5:106 Al-Maaida (The Table)

يخبر تعالى خبرا متضمنا للأمر بإشهاد اثنين على الوصية، إذا حضر الإنسان مقدماتُ الموت وعلائمه. فينبغي له أن يكتب وصيته، ويشهد عليها اثنين ذوي عدل ممن تعتبر شهادتهما. { أَوْ آخَرَانِ مِنْ غَيْرِكُمْ } أي: من غير أهل دينكم، من اليهود أو النصارى أو غيرهم، وذلك عند الحاجة والضرورة وعدم غيرهما من المسلمين. { إِنْ أَنْتُمْ ضَرَبْتُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ } أي: سافرتم فيها { فَأَصَابَتْكُمْ مُصِيبَةُ الْمَوْتِ } أي: فأشهدوهما، ولم يأمر بشهادتهما إلا لأن قولهما في تلك الحال مقبول، ويؤكد عليهما، بأن يحبسا { مِنْ بَعْدِ الصَّلَاةِ } التي يعظمونها. { فَيُقْسِمَانِ بِاللَّهِ } أنهما صدقا، وما غيرا ولا بدلا، هذا { إِنِ ارْتَبْتُمْ } في شهادتهما، فإن صدقتموهما، فلا حاجة إلى القسم بذلك. ويقولان: { لَا نَشْتَرِي بِهِ } أي: بأيماننا { ثَمَنًا } بأن نكذب فيها، لأجل عرض من الدنيا. { وَلَوْ كَانَ ذَا قُرْبَى } فلا نراعيه لأجل قربه منا { وَلَا نَكْتُمُ شَهَادَةَ اللَّهِ } بل نؤديها على ما سمعناها { إِنَّا إِذًا } أي: إن كتمناها { لَمِنَ الْآثِمِينَ }

