Document Type : Original Article

Authors

• Fatemeh Najibzadeh ¹
• moein gholamalipour ²
• Ali Gholamalipour ³

¹ ferdowsi university of mashhad

² tehran university

³ Payam Noor University of Kerman

Abstract

The legislative framework, as outlined in Article 177 of the Islamic Penal Code, prescribes specific requisites for a valid religious testimony, eliciting scrutiny and debate within scholarly circles. Given the pivotal role of testimony in adjudication and the preservation of rights, it becomes imperative to engage in rigorous inquiry aimed at validating these stipulated conditions within the legal context. Instances where an individual meets the criteria for testimony in substance, yet their testimony is disregarded due to a lack of conformity with statutory conditions, not only contravenes principles of equity but also jeopardizes the integrity of justice. Consequently, scholars have undertaken a meticulous examination of each restrictive condition of testimony in this discourse, employing a methodological approach characterized by descriptive analysis and drawing insights from jurisprudential, legal, and sociological scholarship.

Research findings underscore that while certain conditions, such as the absence of vested interest and enmity, enjoy consensus among scholars and resonate with the foundational principles of Islamic jurisprudence, others, notably non-engagement in begging and non-transience, engender substantive scholarly contention. This discord arises partly due to the evolving social stratification, epitomized by the emergence of marginalized groups labeled as "suspect individuals," encompassing both itinerants and beggars. It can be argued that the testimony of individuals falling within this category, who do not neatly conform to conventional classifications of beggars or itinerants, warrants admissibility. Thus, there emerges a compelling exigency for a reevaluation of testimony conditions, particularly those pertaining to non-transience and non-engagement in begging, by legislative bodies.

Keywords

• Testimony
• Article 177 of the Penal Code
• Vagrancy
• Nomadism
• Questioner
• Marginalized from Society