“And get two witnesses out of your men.

“And get two witnesses out of your men.” (5:106) The Qur’an is strict when securing transactions, one man is not sufficient for a transaction to be binding; it requires two men. Again, it is not gender based.

Imam Sadiq said, “A person who wishes to engage in business, should learn its rules and laws, and if he makes any transaction without learning them, he may suffer because of entering into a void or doubtful transaction.” [^2] Regarding your second point, the verse that could refute the husband accusing his wife of adultery is not related to testifying or witnessing. It serves as a means of self-defense.

Fatma: Based on your explanations that women in the past were inexperienced in business dealings. Yet, in our time, women are graduating with degrees in business and becoming very prominent in the field. Would this rule still apply to those women whose profession is business? Sayyid: Islamic injunctions conform to the standards of society, not to the exceptions.

Agreeing with your point that women are becoming professional businesswomen, be that as it may, Islamic rules cannot be overturned simply because some women are becoming experts in certain fields. Muslim judges are extremely cautious when investigating, examining, and interrogating witnesses.

Given a scenario in which a professional businesswoman was the testifier in a business dispute, then the Muslim judge may consider her testimony by examining her credentials, experience, knowledge, and credibility in the matter, just as he would if she were a man, furthermore, because she is an expert in the field, her testimony may be tantamount to that of a man. Yet, scholars would not alter the rules of ratio in witnessing, although they may consider exceptional cases.

Fatma: But the general clause of “one man-two women” would still stand as an obstacle for those women whose expertise would have to be contested in order to prove their legitimacy, as opposed to men who initially do not have to validate the extent of their expertise or knowledge. Sayyid: In Islam there are numerous subjects governing litigation such as commercial laws, criminal laws, civil laws, family laws, and so forth.

Defining the religious formality of each area would not only divert us from the main issue, but would require writing several books on the subject. To answer your question accurately, to a certain extent this may be the case in some instances and for others it may not apply.