اشتملت هذه الآية الكريمة على حكم عزيز قيل إنه منسوخ رواه العوفي من ابن عباس وقاله حماد بن أبي سليمان عن إبراهيم أنها منسوخة وقال آخرون وهم الأكثرون فيما قاله ابن جرير بل هو محكم ومن ادعى نسخه فعليه البيان فقوله تعالى" يا أيها الذين آمنوا شهادة بينكم إذا حضر أحدكم الموت حين الوصية اثنان" هذا هو الخبر لقوله" شهادة بينكم" فقيل تقديره شهادة اثنين حذف المضاف وأقيم المضاف إليه مقامه وقيل دل الكلام على تقدير أن يشهد اثنان وقوله تعالى" ذوا عدل" وصف الاثنين بأن يكونا عدلين وقوله" منكم" أي من المسلمين قاله الجمهور. قال علي بن أبي طلحة عن ابن عباس رضي الله عنه في قوله ذوا عدل منكم قال من المسلمين رواه ابن أبي حاتم. ثم قال: وروي عن عبيدة وسعيد بن المسيب والحسن ومجاهد ويحيي بن يعمر والسدي وقتادة ومقاتل بن حيان وعبدالرحمن بن زيد بن أسلم وغيرهم نحو ذلك قال ابن جرير وقال آخرون غير ذلك" ذوا عدل منكم" أي من أهل الموصي وذلك قول روي عن عكرمة وعبيدة وعدة غيرهما وقوله أو "آخران من غيركم" قال ابن أبي حاتم: حدثنا أبي حدثنا سعيد بن عوف حدثنا عبدالواحد بن زياد حدثنا حبيب بن أبي عمرة عن سعيد بن جبير قال: قال ابن عباس في قوله أو" آخران من غيركم" قال من غير المسلمين يعني أهل الكتاب ثم قال: وروي عن عبيدة وشريح وسعيد بن المسيب ومحمد بن سيرين ويحيى بن يعمر وعكرمة ومجاهد وسعيد بن جبير والشعبي وإبراهيم النخعي وقتادة وأبي مجلز والسدي ومقاتل بن حيان وعبدالرحمن بن زيد بن أسلم وغيرهم نحو ذلك وعلى ما حكاه ابن جرير عن كرمة وعبيدة في قوله" منكم" أن المراد من قبيلة الموصي يكون المراد ههنا" أو آخران" من غيركم أي من غير قبيلة الموصي وروى ابن أبي حاتم مثله عن الحسن البصري والزهري رحمهما الله وقوله تعالى" إن أنتم ضربتم في الأرض" أي سافرتم " فأصابتكم مصيبة الموت" وهذان شرطان لجواز استشهاد الذميين عند فقد المؤمنين أن يكون ذلك في سفر وأن يكون في وصية كما صرح بذلك شريح القاضي; وقال ابن جرير: حدثنا عمرو بن على حدثنا أبو معاوية ووكيع قالا: حدثنا الأعمش عن إبراهيم عن شريح قال: لا يجوز شهادة اليهود والنصاري إلا في سفر ولا تجوز في سفر إلا في الوصية ثم رواه عن أبي كريب عن أبي بكر بن عياش عن أبي إسحاق السبيعي قال: قال شريح فذكر مثله وروي نحوه عن الإمام أحمد بن حنبل رحمه الله تعالى وهذه المسألة من إفراده وخالفه الثلاثة فقالوا لا تجوز شهادة أهل الذمة على المسلمين وأجازها أبو حنيفة فيما بين بعضهم بعضا وقال ابن جرير: حدثنا عمرو بن علي حدثنا أبو داود حدثنا صالح بن أبي الأخضر عن الزهري قال: مضت السنة أن لا تجوز شهادة الكافر في حضر ولا سفر إنما هي في المسلمين. وقال ابن زيد: نزلت هذه الآية في رجل توفي وليس عنده أحد من أهل الإسلام وذلك في أول الإسلام والأرض حرب والناس كفار وكان الناس يتوارثون بالوصية ثم نسخت الوصية وفرضت الفرائض وعمل الناس بها. رواه ابن جرير وفي هذا نظر والله أعلم. وقال ابن جرير: اختلف في قوله شهادة بينكم" إذا حضر أحدكم الموت حين الوصية اثنان ذوا عدل منكم أو آخران من غيركم" هل المراد به أن يوصي إليهما أو يشهدهما على قولين. "أحدهما" أن يوصي إليهما كما قال محمد بن إسحاق عن يزيد بن عبدالله بن قسيط قال: سئل ابن مسعود رضي الله عنه عن هذه الآية قال هذا رجل سافر ومعه مال فأدركه قدره فإن وجد رجلين من المسلمين دفع إليهما تركته وأشهد عليهما عدلين من المسلمين رواه ابن أبي حاتم وفيه انقطاع. "والقول الثاني" أنهما يكونان شاهدين وهو ظاهر سياق الآية الكريمة فإن لم يكن وصي ثالث معهما اجتمع فيهما الوصفان الوصاية والشهادة كما في قصه تميم الداري وعدي بن بداء كما سيأتي ذكرهما آنفا إن شاء الله وبه التوفيق وقد استشكل ابن جرير كونهما شاهدين قال لأنا لا نعلم حكما يحلف فيه الشاهد وهذا لا يمنع الحكم الذي تضمنته هذه الآية الكريمة وهو حكم مستقل بنفسه لا يلزم أن يكون جاريا على قياس جميع الأحكام علي أن هذا حكم خاص بشهادة خاصة في محل خاص وقد اغتفر فيه من الأمور ما لم يغتفر فى غيره فإذا قامت قرينة الريبة حلف هذا الشاهد بمقتضي ما دلت عليه هذه الآية الكريمة وقوله تعالى" تحبسونهما من بعد الصلاة" قال العوفي عن ابن عباس: يعني صلاة العصر وكذا قال سعيد بن جبير وإبراهيم النخعي وقتادة وعكرمة ومحمد بن سيرين. وقال الزهري يعني صلاة المسلمين وقال السدي عن ابن عباس يعني صلاة أهل دينهما وروي عن عبدالرزاق عن أيوب عن ابن سيرين عن عبيدة وكذا قال إبراهيم وقتادة وغير واحد والمقصود أن يقام هذان الشاهدان بعد صلاة اجتمع الناس فيها بحضرتهم" فيقسمان بالله" أي فيحلفان بالله" إن ارتبتم" أي إن ظهرت لكم منهما ريبة أنهما خانا أو غلا فيحلفان حينئذ بالله" لا نشتري به" أي بأيماننا قاله مقاتل بن حيان ثمنا أي لا نعتاض عنه بعوض قليل من الدنيا الفانية الزائلة ولو كان ذا قربى أي ولو كان المشهود عليه قريبا لنا لا نحابيه" ولا نكتم شهادة الله" أضافها إلى الله تشريفا لها وتعظيما لأمرها وقرأ بعضهم" ولا نكتم شهادة الله" مجرورا على القسم رواها ابن جرير عن عامر الشعبي وحكى عن بعضهم أنه قرأها ولا نكتم شهادة الله والقراءة الأولى هي المشهورة" إنا إذا لمن الآثمين" أي إن فعلنا شيئا من ذلك من تحريف الشهادة أو تبديلها أو تغييرها أو كتمها بالكلية.

