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KUALA LUMPUR: The verdict is in: Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan's Islamic oath to state that he was sodomised by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is valid.

Federal Territory mufti Datuk Wan Zahidi Wan Teh yesterday refuted a claim by Ramlang Porigi, an imam who witnessed the swearing, that the act was deemed "not complete" because the accuser and the accused were not present together.

Mohd Saiful had lodged a police report claiming that the Parti Keadilan Rakyat adviser had sodomised him. The case is now in court.

Wan Zahidi said one must have the right knowledge before issuing a statement related to fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) including questioning the validity of Mohd Saiful's oath.

"It took me about 10 years to learn fiqh alone and I still refer matters to the Hasyiah l'anah al-Talibin which is consulted by Muslim scholars worldwide. It originates from Mecca."

Wan Zahidi then questioned whether Ramlang had the right knowledge to determine the validity of Mohd Saiful's oath.

"Whoever makes a decision on hukum without referring to credible authorities has a place in hell ready for him."

Wan Zahidi cited Al-Allamah Abu Bakar Othman Muhammad Syatta al-Dimyati al-Bakri in his book Hasyiah l'anah al-Talibin to back his decision that Mohd Saiful's act of swearing was valid.

The scholar had mentioned that an oath could take place in court or outside it.

The mufti said Mohd Saiful's oath was in accordance with the kind of oath that takes place outside the court or better known as alyamin qhairul qadhaiyah.

"It is not the mubahalah oath as stated in Surah Al Imran verse 61 because that requires the consent of the two parties."

Even the great imams like Syafie, Hanafi and Hambali, Wan Zahidi said, had stated that an oath taken by putting a hand on the Quran was valid.

This was also stated by the late Egyptian mufti Al-Sheikh Hasanin Muhammad Mak-hluf in his book Fatwa Syariyyah.

He also rebuked Ramlang for claiming that he was forced to officiate the oath-taking.

Wan Zahidi explained that as the duty officer in the mosque at that time, it was Ramlang's duty to be present when a function takes place in the mosque.

He concluded that he was "very worried" when certain quarters tried to politicise Islam.

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