A Critical Examination of the Fiqhi Foundations of Article 189 of the Islamic Penal Code

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 PhD Student in Jurisprudence and Foundations of Islamic Law, Department of Islamic Jurisprudence and Law, Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran.

2 Associate Professor, Department of Islamic Jurisprudence and Law, Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran.

Abstract

Article 189 of the Islamic Penal Code explicitly provides that offenses punishable by ḥadd or taʿzīr may not be proved by testimony upon testimony. The provision clearly reflects the well-known Imami view, which also excludes secondary testimony in certain mixed ḥudūd such as qadhf and theft. Imami jurists nevertheless agree that purely divine rights are not established by testimony upon testimony, whereas purely private rights may be so established. Because the competing positions have materially different legal effects, this article asks which ḥudūd and taʿzīr offenses as such may properly be proved through secondary testimony. Employing a descriptive-analytical and ijtihād-based method, it critically and carefully assesses the arguments for categorical exclusion and categorical acceptance. The study concludes that testimony upon testimony should therefore be accepted wherever the matter falls within private rights, whether the claim concerns the private-right component of a mixed ḥadd or a taʿzīr arising from violation of an individual right. It should remain firmly excluded for purely divine ḥudūd. Article 189 should therefore be amended accordingly to replace its undifferentiated prohibition with a rights-based distinction.

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Main Subjects

References

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Studies of Islamic Jurisprudence and Basis of Law
Volume 20, Issue 53 - Serial Number 53
September 2026
Pages 263-286

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