Examining Witness Interest: The Obstacles of Testimony in Islamic Jurisprudence and Positive Law
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21154/justicia.v21i1.8653Keywords:
self-interest; testimony; Islamic jurisprudence; positive lawAbstract
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. NiẓÄm Al-IthbÄt FÄ« al-Fiqh al-IslÄmÄ«. Article, 2021.
Al-Buhutiy, Manshur Bin Yunus. KashÄf Al-QinÄ’ ”˜an Matan al-IqnÄ’. Vol. 6. Beirut: DÄr Al-Kutub, n.d.
””””””. Sharḥ MuntahÄ Al-IrÄdÄt. Vol. 3. Beirut: AlÄm Al-Kutub, 1993.
Al-Buthun, Bassam Nahar. Al-ShahÄdah FÄ« al-SharÄ«’ah al-IslÄmiyyah: DirÄsah MuqÄranah Bi al-QÄnÅ«n al-Wadh’iy. Amman: DÄr ThaqÄfah, 2010.
Al-Fatlawiy, Suhail Husain. MawsÅ«’ah Al-QÄnÅ«n Al-DuwalÄ« Al-IslÄmÄ«: MabÄdi’ ḤuqÅ«q al-InsÄn. Vol. 4. Amman: DÄr ThaqÄfah, 2014.
Al-Hamud, Yusuf. “MajmÅ«’ah MuhÄá¸arÄt Ulqiyat FÄ« Ma’had al-QadhÄ’iy al-UrdÅ«niy,” 2007.
Al-Jawziyah, Abu ”˜Abdullah Ibn Qayyim. I’lÄm al-Muwaqqi’Ä«n ”˜an Rabb al-”˜Ä€lamÄ«n. Vol. 1. Beirut: DÄr Al-Kutub, 1991.
Al-Kailaniy, Faruq. MuhÄá¸arÄt FÄ« QÄnÅ«n Uṣūl Al-MuhÄkamÄt al-JazÄ’iyyah al-UrdÅ«niy. Vol. 2. Beirut: DÄr Al-Muruj, n.d.
Al-Kasaniy, Mas’ud Ibn Ahmad. BadÄi Al-á¹¢anÄi’ FÄ« TartÄ«b al-SharÄi’. Vol. 6. Beirut: DÄr Al-Kutub, 1987.
Al-Mardawiy, Ali Bin Sulaiman. Al-InshÄf FÄ« Ma’rifah Al-RÄjiḥ Min Al-KhilÄf. Vol. 12. Beirut: DÄr IḥyÄ’ TurÄth, 1956.
Al-Marghinaniy, Burhanuddin. Al-HidÄyah Sharḥ BidÄyah al-Mubtadi’. Vol. 7. Beirut: DÄr IḥyÄ’ TurÄth, 2010.
“Al-MawsÅ«’ah Al-Fiqhiyyah.” Vol. 26. Kuwait: WizÄrah Al-AwqÄf, 1983.
Al-Ramliy, Shamsuddin. NihÄyah Al-MuhtÄj IlÄ Sharḥ al-MinhÄj. Vol. 4. Beirut: DÄr 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-MabsÅ«á¹. Vol. 12. Beirut: DÄr Al-Ma’rifah, 1993.
Al-Shiraziy, Abu Ishaq. Al-Muhadzab FÄ« Fiqh al-ImÄm al-ShÄfi’iy. Beirut: DÄr IḥyÄ’ TurÄth, n.d.
Al-Za’biy, ”˜Iwadh Ahmad. Madkhal IlÄ ”˜Ilm al-QÄnÅ«n. Amman: DÄr 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-Qaá¸Ä’ Wa Al-Da’wÄ Wa Al-IthbÄt FÄ« Al-SharÄ«’ah Al-IslÄmiyyah. Vol. 2. Amman: DÄr ThaqÄfah, 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-ḤukkÄm Sharḥ Majallah Al-AḥkÄm. Beirut: DÄr ’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. SharÄi’ al-IslÄm FÄ« al-Fiqh al-IslÄmiy al-Ja’fariy. Vol. 2. Beirut: DÄr Maktabah Al-ḤayÄh, n.d.
Ibn Al-Murtadha, Ahmad Bin Yahya. Al-Baḥr Al-ZakhÄr. Vol. 5. Beirut: DÄr Al-Kutub, 2001.
Ibn Farhun, Ibrahim Bin Ali. Tabá¹£irah Al-ḤukkÄm FÄ« Uṣūl al-Aqá¸iyyah Wa ManÄhij al-AḥkÄm. Vol. 1. Beirut: DÄr Al-Kutub, 1995.
Ibn Hazm, Ali Bin Ahmad. Al-MuḥalÄ. Vol. 9. Beirut: DÄr Al-Fikr, n.d.
Ibn Mandzur, Jamaluddin. LisÄn Al-”˜Arab. Vol. 3. Beirut: DÄr á¹¢Ädir, 2010.
Ibn Qudamah, Abu Muhammad Abdullah. Al-KÄfÄ« FÄ« Fiqh al-ImÄm Aḥmad al-ḤanbalÄ«. Vol. 4. Beirut: DÄr Al-Kutub, 1994.
””””””. Al-MughnÄ«. Vol. 10. Beirut: DÄr IḥyÄ’ TurÄth, 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. RisÄlah Al-IthbÄt. Beirut: DÄr 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. MawÄni’ al-ShahÄdah FÄ« al-Fiqh al-IslÄmÄ«. Cairo: DÄr Al-Nahá¸ah, n.d.
Rabi’, ’Imad Muhammad. Ḥujjiyah Al-ShahÄdah FÄ« al-IthbÄt al-JazÄ’iy. Amman: DÄr ThaqÄfah, 2011.
Ubaid, Rauf. JarÄ’im al-I’tidÄ’ ”˜alÄ al-AshkhÄá¹£ Wa al-AmwÄl. Beirut: DÄr 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-QadÄ«r Sharḥ al-HidÄyah. 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.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
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.