Shahadat al-zur (false testimony: its proof, its punishment, the effect of a judgement based on it, and the repentance of the false witness)

False testimony (shahadat al-zur) is the giving of testimony known to be false in order to reach a falsehood: the destruction of a life, the taking of property, the making lawful of the forbidden or forbidden of the lawful. It is a major sin and forbidden by law. God links it with idolatry in the verse "avoid the abomination of idols and avoid the word of falsehood", and a report has the Prophet ﷺ count false testimony with association with God and repeat that it is a major sin. ^{1 2}

Most jurists hold that it is proved only by the witness's own admission, since no suspicion of lying attaches to a man's admission against himself, or by his testifying to what is certainly false, such as an act in Syria by a man known to be in Iraq, a killing of a man who is alive, or an act after the witness's death. It is not proved by a rival proof, which can only prove and not disprove. Conflicting evidence, the discovery of a witness's wickedness, or his error does not prove falsehood, since an honest and upright witness can err. Al-Shirazi and Ibn Farhun list three ways: his admission, proof against him, and his testifying to what is certainly false. ^{2 3}

Once it is proved to the judge that a man has given false testimony deliberately, the jurists agree he is disciplined, though they differ on the form. The Shafi'is, Hanbalis and some Malikis leave the form to the judge: he may beat him, up to ten lashes according to the Hanbalis and the Shafi'is not beyond forty, imprison him, or shame and rebuke him; he is publicised in his market, his tribal quarter or his mosque, with the words "this is a false witness; know him." They forbid blackening his face or parading him backwards. Abu Yusuf, Muhammad and some Malikis hold that he is beaten and imprisoned and paraded through the assemblies, citing a report that 'Umar beat a false witness forty lashes and blackened his face. Abu Hanifa holds that he is publicised in the market after the afternoon prayer and not beaten or imprisoned, since Shurayh publicised without beating, and publicity achieves deterrence. ^{3 8} Al-Zayla'i, citing al-Hakim Abu Muhammad al-Katib, distinguishes: a retraction out of repentance is not disciplined, by Hanafi consensus; a retraction without repentance, with persistence, is disciplined by their consensus; and where the retraction's motive is not known, the disagreement stands. ⁴

The majority (Malikis, Shafi'is, Hanbalis, Abu Yusuf, Muhammad, Zufar, Ishaq and Abu Thawr) hold that a judgement based on false testimony takes effect outwardly but not inwardly, so the beneficiary may not keep what he was awarded of property or a marriage, citing the Prophet's saying that he judges by what he hears and that what he cuts for a man from his brother's right is a piece of fire. Abu Hanifa and Ahmad in one report hold that the judgement takes effect outwardly and inwardly in contracts and annulments where the subject allows, citing 'Ali's judgement in a case of a marriage. In the matter of unspecified ownership, the judgement takes effect outwardly but not inwardly by consensus. ^{4 5}

When it is known that the witnesses lied, the judgement is shown to be void and must be reversed, and the witnesses make good what their testimony caused: property is returned to its owner, and any destruction is paid for by them. Where the testimony led to a death or a mutilation, the Shafi'is, Hanbalis, Ashhab and Ibn Shubruma and Ibn Abi Layla and al-Awza'i and Abu 'Ubayd hold retaliation applies, citing a report of al-Sha'bi that 'Ali would have cut the two witnesses to a theft had he known they lied. The Hanafis and most Malikis hold that blood money, not retaliation, is due, since killing by cause is not like killing directly. If the witnesses say they deliberately lied but did not know he would be killed, a heavy blood money is due from their own property. ^{5 6} If the witnesses to a penalty or retaliation retract after judgement and before execution, the penalty is not carried out, since the retraction is a doubt and penalties are averted by doubt; the victim is owed blood money, and the defendant may recover it from the witnesses. Witnesses who lied about adultery are liable to the penalty for slander, and according to the Shafi'is to death too; the majority hold that a death sentence suffices, except that the Malikis exclude the penalty for slander. ^{5 6}

The Hanafis, Shafi'is, Hanbalis and Abu Thawr hold that a false witness who repents, and whose repentance shows over a period, is accepted, citing the verse of the surah of the Family of 'Imran (89), and the saying that the one who repents of a sin is as one who has no sin. The period is held to be a year by them, though al-Babarti says six months, and the better view leaves it to the judge. The Malikis hold that one who appeared righteous when he gave false testimony is never accepted again; if he did not, there are two views. ^{6 7}