A COMMON assumption in Muslim societies, namely, that the testimony of one man equals that of two women, is based on a reading of Surah 2 282.
It states “O you who have attained faith! Whenever you give or take credit for a stated term, set it down in writing. And let a scribe write it down equitably between you; and no scribe shall refuse to write as God has taught him thus shall he write. And let him who contracts the debt dictate; and let him be conscious of God, his Sustainer, and not weaken anything of his undertaking. And if he who contracts the debt is weak of mind or body, or is not able to dictate himself then let him who watches over his interests dictate equitably. And call upon two of your men to act as witnesses; and if two men are not available, then a man and two women from among such as are acceptable to you as witnesses, so that if one of them should make a mistake, the other could remind her.”
It is explicated in the above verse — the longest in the Quran — that the following steps that should be taken when a financial arrangement involving credit is being made. Whenever credit is given or taken for a stated term, it should be documented in the form of a written contract. The scribe writing down the contract should do so honestly, in accordance with the laws promulgated in the Quran. The person dictating the contract should do so honestly and not “diminish anything thereof”.
If the person who is contracting the debt is not able to dictate himself due to physical or mental weakness, or any other reason, then the person watching over his interests, should do so. The written contract should be witnessed by two men. If two men are not available then one man and two women can be called, “so that if one of them should make a mistake, the other could remind her”.
Commenting on the last point, Dr Fathi Osman states “When the Quran requires two women to substitute a man in witnessing a credit, this does not imply any devaluation of the physical or moral abilities of a woman, but it just refers to the fact that women in many cases, may be less familiar with business procedures — especially the detailed specifics and legal aspects — than men, and therefore they may be more liable for errors in this respect. Accordingly, it may be wise to make sure that if one of them should make a mistake, the other could remind her.”
Since, in seventh-century Arabia, women were rarely called to be a witness to a financial contract, the Quran allowed for the presence of a second woman. However, it is to be noted that the two women are not both witnesses who are called upon to testify one after the other, or together. Only one of the two women is a witness, the other woman is a “helper”, who is to “remind” the woman witness in case she makes a mistake. Here, it is implicit that if the woman witness does not make a mistake, she would not need to be “reminded” by the woman who is there to help her.
Here, it is pertinent to point out that there are a number of Quranic references to men and women acting as witnesses. In all of them, both are regarded as equal. In fact, in the case of li`an, the wife`s testimony has priority over the husband`s, as stated in Surah 4 6-9 “And as for those who accuse their own wives (of adultery), but have no witnesses except themselves, let each of these (accusers) call God four times to witness that he is indeed telling the truth, and the fifth time, that God`s curse be upon him if he is telling a lie.” But (as for the wife, all) chastisement shall be averted from her by her calling God four times to witness that her husband is indeed telling a lie, and the fifth time, God`s curse be upon her if he is telling the truth.
The Quranic perspective on witnessing is summed up by Dr Fathi Osman in the following statement “A testimony of a woman is equal to that of a man in principle, and each has to be evaluated according to one`s intellectual and moral merits in a given case.”
The writer is a scholar of Iqbal and Islam and teaches at the University of Louisville, US.
rshass01@gwise.louisville.edu