Khuzaymah ibn Thabit

Khuzaymah ibn Thabit al-Ansari (died 37 AH / 657 CE) was a Companion of the Prophet ﷺ from the Ansar of Medina, distinguished by the unique honor of being the only person whose single testimony was accepted by the Prophet ﷺ as equivalent to two witnesses. This remarkable designation gave him the title Dhu al-Shahadatayn — "the man of two testimonies."

The occasion of this title arose when the Prophet ﷺ purchased a horse from a Bedouin. The Bedouin later denied the transaction, and Khuzaymah testified on the Prophet's behalf. When the Prophet ﷺ asked him how he could testify to something he had not witnessed, Khuzaymah replied that he trusted the Prophet ﷺ in all matters of revelation and unseen knowledge, so how could he doubt him in an ordinary transaction? The Prophet ﷺ was pleased and declared his testimony equal to two men's.

Khuzaymah participated in the campaigns of the Prophet ﷺ and continued serving Islam through the early caliphates. His most historically significant contribution came during the compilation of the Quran under Caliph Abu Bakr. When Zayd ibn Thabit, heading the compilation committee, sought confirmation of the last two verses of Surah al-Tawbah (9:128–129), only Khuzaymah's testimony was found alongside Abu Khuzaymah al-Ansari's, providing the needed witness.

He remained loyal to Ali ibn Abi Talib during the civil wars and participated in the Battle of Siffin in 37 AH. When Ammar ibn Yasir was killed there — confirming a hadith of the Prophet — Khuzaymah drew his sword and fought until he too was killed, dying in that battle as one of Ali's companions.