Testimony of Slaves

2. Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad from Muhammad ibn Khalid and al-Husayn ibn Sa‘id all from al- Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Urwah from ‘Abd al-Hamid al-Ta’iy from Muhammad ibn Muslim who has narrated the following: “About the testimony of a slave abu ‘Abd Allah, Alayhi al-Salam, has said, ‘If he is a just man it is permissible. The first one who rejected the testimony of a slave was ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab. Once a slave was brought before him to testify and he said, ‘If I testify I fear for myself; if I hide, it is a sin for me before my Lord.’ He (‘Umar) then said, ‘Testify, but after you I will not allow any slave to testify.’”