Examining Witness Interest: The Obstacles of Testimony in Islamic Jurisprudence and Positive Law
Abstract views: 230
,
pdf downloads: 186
Abstract
This study compares Islamic jurisprudence and positive law to explore the obstacles of testimony, focusing on the complexity and controversy surrounding witnesses' interests. Employing a legal comparative method, the research examines self-interest in testimony, emphasizing authoritative sources like fiqh books and Jordanian law, shedding light on the concept of self-interest as its primary focus. It highlights the differences between Islamic jurisprudence and contemporary legal frameworks, providing a nuanced understanding of witness actions in legal processes. This research's findings reveal that testimony's self-interest predominantly relates to lineage, siblinghood, marital relationships, hostility, and partisanship. The results show both Islamic jurisprudence and positive law recognize the prohibition of testimony due to self-interests is not absolute; there are many interpretations and exceptions to this restriction, with differences stemming from the reliance on religious texts in Islamic jurisprudence and legal reasoning in positive law. This gap arises from the ability of contemporary law to examine the interests of witnesses from various perspectives and through the use of different evidentiary tools. This research contributes practically that the application of law that is different from what has been formulated by fiqh scholars in Islamic jurisprudence does not necessarily indicate that the legal decision is at odds with Islamic law.
References
Abu Bakar, ’Iwadh Abdullah. Niẓām Al-Ithbāt Fī al-Fiqh al-Islāmī. Article, 2021.
Al-Buhutiy, Manshur Bin Yunus. Kashāf Al-Qinā’ ‘an Matan al-Iqnā’. Vol. 6. Beirut: Dār Al-Kutub, n.d.
———. Sharḥ Muntahā Al-Irādāt. Vol. 3. Beirut: Alām Al-Kutub, 1993.
Al-Buthun, Bassam Nahar. Al-Shahādah Fī al-Sharī’ah al-Islāmiyyah: Dirāsah Muqāranah Bi al-Qānūn al-Wadh’iy. Amman: Dār Thaqāfah, 2010.
Al-Fatlawiy, Suhail Husain. Mawsū’ah Al-Qānūn Al-Duwalī Al-Islāmī: Mabādi’ Ḥuqūq al-Insān. Vol. 4. Amman: Dār Thaqāfah, 2014.
Al-Hamud, Yusuf. “Majmū’ah Muhāḍarāt Ulqiyat Fī Ma’had al-Qadhā’iy al-Urdūniy,” 2007.
Al-Jawziyah, Abu ‘Abdullah Ibn Qayyim. I’lām al-Muwaqqi’īn ‘an Rabb al-‘Ālamīn. Vol. 1. Beirut: Dār Al-Kutub, 1991.
Al-Kailaniy, Faruq. Muhāḍarāt Fī Qānūn Uṣūl Al-Muhākamāt al-Jazā’iyyah al-Urdūniy. Vol. 2. Beirut: Dār Al-Muruj, n.d.
Al-Kasaniy, Mas’ud Ibn Ahmad. Badāi Al-Ṣanāi’ Fī Tartīb al-Sharāi’. Vol. 6. Beirut: Dār Al-Kutub, 1987.
Al-Mardawiy, Ali Bin Sulaiman. Al-Inshāf Fī Ma’rifah Al-Rājiḥ Min Al-Khilāf. Vol. 12. Beirut: Dār Iḥyā’ Turāth, 1956.
Al-Marghinaniy, Burhanuddin. Al-Hidāyah Sharḥ Bidāyah al-Mubtadi’. Vol. 7. Beirut: Dār Iḥyā’ Turāth, 2010.
“Al-Mawsū’ah Al-Fiqhiyyah.” Vol. 26. Kuwait: Wizārah Al-Awqāf, 1983.
Al-Ramliy, Shamsuddin. Nihāyah Al-Muhtāj Ilā Sharḥ al-Minhāj. Vol. 4. Beirut: Dār Al-Fikr, 1984.
Al-Rashidi, Muhammad Abdullah. “Wetness as a Means Approving Means: A Comparative Study between Islamic Principles and Law.” Middle East University, 2011.
