A Re-examination and Ta’avil of the Verses on Testimony: Focusing on Al-Baqarah: 282

In the common views of interpretation, which is very much influenced by hadiths, the phrase “ان تضل إحداهما فتذکر إحداهماالاخری” in the verse 282 of Surah al-Baqarah has been understood in such a way that the value of a woman's testimony is half of a man's. Also, a new translation has been suggested for “إحداهما الاخری”, which has a serious effect on our understanding of the verse. In this article, with the view of Qur'an as an exact, interconnected and trans-historical text, and by combining the traditional and modern methods of understanding Qur'an which are expressed in fourteen principles, the value of the testimony of men and women in Qur'an is compared and it is shown that the value of testimony of them is equal. In addition, by considering the purpose of the verses instead of their appearance, which the most important of them is expressed by the phrase “ذلکم اقسط عند الله واقوم للشهاده وادنی الا ترتابوا”, tries to reach the underlying meaning of Al-Baqarah: 282 and another verses of testimony.