Is swearing generally on the absence of any due right sufficient to absolve the defendant?

General Chapter

Al-Mughni

Book of Judicial Rulings

Book 64 · Issue 2 · Bab 1

Open in Qurani

Primary text

Imam Ahmad stated that if a person is accused of holding a deposit and denies it, the oath "You have no money with me, nor anything belonging to you in my possession" is sufficient to cover the claim. This indicates that the defendant is not strictly required to swear specifically according to the precise terms of the initial claim, and swearing, "You have no right against me," is sufficient for exoneration.

Supporting text

The companions of Imam Al-Shafi'i have two views concerning the scope of the oath, mirroring the two possibilities mentioned above.