Testimony of Two Just Witnesses for the Final Will and Testament

This honorable Ayah contains a glorious ruling from Allah. Allah's statement,

يِـأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ شَهَـدَةُ بَيْنِكُمْ إِذَا حَضَرَ أَحَدَكُمُ الْمَوْتُ حِينَ الْوَصِيَّةِ اثْنَانِ

(O you who believe! When death approaches any of you, and you make a bequest, then take the testimony of two...) meaning that there should be two witnesses in such cases,

ذَوَا عَدْلٍ

(just men...) thus, describing them as just,

مِّنكُمْ

(of your own folk) Muslims.

أَوْ ءَاخَرَانِ مِنْ غَيْرِكُمْ

(or two others from outside) non-Muslims, meaning the People of the Book, according to Ibn `Abbas as Ibn Abi Hatim recorded. Allah said next,

إِنْ أَنتُمْ ضَرَبْتُمْ فِى الاٌّرْضِ

(if you are traveling through the land) on a journey,

فَأَصَابَتْكُم مُّصِيبَةُ الْمَوْتِ

(and the calamity of death befalls you.) These are two conditions that permit using non-Muslims from among the Dhimmis for witnesses when there are no Muslims present: When one is traveling and needs to write a will, as Sharih Al-Qadi said. Ibn Jarir recorded that Sharih said, "The witness of the Jews and Christians is not allowed except while traveling, and even then only to witness the dictation of the will." Allah's statement,

تَحْبِسُونَهُمَا مِن بَعْدِ الصَّلوةِ

(Detain them both after the Salah (the prayer),) refers to the `Asr prayer, according to Al-`Awfi who reported it from Ibn `Abbas. This is the same explanation reported from Sa`id bin Jubayr, Ibrahim An-Nakha`i, Qatadah, `Ikrimah and Muhammad bin Sirin. As for Az-Zuhri, he said that they are detained after Muslim prayer (i.e., in congregation). Therefore, these two witnesses will be detained after a congregational prayer,

فَيُقْسِمَانِ بِاللَّهِ إِنِ ارْتَبْتُمْ

(let them both swear by Allah if you are in doubt.) meaning, if you are in doubt that they might have committed treachery or theft, then they should swear by Allah,

لاَ نَشْتَرِى بِهِ

(We wish not in this) in our vows, according to Muqatil bin Hayyan,

ثَمَناً

(for any worldly gain) of this soon to end life,

وَلَوْ كَانَ ذَا قُرْبَى

(even though he be our near relative.) meaning, if the beneficiary be our near relative, we will still not compromise on the truth.

وَلاَ نَكْتُمُ شَهَـدَةَ اللَّهِ

(We shall not hide the testimony of Allah,) thus stating that the testimony is Allah's, as a way of respecting it and valuing its significance,

إِنَّآ إِذَاً لَّمِنَ الاٌّثِمِينَ

(for then indeed we should be of the sinful.) if we distort the testimony, change, alter or hide it entirely. Allah said next,

فَإِنْ عُثِرَ عَلَى أَنَّهُمَا اسْتَحَقَّآ إِثْماً

(If it then becomes known that these two had been guilty of sin...) if the two witnesses were found to have cheated or stolen from the money that the will is being written about,

يِقُومَانُ مَقَامَهُمَا مِنَ الَّذِينَ اسْتَحَقَّ عَلَيْهِمُ الاٌّوْلَيَانِ

(let two others stand forth in their places, nearest in kin from among those who claim a lawful right.) This Ayah indicates that if the two witnesses were found to have committed treachery, then two of the nearest rightful inheritors should stand for witness in their place,