Al-Sarkhasiy, Muhammad Ibn Ahmad. Al-Mabsūṭ. Vol. 12. Beirut: Dār Al-Ma’rifah, 1993.
Al-Shiraziy, Abu Ishaq. Al-Muhadzab Fī Fiqh al-Imām al-Shāfi’iy. Beirut: Dār Iḥyā’ Turāth, n.d.
Al-Za’biy, ‘Iwadh Ahmad. Madkhal Ilā ‘Ilm al-Qānūn. Amman: Dār Al-Isra’, 2011.
Barbalet, Jack. “Self‐Interest and the Theory of Action.” The British Journal of Sociology 63, no. 3 (September 2012): 412–29. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-4446.2012.01417.x.
Bloomfield, Paul, ed. Morality and Self-Interest. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008.
Bobbe, Sidney S. “Uncontradicted Testimony of an Interested Witness.” Cornell Law Review 20, no. 1 (1934): 33–51.
Chinkin, Christine. “The Protection of Victims and Witnesses.” In Substantive and Procedural Aspects of International Criminal Law, edited by Gabrielle Kirk McDonald and Olivia Swaak-Goldman, 451–78. BRILL, 2000. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004531413_013.
Cropanzano, Russell, Barry Goldman, and Robert Folger. “Self‐Interest: Defining and Understanding a Human Motive.” Journal of Organizational Behavior 26, no. 8 (December 2005): 985–91. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.353.
Dawud, Ahmad Muhammad Ali. Al-Qaḍā’ Wa Al-Da’wā Wa Al-Ithbāt Fī Al-Sharī’ah Al-Islāmiyyah. Vol. 2. Amman: Dār Thaqāfah, 2012.
Elgaraybeh, Enas Mohamed. “The Attitude of The Hanafia Doctrine of The Justice of The Witness and Its Applications in The Jordanian Legitimate Trials Principles Law.” Journal of Sharia and Law 33, no. 4 (December 1, 2018): 2218–69. https://doi.org/10.21608/mksq.2018.30626.
Evans, Alvin E. “The Competency of Testamentary Witnesses.” Michigan Law Review 25, no. 3 (January 1927): 238. https://doi.org/10.2307/1279034.
Gelfert, Axel. A Critical Introduction to Testimony. Bloomsbury Critical Introductions to Contemporary Epistemology. London; New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2014.
Graham, Michael H. “Impeaching the Professional Expert Witness by a Showing of Financial Interest.” Indiana Law Journal 53, no. 1 (1977).
Green, Stuart P. “Lying, Misleading, and Falsely Denying: How Moral Concepts Inform the Law of Perjury, Fraud, and False Statements.” UC Law Journal 53, no. 1 (2001): 157.
Haidar, Ali. Durar Al-Ḥukkām Sharḥ Majallah Al-Aḥkām. Beirut: Dār ’Alam Al-Kutub, 2003.
Higgs, Jonathan. “The Interests of Justice? When Should the Court Issue a Witness Summons?” Criminal Law Review, no. 12 (2019): 141–45.
Ibn Al-Hasan, Ja’far. Sharāi’ al-Islām Fī al-Fiqh al-Islāmiy al-Ja’fariy. Vol. 2. Beirut: Dār Maktabah Al-Ḥayāh, n.d.
Ibn Al-Murtadha, Ahmad Bin Yahya. Al-Baḥr Al-Zakhār. Vol. 5. Beirut: Dār Al-Kutub, 2001.
Ibn Farhun, Ibrahim Bin Ali. Tabṣirah Al-Ḥukkām Fī Uṣūl al-Aqḍiyyah Wa Manāhij al-Aḥkām. Vol. 1. Beirut: Dār Al-Kutub, 1995.
Ibn Hazm, Ali Bin Ahmad. Al-Muḥalā. Vol. 9. Beirut: Dār Al-Fikr, n.d.
Ibn Mandzur, Jamaluddin. Lisān Al-‘Arab. Vol. 3. Beirut: Dār Ṣādir, 2010.
