Is the undertaking and execution of bearing witness obligatory?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Testimonies
Primary text
The undertaking and execution of bearing witness (*Shahadah*) is an obligatory communal duty (*Fard Kifayah*). This obligation arises when one is summoned to undertake testimony regarding a marriage, debt, or other matter, or when summoned to execute existing testimony. If two individuals fulfill the obligation of undertaking or executing the testimony, it is lifted from everyone else. Refusal by all renders them sinful. The basis for this obligation is found in the command: "And let not the witnesses refuse when they are summoned" (Quran 2:282), and the prohibition against concealment: "And do not conceal the testimony, and whoever conceals it, indeed, his heart is sinful" (Quran 2:283). Testimony is an established trust, hence its fulfillment is mandatory, like other trusts.
Supporting text
An individual is excused from fulfilling the obligation if there is harm in undertaking or executing the testimony, if their testimony is legally inadmissible, or if it requires self-degradation in validation (*tazkiyah*). This exemption is based on the verse, "And let neither a scribe nor a witness be harmed" (Quran 2:282), and the Prophetic maxim, "No harm and no inflicting of reciprocal harm." There are differing views on whether sin is incurred if one refuses when others are present to take their place; one view states sin is incurred due to being specifically summoned and the command against refusal, while another states no sin is incurred as the obligation is discharged by another, negating the individual's necessity.