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68<br />

The above issues were not proved by credible evidence. It is a trite law that a<br />

trial court must decide a case on the strength of legal evidence adduced before it<br />

and where it has failed to follow this course, as it is in the instant case, an appeal<br />

court will have no option than to interfere with its decision. In Ihkamul Ahkam<br />

Chapter 4 (which deals with issues relating to Judicial Proceedings) page 16 it is<br />

provided:<br />

Meaning it is unanimously agreed by the jurists that a judge can pass judgment<br />

only on a piece of evidence duly extracted from the witnesses. On cases other than<br />

that, Imam Malik has strictly forbidden judgments which are not based upon<br />

evidence of witnesses.<br />

The burden of proof under Islamic law is on the plaintiff. Where the plaintiff<br />

fails to discharge that burden, then the defendant is asked to subscribe to what is<br />

called "Judicial/Exculpatory Oath" to entitle him to judgment where the claim is<br />

pecuniary in nature or same is based on claim of a disputed property of monetary<br />

value. This is based on the authority of a prophetic tradition in which the prophet<br />

(PBUH) told a plaintiff: "your two witnesses or his oath no more no less ".<br />

The procedure for conducting a trial under Islamic law succinctly stated is as<br />

follows:<br />

(f) The plaintiff shall state his case or claim before the court which claim must<br />

be a valid one satisfying all its prerequisites,

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