Is a person's testimony accepted for or against their spouse?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Testimonies
Primary text
The majority view, held by Al-Sha'bi, Al-Nakha'i, Malik, Ishaq, and Abu Hanifa, is that testimony between spouses is generally rejected. However, Shurayh, Al-Hasan, Al-Shafi'i, and Abu Thawr permit the testimony of either spouse for the other, likening it to a contract concerning benefit (like rental contracts) which does not prevent the acceptance of testimony. A narration from Ahmad supports the latter view. Al-Thawri and Ibn Abi Layla accept testimony from a man for his wife because there is no suspicion (tuhmah) concerning him in that regard, but they reject her testimony for him because her financial status and increased maintenance rights accrue from her testimony concerning wealth, making her suspect in that matter.
Supporting text
The ruling held by the proponents of rejection is that since each spouse inherits from the other without obstruction and customarily manages the other's wealth, their testimony is rejected, analogous to the father-son relationship. Additionally, the husband's wealth increases the wife's maintenance, and the wife's wealth increases the value of the private parts of the female slave owned by the husband, meaning each benefits from testifying for the other, thus rendering it invalid, similar to testifying for oneself. Evidence for the intertwined nature of their estates is found in Quranic references concerning their residences, such as Quran 33:33 and Quran 33:53, and in the statement of Umar regarding a slave stealing his wife's property.