The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 2) — Page 384
CH. 5 AL-MA'IDAH PT. 7 ذلِكَ أَدْنَى أَنْ يَأْتُوا بِالشَّهَادَةِ عَلَى Thus it is more likely that. 109 they will give evidence وَجْهِهَا أَوْ يَخَافُوا أَنْ تُرَدَّ اَيْمَانَ according to facts or that they will fear that other oaths will be بَعْدَ أَيْمَانِهِمْ ۖ وَاتَّقُوا اللهَ وَاسْمَعُوا taken after their oaths. And fear وَاللَّهُ لَا يَهْدِى الْقَوْمَ الْفُسِقِينَ Allah and hearken. And Allah guides not the disobedient people. 736 or became suitable to the requirements of wisdom, justice, right and truth; it was or became right, proper, correct or true; it became established as a truth. means, he demanded it as his right or due; he had a right or title or claim to it; he deserved or merited it. They say على particle Ai. e. he did what necessitated sin; or he was guilty of a sin and deserved it being said of him that he was a sinner. The expression added the word means "against them", the sometimes meaning "against". means, he has a right to it in preference to the purchaser, i. e. he has a better claim to it as against the buyer. The words therefore, would mean, they (the two witnesses who were in a better position to give true evidence) gave false evidence against their just rights, seeking to deprive them (heirs of the deceased) of their rights by giving false evidence against them. Commentary: See collective note on 5:109 below. 736. Commentary: ترد ایمان بعد ايمانهم The Arabic words rendered as "other oaths will be taken 824 after their oaths" literally means: (1) "oaths will be repeated, i. e. taken again, after their oaths"; or (2) "their oaths will be rejected after their (other witnesses') oaths", the significance in both cases being practically the same, i. e. the oaths of the first two witnesses will be rejected and two other witnesses called in to give true evidence on oath. The purport of this and the preceding two verses is that when a person is about to make his will at the time of his death, he should have as witnesses to his statement two just men, who should testify to the validity of his will after his death. But if death comes upon a person suddenly when he is away from home and no Muslim witnesses are at hand, then two trustworthy non-Muslims may be asked to serve as witnesses. If, however, the veracity of the witnesses is called into question by the heirs of the deceased, the former should be asked to prove their truthfulness by a statement on oath made after the time of Prayer. But if the persons in whose favour the will was made have good reason to believe that the witnesses have been