Sakk (the written instrument of a deal or claim: the duty to write it, the fee for writing, a judge relying on his own hand, testimony on a document, and documents accepted by custom)

A sakk is the written instrument in which dealings, acknowledgements and the facts of a claim are recorded. It differs from the register (sijill), which holds a judge's ruling, and from the minutes (mahdar), which record what passed between the two parties without a ruling. ¹

For the Shafi'is, writing instruments and registers is a communal duty in every financial transaction and in others; the judge is not personally bound to write them. The Hanbalis bind him when a party with an interest asks and supplies the paper. The Hanafis and Malikis recommend it when the paper is from the treasury or available. ²

Most jurists allow a fee for writing instruments and documents. A writer may not charge more than he deserves when people are compelled to use him, and the price of the paper is from the treasury, or else from the one who asks for the writing. ^{2 3}

Most jurists hold that a judge may not rely on the bare hand of a document unless he recalls the facts; Abu Yusuf, Muhammad and a view of Ahmad allow acting on it when it is kept sealed under the judge's hand. ³

If two just witnesses testify that an instrument is in the judge's hand and records his ruling, the Shafi'is and Abu Hanifa do not rely on it unless he recalls the matter; the Malikis, Hanbalis, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad accept the testimony and give effect. ⁴

The Hanafis exempt instruments that custom accepts on their writing alone, such as official letters patent, the registers of traders, money-changers and brokers, and old endowment deeds. ⁴