Home
Discover Islam
Quran Recitations
Lectures
Fatwa
Articles
Fiqh
E-Books
Women
Boys & Girls 
Enter Question
View By Subject
Fatwa Of The Week
Selected Fatwa
Fatwa CenterMatters Related to Lawsuits
Question
As Salamu Alaikum my question in Islam in a Sharia Court if a Plaintiff has two or four Witnesses what if the Defendant swears a oath he did not do it or commit zina or steal or drink or any other crime if he still does deny or denies what does the Judge do can he let him or her go what do Islamic texts Quran and Hadiths and Scholars say thank you for your time Ramadan Mubarak ? I was trying to ask what if the defendant denies the crime and claims innocence and the defendant swears a oath but the plaintiff has witnesses what does the judge decide in a sharia court thank you ? In addition to its strong concern about the safety of the society, the purified shari`ah provides firm guarantees for the individual not only through the principle of warding the punishment off in case of doubt, which applies to hudud; particularly with regard to crimes against ethics and the pure rights of Allah, but it also provided guarantees on the level of juridical procedures and the means of proving proofs. It has disallowed the judge to judge based on his own knowledge and sets as a condition that the witnesses have to be trustworthy and that their number has to be more than two in certain ethical issues. Moreover, it gives excuse to the accused person to discredit the witness when necessary. It prescribes taking oaths and in some cases makes it firmer. It disregards the confession of the person under coercion and only regards confession with free will and choice. It has also set special conditions for the person who assumes the post of a judge including knowledge, piety, honesty, and straightforwardness in addition to other conditions known in the writings on judiciary and judgeship.https://islamqa.org/maliki/binbayyah/29847?_e_pi_=7%2CPAGE_ID10%2C6437789225
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
First of all, dear brother, you should know that the field of lawsuits, evidences, and testimonies is a wide field in which there are matters of consensus among the scholars, maters of Ijtihaad and matters of difference of opinion among the jurists.
The evidence in lawsuits varies according to the type of the lawsuit. The evidence (that should be provided) in lawsuits related to money issues differ from other lawsuits. Also, the evidence in lawsuits related to matters of morals (ethics) such as Zina (fornication or adultery) differ from other lawsuits in morals.
In some lawsuits, the defendant is asked to swear an oath if there is no evidence, while in some other cases, he is not asked to swear an oath.
Trustworthiness is a condition in witnesses. If there is a difference of opinion about the trustworthiness or defamation of the witness, then the jurists provided details regarding whose testimony to accept.
The jurists also have some details about the number (of people) that must be met in praising the witnesses or defaming them.
All this is elaborated in the books of Fiqh.
If you are asking about a particular issue, then you should mention it to us so that we can tell you the matters that are related to it concerning the evidences, witnesses, oaths, and refusing to swear an oath.
Allah knows best.
Search Fatwa
Fatwa Subject
