4. A number of our people have narrated from Sahl ibn Ziyad from Dawud al-Nahdiy from ibn abu Najran from Muhammad ibn al- Fudayl who has said the following:

“Abu al-Hassan, Musa , once said to abu Yusuf, al-Qadi, ‘Allah, most Blessed, most High, has commanded in His book about divorce and He has placed strong emphasis on the presence of two witnesses. He has not accepted anyone as witness other than two just ones. He has commanded in His book about marriage but He has left it (presence of witness) as overlooked. You, however, have established firmly the need for the presence of witnesses where He has overlooked, but you have invalidated the need for the presence of witnesses where He has placed strong emphasis (which is divorce).”’