Ibn Qudamah, Abu Muhammad Abdullah. Al-Kāfī Fī Fiqh al-Imām Aḥmad al-Ḥanbalī. Vol. 4. Beirut: Dār Al-Kutub, 1994.
———. Al-Mughnī. Vol. 10. Beirut: Dār Iḥyā’ Turāth, 1985.
Investopedia. “Self-Interest: What It Means in Economics, With Examples.” Accessed February 5, (2024). https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/self-interest.asp.
Kennedy, Rick. A History of Reasonableness: Testimony and Authority in the Art of Thinking. Rochester Studies in Philosophy, v. 7. Rochester, N.Y: University of Rochester Press, 2004.
Lackey, Jennifer. Learning from Words: Testimony as a Source of Knowledge. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2008.
LII / Legal Information Institute. “Interested Witness.” Accessed February 2, 2024. https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/interested_witness.
Mahr, Johannes B., and Gergely Csibra. “Witnessing, Remembering, and Testifying: Why the Past Is Special for Human Beings.” Perspectives on Psychological Science, January 21, (2020). https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691619879167.
Malik, Neeraj. “Evidentiary Value of the Testimony of an Interested Witness.” Indian Journal of Health & Wellbeing 9, no. 2 (2018): 217–18.
Memon, Amina, Aldert Vrij, and Ray Bull. Psychology and Law: Truthfulness, Accuracy and Credibility. 2nd ed. Chichester, West Sussex, England; New York: Wiley, 2003.
Miller, Dale T. “The Norm of Self-Interest.” American Psychologist 54, no. 12 (1999): 1053–60. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.54.12.1053.
Nasy’at, Ahmad. Risālah Al-Ithbāt. Beirut: Dār Al-Fikr, 1972.
O’Flaherty, Brendan, and Rajiv Sethi. “Witness Intimidation.” The Journal of Legal Studies 39, no. 2 (June 2010): 399–432. https://doi.org/10.1086/649032.
Patel, Ian. “The Role of Testimony and Testimonial Analysis in Human Rights Advocacy and Research.” State Crime Journal 1, no. 2 (2012): 235–65.
Qadir, Abdurrahman Muhammad Abdul. Mawāni’ al-Shahādah Fī al-Fiqh al-Islāmī. Cairo: Dār Al-Nahḍah, n.d.
Rabi’, ’Imad Muhammad. Ḥujjiyah Al-Shahādah Fī al-Ithbāt al-Jazā’iy. Amman: Dār Thaqāfah, 2011.
Ubaid, Rauf. Jarā’im al-I’tidā’ ‘alā al-Ashkhāṣ Wa al-Amwāl. Beirut: Dār Al-Fikr, n.d.
Vyas, Shantanu, Priyanshu Kumar, and Osheen Jain. “Tesimony of Interested Witnes.” Indian Journal of Integrated Research in Law 3, no. 1 (n.d.): 1–7.
Wahid, Muhammad Bin Abdul. Fatḥ Al-Qadīr Sharḥ al-Hidāyah. Vol. 7. Cairo: Musthafa al-Halabiy, n.d.
Walton, Douglas N. Witness Testimony Evidence: Argumentation, Artificial Intelligence, and Law. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008.
Weidman, Aaron C., Walter J. Sowden, Martha K. Berg, and Ethan Kross. “Punish or Protect? How Close Relationships Shape Responses to Moral Violations.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, September 19, (2019). https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167219873485.
Copyright (c) 2024 Hijrian Angga Prihantoro
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Requirements to be met by the author as follows:
- Author storing copyright and grant the journal right of first publication manuscripts simultaneously with licensed under the CC BY-SA allows others to share the work with a statement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Authors can enter into the preparation of additional contractual separately for the non-exclusive distribution of a decadent version of the journal issue (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with the recognition of initial publication in this journal.
Authors are allowed and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) before and during the submission process because it can lead to productive exchanges and citations earlier and more severe than published works. (see The Effect of Open Access).
This work is licensed under CC BY-SA.
.png)