فَيُقْسِمَانِ بِاللَّهِ لَشَهَـدَتُنَا أَحَقُّ مِن شَهَـدَتِهِمَا

(Let them swear by Allah (saying): "We affirm that our testimony is truer than that of both of them...") Meaning, our testimony that they have cheated is more truthful than the testimony that they have offered,

وَمَا اعْتَدَيْنَآ

(and that we have not trespassed (the truth),) when we accused them of treachery,

إِنَّا إِذاً لَّمِنَ الظَّـلِمِينَ

(for then indeed we should be of the wrongdoers.) if we had lied about them. This is the oath of the heirs, and preference is to be given to their saying. Just as in the case with the oath of relative of a murdered person if he attempts to tarnish the case of the murdered person. So his family takes an oath in defense of his honor. This is discussed in the studies of the oaths in the books of Ahkam. Allah's statement,

ذلِكَ أَدْنَى أَن يَأْتُواْ بِالشَّهَـدَةِ عَلَى وَجْهِهَآ

(That should make it closer (to the fact) that their testimony would be in its true nature and shape (and thus accepted),) means, the ruling requiring the two Dhimmi witnesses to swear, if there is a doubt that they were not truthful, might compel them to admit to the testimony in its true form. Allah's statement,

أَوْ يَخَـفُواْ أَن تُرَدَّ أَيْمَـنٌ بَعْدَ أَيْمَـنِهِمْ

(or else they would fear that (other) oaths would be admitted after their oaths.) means, requiring them to swear by Allah might encourage them to admit to the true testimony because they respect swearing by Allah and they glorify and revere Him. They also fear exposure if the heirs of the deceased are required to swear instead of them. In this case, the heirs would swear and earn the rightful inheritance that the two witnesses failed to declare. This is why Allah said,

أَوْ يَخَـفُواْ أَن تُرَدَّ أَيْمَـنٌ بَعْدَ أَيْمَـنِهِمْ

(or else they would fear that (other) oaths would be admitted after their oaths.), then,

وَاتَّقُواْ اللَّهَ

(And have Taqwa of Allah) in all of your affairs,

وَاسْمَعُواْ

(and listen.) and obey,

وَاللَّهُ لاَ يَهْدِى الْقَوْمَ الْفَـسِقِينَ

(And Allah guides not the rebellious people.) who do not obey Him or follow His Law.

يَوْمَ يَجْمَعُ اللَّهُ الرُّسُلَ فَيَقُولُ مَاذَآ أُجِبْتُمْ قَالُواْ لاَ عِلْمَ لَنَآ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ عَلَّـمُ الْغُيُوبِ

O you who believe let testimony between you when death that is one of its causes draws near to one of you at the time of a bequest be that of two men of justice among you ithnāni dhawā ‘adlin minkum ‘two men of justice among you’ is the predicate expressed with the sense of an imperative in other words ‘let two men bear witness … etc.’; the genitive annexation of shahāda ‘testimony’ and bayn ‘between’ is meant to allow for a range of alternatives; hīn ‘at the time of’ is a substitute for idhā ‘when’ or an adverbial qualifier of time for the verb hadara ‘draws near’; or of two others from another folk that is from other than your own religious community if you are travelling in the land and the affliction of death befalls you. Then you shall empanel them you shall detain them tahbisūnahumā ‘you shall empanel them’ is an adjectival qualification of ākharān ‘two others’ after the mid-afternoon prayer and if you are in doubt if you are uncertain about it their testimony they shall swear by God both of them saying ‘We will not sell it our testimony in swearing by God for any price for any compensation that we might take in exchange for it from this world neither by swearing by Him falsely nor by testifying falsely for the sake of that price; even if he the person before whom it is being sworn or the one for whose sake testimony is being given be a near kinsman a close relative of ours nor will we hide testimony to God which He has commanded us to give for then if we were to hide it we would surely be among the sinful’.

