rule for distributing liability among witnesses who retract their testimony after a penalty has been executed?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Judicial Rulings
Primary text
When witnesses are liable for damages due to retraction, the liability must be distributed equally among all of them, regardless of whether they are few or many. According to Ahmad, if witnesses testify and later retract after property has been destroyed, the liability is apportioned based on their number. If there are two witnesses, each is liable for half; if three, one-third, and so on. This applies whether one or all retract, and whether the retracting witness was surplus to the required number or not. For instance, if four testify for Qisas (retaliation in kind for murder) and one retracts stating it was intentional homicide, that retracting witness is liable for Qisas. If he states it was a mistake, he is liable for one-fourth of the Diyah (blood money). If two retract, they are liable for Qisas or half the Diyah. If six testify to adultery against a married man, resulting in his stoning, and one retracts, he is liable for Qisas or one-sixth of the Diyah. If two retract, they are liable for Qisas or one-third of the Diyah.
Supporting text
Abu Ubaid agrees with the above distribution for witnesses testifying to adultery and murder. The view of Abu Hanifa differs in cases of adultery testimony retraction: if one or two retract, there is no liability because the testimony for adultery remains valid, meaning the person's blood is not considered wrongfully shed (i.e., the execution was justified based on the remaining valid testimony). If three retract, they owe one-fourth of the Diyah, half if four retract, three-fourths if five retract, and if all six retract, each owes one-sixth.