LessonsTranslation and Close Reading — Selected Passages from Ten MaqāmātQuiz

«إِنْ شَهِدَ لَكَ عَدْلَانِ مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ وَإِلَّا فَاسْتَوْفِ مِنْهُ الْيَمِينَ»
If two upright Muslims testify for you, proceed on that basis; otherwise require his oath.

The conditional construction introduces two alternatives: witness testimony, or else an oath. Rendering it as though both must invariably occur distorts the logical relation. ʿAdlān is dual, so the number two matters.

This is the ruler's formulation within a particular literary courtroom scene. The passage does not purport to set out all procedural rules for homicide or for every legal system. Stay with the narrated condition rather than importing broader legal conclusions.

Translation exercise
Show the alternative introduced by wa-illā rather than combining both branches.

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Testimony and oath in a conditional formulation

Translation and Close Reading — Selected Passages from Ten Maqāmāt

«إِنْ شَهِدَ لَكَ عَدْلَانِ مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ وَإِلَّا فَاسْتَوْفِ مِنْهُ الْيَمِينَ»
If two upright Muslims testify for you, proceed on that basis; otherwise require his oath.

The conditional construction introduces two alternatives: witness testimony, or else an oath. Rendering it as though both must invariably occur distorts the logical relation. ʿAdlān is dual, so the number two matters.

This is the ruler's formulation within a particular literary courtroom scene. The passage does not purport to set out all procedural rules for homicide or for every legal system. Stay with the narrated condition rather than importing broader legal conclusions.

Translation exercise
Show the alternative introduced by wa-illā rather than combining both branches.