Oh, you who believed! Whenever you are giving a debt for a fixed period, then you write it down. And let a writer write it down in between you with Justice. And don’t hesitate a writer to write down as Lord Allah taught him, then let him write. Let the one upon whom the liability comes explain the conditions. And he may heed Allah, his Lord; and don’t reduce anything from it. Then if the one upon whom the liability comes is feeble-minded or weak or unable to explain the conditions, then let his guardian explain the conditions with Justice, and let to witness two witnesses from your men. Then if two men are not available, one man and two women you are satisfied from the witnesses, so that if one of them is slipped, then the other woman can remind her. And the witnesses shouldn’t hesitate to witness when they are called, and you don’t disdain to write down anything small or large into a fixed period. That is the best Justice for you near Allah, and the best for maintaining the witnesses, and the best for preventing doubts among yourselves, except in a trade settled at a time in between you, then there is no blame upon you for not writing it, then you should have witnesses when you are trading, and neither a writer nor the witnesses should be harmed. And if you are doing so, then indeed there is transgression with you; and you heed Allah, and Allah is teaching you, and Allah is the Knower of everything.
This verse is known as the ‘verse of debt’, which is the largest verse in the Lord’s Book. The moneylender is helping the debtor, so the debtor shouldn’t reduce or diminish any condition that will hurt the moneylender. The witnesses should witness in the money lending for a fixed period as well as in trade settled at once.
If two believing men are not available as witnesses, one man and two trustable women can be considered as witnesses. In the place of a man, two women are prescribed for witnessing, it is because generally the women may easily get strayed from their witness due to temptations and threats. Thus if one woman slips, the other can remind.
Today since the Adhikr is codified as the Best Interpretation of Lord’s Book, one can only become a believer by testifying It. There is no difference between believing in a man and believing in a woman. And any male or female who enters Paradise will be in the shape of a man without having sexual organs. It is told in verse 16: 97: “Whoever from male or female does righteous deeds, and he is a believer, then surely Lord will give a wholesome life here for him, and He will reward them in the Hereafter according to the best deeds they have been doing in this world”. So, from verses like 6: 104; 10: 108; 17: 15, and 39: 41 it is clear that if one becomes a believer with Adhikr, he/she will not have the gender difference. It is told in verses 3: 195; 4: 124 and 40: 40: “Whoever does righteous deeds from among male or female, and he is a believer, those will enter the Paradise, and they will not be wronged a bit”.
Today, the invoice, receipt, bill, etc. can be considered as witnesses. Lord taught through His Messenger that the prayer of three kinds of persons will not be responded by Lord: “(1) The one who maintains a wife with bad character, (2) The one who is not recording the dealing during money lending for a fixed period, and (3) the one who clears off the responsibilities by giving back the property of orphans before their maturity”. For the martyr in the way of the Lord, all their sins will be forgiven except the debts. There is no ransom for debt in this world as well as in the Hereafter. Debts should be given back from this world itself. If the debtor dies before paying back the debts, the inheritors should settle the debts before portioning the wealth in between them as explained in verse 4: 12. See explanation 2: 234 and 239.