One of the claims most often raised against Islam is that it values a woman’s word at half the value of a man’s, because the Qur’an directs that two women witnesses take the place of one man. This article looks at the single verse where that direction appears, in the subject the verse itself is speaking about, and sets out how the scholars of tafsir explained it.
The direction appears once, in Surah al-Baqarah, verse 282. That verse is not about women in general, and it is not about testimony in every matter. It is a verse about recording debts, and the witnesses it speaks of are the witnesses to a debt contract.
The Verse: The Longest Verse in the Qur’an
Ibn Kathir opens his explanation of this verse with its setting:
This Ayah is the longest in the Glorious Qur’an.
As-Sa’di says the same, and names its subject:
This is the verse of debt, which is the longest verse in the Qur’an. It contains important rulings which are of great benefit and value.
The verse, in the rendering printed in Tafsir Ibn Kathir, reads:
“O you who believe! When you contract a debt for a fixed period, write it down. Let a scribe write it down in justice between you. Let not the scribe refuse to write, as Allah has taught him, so let him write. Let him (the debtor) who incurs the liability dictate, and he must have Taqwa of Allah, his Lord, and diminish not anything of what he owes. But if the debtor is of poor understanding, or weak, or is unable to dictate for himself, then let his guardian dictate in justice. And get two witnesses out of your own men. And if there are not two men (available), then a man and two women, such as you agree for witnesses, so that if one of them (two women) errs, the other can remind her. And the witnesses should not refuse when they are called (for evidence). You should not become weary to write it (your contract), whether it be small or big, for its fixed term, that is more just with Allah; more solid as evidence, and more convenient to prevent doubts among yourselves, save when it is a present trade which you carry out on the spot among yourselves, then there is no sin on you if you do not write it down. But take witnesses whenever you make a commercial contract. Let neither scribe nor witness suffer any harm, but if you do (such harm), it would be wickedness in you. So have Taqwa of Allah; and Allah teaches you. And Allah is the All-Knower of everything.”
(Surah al-Baqarah 2:282)
The whole verse is a system for protecting people’s wealth and rights: the debt is written down, a scribe records it justly, the debtor dictates what he owes, and witnesses attend. The mention of women witnesses comes inside that system, as one part of it.
The Witnesses in the Verse
Ibn Kathir gives this part of the verse its own heading, “Witnesses Should Attend the Dictation of Contracts”, and explains:
(And get two witnesses out of your own men) requiring witnesses to attend the dictation of contracts to further preserve the contents,
On the words that follow, he states the scope of the ruling plainly:
(And if there are not two men (available), then a man and two women) this requirement is only for contracts that directly or indirectly involve money.
As-Sa’di draws the same limits from the verse in his numbered rulings on it:
The minimum number of witnesses in financial transactions and so on is two men or a man and two women. The Sunnah indicates that one witness, accompanied by the oath of the claimant, is also sufficient.
The testimony of women on their own concerning financial transactions and the like is not to be accepted, because Allah did not accept women’s testimony unless it is accompanied by that of a man.
The witnesses are also required to be people of competence. On the verse’s words “such as you agree for witnesses”, Ibn Kathir explains:
(such as you agree for witnesses) requires competency in the witnesses.
The Reason the Verse Itself Gives
The verse does not leave its reason unstated. The two women are called, in its own words, “so that if one of them (two women) errs, the other can remind her”. Ibn Kathir explains this clause:
(so that if one of them errs) refers to the two women witnesses; whenever one of them forgets a part of the testimony, (the other can remind her) meaning, the other woman’s testimony mends the shortcoming of forgetfulness in the first woman.
The pairing is therefore a support for the witness herself: her testimony is taken, and the second woman stands with her so that nothing of it is lost through forgetfulness. As-Sa’di notes the same principle from the other side:
If someone forgets his testimony, then remembers it later on, his testimony is still to be accepted, because Allah says: “the other can remind her”.
The Hadith Ibn Kathir Quotes
Ibn Kathir then connects the verse to the words of the Prophet ﷺ:
Allah requires that two women take the place of one man as witness, because of the woman’s shortcomings, as the Prophet described. Muslim recorded in his Sahih that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah said,
(O women! Give away charity and ask for forgiveness, for I saw that you comprise the majority of the people of the Fire.)
One of the women asked why. He ﷺ said:
(You curse a lot and you do not appreciate your mate. I have never seen those who have shortcoming in mind and religion controlling those who have sound minds, other than you.)
She asked what this shortcoming in mind and religion was, and he ﷺ said:
(As for the shortcoming in her mind, the testimony of two women equals the testimony of one man, and this is the shortcoming in the mind. As for the shortcoming in the religion, woman remains for nights at a time when she does not pray and breaks the fast in Ramadan)
As-Sa’di states this ruling in his own summary of the verse:
This verse indicates that men are superior to women, and that the testimony of one man is equal to that of two women, because men have good memories and women do not.
What This Ruling Is, and What It Is Not
From the verse and these two explanations, the ruling can be stated exactly as far as the books state it, and no further. It is a ruling about witnesses to contracts involving money: when two men are not available, a man and two women are called, so that if one of the women errs, the other reminds her. The verse places this inside a wider command to write debts down and have them witnessed, and states the wisdom of the whole arrangement. As-Sa’di says:
This verse highlights the wisdom behind the prescription to write down contracts and have them witnessed, which is that it “is more equitable in the sight of Allah, more reliable as evidence, and more likely to prevent doubts among yourselves”. It guarantees fairness and justice, on which the well-being of people and the country is based. Testimony accompanied by written documentation is more proper and better, and further removed from doubt, suspicion, disputes and quarrels.
What the ruling is not is a statement that a woman’s word counts for nothing. The verse itself appoints women as witnesses, obliges witnesses not to refuse when they are called, and requires the witnesses agreed upon to be competent. Nor do these two tafsirs carry the verse beyond its subject of debts and financial contracts, and this article does not carry it further than they do.
Key Lessons
- The ruling about two women witnesses appears in one place: the longest verse of the Qur’an, which is about recording debts for a fixed term.
- Its stated scope, as Ibn Kathir puts it, is contracts that directly or indirectly involve money.
- The verse itself gives the reason for the pairing: so that if one of them errs, the other can remind her.
- Women are appointed witnesses by the verse, and a witness, man or woman, may not refuse when called: as-Sa’di rules, “If a witness is summoned and has no excuse, it is not permissible for him to refuse, because Allah says: ‘The witnesses should not refuse when they are summoned’.”
- Writing and witnessing work together: the documentation is “more just with Allah; more solid as evidence, and more convenient to prevent doubts among yourselves”.
References
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Abridged), English translation, the ten-volume compilation held in this library (no publisher is named for this copy). On Surah al-Baqarah 2:282: the verse, combined file PDF pp. 686-687; “This Ayah is the longest in the Glorious Qur’an”, PDF p. 687; the section “Witnesses Should Attend the Dictation of Contracts”, combined file PDF pp. 690-691.
Tafsir as-Sa’di, by Shaykh ‘Abdur-Rahman ibn Nasir as-Sa’di. International Islamic Publishing House (IIPH), English Edition 1, 2018. Translated by Nasiruddin al-Khattab, edited by Huda Khattab. Vol. 1 (Juz’ 1-3), on Surah al-Baqarah 2:282: the verse, printed pp. 358-359; the rulings drawn from the verse, printed pp. 362-363.
Further Reading
Verified on 2026-10-23 against: Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Abridged); and Tafsir as-Sa’di (IIPH), Vol. 1.