Sequence of Verses

Prior to this, there were injunctions relevant to religious considerations. Now some injunctions relevant to worldly considerations have been mentioned. The hint given is that the way Allah Ta` ala, in His mercy, helps His servants with better life in the Hereafter, He also takes care of better sustenance for them in the present world. (Bayan al-Qur'an)

The Background of Revelation

The event in the background of the revelation of the cited verses is that Budayl, a Muslim accompanied by Tamim and ` Adiyy, who were Christians at that time, travelled to Syria on a business visit. After reaching Syria, Budayl became sick. He made out a list of his things in writing and put it in his baggage. He did not inform his companions of the trip about it. When his sickness became serious, he called his Christian trip companions and made a will before them that they should deliver everything to his heirs. When they returned, they delivered everything to them. But, they took out a silver bowl which was polished with gold, or had gold inlay work on it, from the belongings. When the heirs found the list of things in the baggage left for them by the deceased, they asked the caretakers of the will if the deceased had sold something from the property, or was he very sick which may have compelled him to make unusual expenses. They answered their inquiry in the negative. Finally, the case came up for hearing before the Holy Prophet ﷺ . Since the heirs had no witnesses, the two Christians were put under oath. They declared that they had neither committed any breach of trust in what belonged to the deceased, nor had they hidden any of his things. In the end, based on the oath, the verdict was given in their favour. After the passage of some time, it was found that the two of them had sold that bowl to a goldsmith in Makkah. When asked, they said that they had bought it from the de-ceased. Since they had no witnesses at the time of purchase, they pleaded, they did not mention it earlier lest they be falsified.

The heirs of the deceased appealed in the court of the Holy Prophet ﷺ Now, contrary to the earlier situation, the executers of the will were claiming to have purchased the missing item while the heirs were denying it. In view of the absence of evidence, two persons closest of the deceased gave a sworn statement that the bowl was owned by the deceased and that the two Christians were liars in their oath. So, the amount of money for which they had sold it (1, 000 Dirhams) was made to be handed over to the heirs.

Commentary

'These verses are meant to give general instructions to the Muslims with regard to making will before death. The advice given is that the will should be evidenced by witnesses, so that they may prove the will in case of a dispute after the death of the testator. It has also been advised that two pious Muslims are chosen for witnessing the will. However, if the Muslim witnesses are not available, non-Muslim witnesses may also serve the purpose. The words 'two witnesses from you" signify the preference of Muslim witnesses, but the following words "or of two others not from you" point out to the permissibility of non-Muslim witnesses.

Then, the words "if you have some doubt" refers to a situation where the legal heirs of the deceased have a claim against the executors of the will, as in the case of Budayl the heirs claimed that a bowl of silver was delivered by the deceased to the executors. Since, in this case the heirs are the plaintiffs, they should produce witnesses to prove their claim, but on their failure to do so, the defendants, i.e. the trustees are required to declare on oath that they did not commit any breach of trust. For that purpose, the Holy Qur'an advises the judge by saying, you shall detain them after the prayer, and they shall swear.

Although it is not legally compulsory to take this oath in the mosque after a prayer, yet the Holy Qur'an has advised to take oath after a prayer, so that the sanctity of time and place may further persuade the people to give a truthful statement.

In the next verse the Holy Qur'an says, "Then, if it is discovered that the two had rendered themselves liable to a sin..." It means that they had given a false evidence, as in the case of Budayl they themselves admitted that the bowl was purchased by them which implied that the property of Budayl contained a bowl and their earlier testimony was false. At this stage they claimed that they had purchased the bowl from Budayl. They should have substantiated this claim by witnesses, but they failed to do so, therefore, the oath was given to the legal heirs of Budayl that no such sale took place to the best of their knowledge. It is this oath of the heirs which has been mentioned in the verse by saying, "then, in their place shall stand two others closest of those whose right has been taken away and they shall swear by Allah..."

Some Rulings

1. The person with whom the deceased leaves his or her property in trust with the request that it be given to someone is called Wasiyy (authorized guardian, executor, trustee, caretaker; plural: Awsiya' ). A Wasiyy can be one individual, or more.

2. That a Wasiyy should be Muslim and just, is better but not necessary, no matter whether the will is being made in journey or at home.

3. In a dispute, the complainant is called the Mudda'i (plaintiff) while the other party is Mudda` a ` alayh (respondent).

