Is the testimony of one convicted of slander (*Qadhf*) accepted after repentance?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Testimonies
Primary text
If an accuser (*Qadhif*) verifies the accusation of adultery (*Zina*) through valid legal means (witnesses or *Li'an* if the accuser is the husband, or witnesses/confession if a non-relative), no transgression (*Fusuq*), Hadd punishment, or rejection of testimony results. However, if the accusation is not legally verified by any of these means, the Hadd punishment becomes obligatory, the person is judged as transgressing (*Fasiq*), and their testimony is rejected, based on the saying of Allah: "And those who accuse honorable women and then do not produce four witnesses - flog them eighty times and never accept any testimony from them, and those will be the defiantly disobedient" (Quran 24:4). If the person repents, the Hadd punishment is not dropped, but the transgression (*Fusuq*) is removed, and their testimony is accepted, which is the view of Umar, Abu Ad-Darda, Ibn Abbas, Ata, Tawus, Mujahid, Ash-Sha'bi, Az-Zuhri, and others, including Malik and Ash-Shafi'i.
Supporting text
Shurayh, Al-Hasan, An-Nakha'i, Sa'id bin Jubayr, Ath-Thawri, and the Companions of *Ahl al-Ra'y* hold that testimony is not accepted if the punishment has been administered, even after repentance. Abu Hanifa holds that testimony is not rejected prior to the lashing, even if the person has not repented. Thus, the disagreement with Abu Hanifa lies in two points: first, whether rejection of testimony occurs upon slander if unverified (our view is yes, theirs is no, unless lashed); and second, whether testimony is accepted after repentance and lashing (our view is yes, theirs is no, citing the verse "never accept any testimony from them").