To witness one must be present

According to Sura 4 and 24, to prove adultery, one needs to produce four witnesses.

[4:15] Those who commit adultery among your women, you must have four witnesses against them, from among you. If they do bear witness, then you shall keep such women in their homes until they die, or until GOD creates an exit for them.

وَالّٰتِیۡ يَأْتِينَ الْفَاحِشَةَ مِنْ نِسَائِكُمْ فَاسْتَشْهِدُوا عَلَيْهِنَّ أَرْبَعَةً مِنْكُمْ فَإِنْ شَهِدُوا فَأَمْسِكُوهُنَّ فِي الْبُيُوتِ حَتَّىٰ يَتَوَفَّاهُنَّ الْمَوْتُ أَوْ يَجْعَلَ اللَّهُ لَهُنَّ سَبِيلًا

[24:4] Those who accuse married women of adultery, then fail to produce four witnesses, you shall whip them eighty lashes, and do not accept any testimony from them; they are wicked.

وَالَّذِينَ يَرْمُونَ الْمُحْصَنَاتِ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَأْتُوا بِأَرْبَعَةِ شُهَدَاءَ فَاجْلِدُوهُمْ ثَمَانِينَ جَلْدَةً وَلَا تَقْبَلُوا لَهُمْ شَهَادَةً أَبَدًا وَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْفَاسِقُونَ

To make such a claim, a witness must have physically observed the act. This is a binary outcome. Either they witnessed the couple engaged in adultery, or they didn’t. It doesn’t matter what the individual believes, thinks, or assumes. If they claim they bear witness to a couple committing adultery and they were not present, then they are liars, and their testimony should not be accepted.

To claim to bear witness to something, we have to have seen it with our own eyes. In Sura 28, verse 44, God tells the prophet the following statement…

[28:44] You were not present on the slope of the western mount, when we issued the command to Moses; you were not a witness.

(٤٤) وَمَا كُنْتَ بِجَانِبِ الْغَرْبِيِّ إِذْ قَضَيْنَا إِلَىٰ مُوسَى الْأَمْرَ وَمَا كُنْتَ مِنَ الشَّاهِدِينَ

If God is telling Muhammad in no uncertain terms that he was not a witness to Moses getting the commands on the western mount, we have to ask: Were any of us there when Muhammad received the revelation from God through the angel Gabriel?

[21:61] They said, “Bring him before the eyes of all the people, that they may bear witness.”

قَالُوا فَأْتُوا بِهِ عَلَىٰ أَعْيُنِ النَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَشْهَدُونَ

Some people argue that this is not correct because they claim that we did not bear witness to God, yet that is part of the Shahada, but is this correct?

[7:172] Recall that your Lord summoned all the descendants of Adam, and had them bear witness for themselves: “Am I not your Lord?” They all said, “Yes. We bear witness.” Thus, you cannot say on the Day of Resurrection, “We were not aware of this.”

وَإِذْ أَخَذَ رَبُّكَ مِنْ بَنِي آدَمَ مِنْ ظُهُورِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ وَأَشْهَدَهُمْ عَلَىٰ أَنْفُسِهِمْ أَلَسْتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ قَالُوا بَلَىٰ شَهِدْنَا أَنْ تَقُولُوا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ إِنَّا كُنَّا عَنْ هَٰذَا غَافِلِينَ

Prior to our arrival in this world we forget but we were in Paradise with God. And before coming here God had us all bear witness to Him. So because of this we can say we bear witness that there is no god beside God. And we can’t say that we were not aware of this.

Regarding the messengership of Muhammad, the only entities that were present when the prophet was given the Quran and appointed as a prophet and messenger were God, those in His company e.g. The Holy Spirit, and the prophet himself.

[53:1] As the stars fell away.

[53:2] Your friend (Muhammad) was not astray, nor was he deceived.

[53:3] Nor was he speaking out of a personal desire.

[53:4] It was divine inspiration.

[53:5] Dictated by the Most Powerful.

[53:6] Possessor of all authority. From His highest height.

[53:7] At the highest horizon.

[53:8] He drew nearer by moving down.

[53:9] Until He became as close as possible.

[53:10] He then revealed to His servant what was to be revealed.

[53:11] The mind never made up what it saw.

[53:12] Are you doubting what he saw?

[53:13] He saw him in another descent.

[53:14] At the ultimate point.

[53:15] Where the eternal Paradise is located.

[53:16] The whole place was overwhelmed.

[53:17] The eyes did not waver, nor go blind.

[53:18] He saw great signs of his Lord.

[16:102] Say, “The Holy Spirit has brought it down from your Lord, truthfully, to assure those who believe, and to provide a beacon and good news for the submitters.”

قُلْ نَزَّلَهُ رُوحُ الْقُدُسِ مِنْ رَبِّكَ بِالْحَقِّ لِيُثَبِّتَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَهُدًى وَبُشْرَىٰ لِلْمُسْلِمِينَ

For anyone else to claim that they bore witness to Muhammad being a messenger implies that they were present for this event. Since no human being other than Muhammad himself was present for this no human being can make the claim that they bear witness to Muhammad as God’s messenger.