Jami' at-Tirmidhi
Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2303
حَدِيثِ عُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ " خَيْرُ النَّاسِ قَرْنِي ثُمَّ الَّذِينَ يَلُونَهُمْ ثُمَّ الَّذِينَ يَلُونَهُمْ ثُمَّ يَفْشُو الْكَذِبُ حَتَّى يَشْهَدَ الرَّجُلُ وَلاَ يُسْتَشْهَدُ وَيَحْلِفُ الرَّجُلُ وَلاَ يُسْتَحْلَفُ " . وَمَعْنَى حَدِيثِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم " خَيْرُ الشُّهَدَاءِ الَّذِي يَأْتِي بِشَهَادَتِهِ قَبْلَ أَنْ يُسْأَلَهَا " . هُوَ عِنْدَنَا إِذَا أُشْهِدَ الرَّجُلُ عَلَى الشَّىْءِ أَنْ يُؤَدِّيَ شَهَادَتَهُ وَلاَ يَمْتَنِعَ مِنَ الشَّهَادَةِ هَكَذَا وَجْهُ الْحَدِيثِ عِنْدَ بَعْضِ أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ . كَمُلَ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ كِتَابُ الشَّهَادَاتِ وَيَلِيهِ كِتَابُ الزُّهْدِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
A report from Umar ibn al-Khattab, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), says: 'The best of people are my generation, then those who follow them, then those who follow them. Then lying will become widespread: a man will testify though he was not asked to, and a man will swear an oath though he was not asked to.' The meaning of the Prophet's statement, 'The best of witnesses is the one who brings his testimony before being asked for it,' is, in our view, that when a man has been called to witness something, he should deliver his testimony and not withhold it. This is how some scholars understand the report. The Book of Testimony is complete, praise be to Allah; the Book of Asceticism follows it.