4. Witnesses from the Plaintiff are taken first. If he presents them as recognized under the legal norms set by the Shari’ ah of Islam, the case is decided in his favour. If he cannot do that, the Respondent is put on oath and the case is decided in his favour. However, if he denies it, the Plaintiff wins the case.

5. Taking oath at a particular time or place in order to make it more emphatic, as done in the cited verse, depends on the opinion of the judge - it is not required compulsorily. Its compulsory nature is not proved from this verse too, while the converse is proved from other verses and Hadith reports.

The Witness of a Kafir is Acceptable in the case of another Kafir

In the opening words of the verse (106): يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا شَهَادَةُ بَيْنِكُمْ translated as : ` when death draws near one of you, that is, at the time of making a will, the evidence (recognized) between you shall be of two just witnesses from among you, or of two others not from you,' Muslims have been commanded that at the time death draws near one of them, they should appoint two good and just men from among them as their Wasiyy (executor of the will), and if they do not have such people from their own, then, they can have two others (that is, from disbelievers).

It is from here that Imam Abu Hanifah has deduced the ruling that the witness given by disbelievers for each other is permissible. Since the witness of the disbelievers has been declared permissible in the case of Muslims in this verse, as obvious from: أَوْ آخَرَ‌انِ مِنْ غَيْرِ‌كُمْ (or of two others not from you), so the witness of disbelievers for each other is permissible as more suited. But, later on, the witness of the disbelievers for Muslims was abrogated under the authority of the verse: وَاسْتَشْهِدُوا شَهِيدَيْنِ مِن رِّ‌جَالِكُمْ (And have two witnesses from among your men - 2:282). But, the evidence of disbelievers for each other remains valid as it was. (Qurtubi Al-Ahkam Al-Qur'an by Jassas)

The support for the position of Imam Abu Hanifah (رح) also comes from what a Hadith says about a Jew who had committed Zina (adultery). His people smeared his face with black soot and produced him before the Holy Prophet ﷺ . Looking at his condition, he asked for the reason. They told him that the man had committed adultery (Zina). After hearing the testimony of the witnesses, he gave orders that he be stoned to death (Rajm). (Jassas)

Two Words, Two Rules

1. The word, تَحْبِسُونَهُمَا (You shall detain them) in the context of this verse (106) tells us that a person who (genuinely) owes something to someone (having the right of return), the later can have him detained for the retrieval of his right, if and when needed. (Qurtubi)

The word, "Salah" in: مِن بَعْدِ الصَّلَاةِ (after the prayer) means the Salah or prayer of عَصر ` Asr. That this time has been chosen is because the people of the Book held it in esteem. Telling a lie at this time was particularly prohibited among them. This tells us that the placing of the restriction of special time or place for taking a solemn and sacred oath (Taghliz) is permissible. (Qurtubi)

(O ye who believe! Let there be witnesses between you�) [5:106]. Abu Sa'id ibn Abi Bakr al-Razi informed us> Abu 'Amr ibn Hamdan> Abu Ya'la> al-Harith ibn Shurayh> Yahya ibn Zakariyya ibn Abi Za'idah> Muhammad ibn Abu'l-Qasim> 'Abd al-Malik ibn Sa'id ibn Jubayr> his father> Ibn 'Abbas who said: �Tamim al-Dari and 'Adiyy ibn Badda' used to come to Mecca. On one occasion, a man from Quraysh, from Banu Sahm, travelled with the two of them. However, this man died in a land where there was not a single Muslim and he had to entrust them with his belongings, with the understanding that they were to be given to his family. When the two of them arrived, they gave his belongings to his family but kept to themselves a silver bowl adorned with layers of gold. They denied having seen this bowl when they were asked about it. The two men were taken to the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, who asked them to swear that they neither saw the bowl nor did they keep it. When they swore, he let them go. Later this bowl was found with some of the people of Mecca who said that they had bought it from Tamim al-Dari and 'Adiyy ibn Badda'. The heirs of the man from Banu Sahm took the bowl and two men from among them swore that the bowl belonged to their man, that their testimony is truer than the testimony of the other two men and that they did not transgress. These two verses were revealed about this event (O ye who believe! Let there be witnesses between you) up to the end�.