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Ruling 2742

If a person says, ‘The deceased had willed for such and such amount to be given to me’, then what is claimed by him must be given to him in the following cases:

  1. two dutiful (ʿādil) men verify his claim;
  2. he takes an oath (qasam) and one dutiful man verifies his claim;
  3. one dutiful man and two dutiful women testify to his claim;
  4. or four dutiful women testify to his claim.

If one dutiful woman testifies to his claim, then one-quarter of what he claims must be given to him. If two dutiful women testify, half of it must be given to him. And if three dutiful women testify, three-quarters of it must be given to him. If his claim is verified by two men from the People of the Book (ahl al‐kitāb)7 who are dhimmīs8 and considered to be dutiful according to their own religion, and there is no Muslim to testify, then what is claimed by him must be given to him.

7 As mentioned in Ruling 103, the ‘People of the Book’ are Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians.

8 Dhimmīs are People of the Book who have entered into a dhimmah treaty, i.e. an agreement that gives them rights as protected subjects in an Islamic state.