Say, "Sufficient is Allah between me and you as Witness. He knows what is in the heavens and earth. And they who have believed in falsehood and disbelieved in Allah - it is those who are the losers."
"Say, 'Sufficient is Allah between me and you as a Witness'" (al-Ankabut: 52), meaning: He is All-Knowing of what has issued from me regarding the notification and warning, and what has issued from you regarding your meeting me with denial and rejection. Therefore, He, glory be to Him, shall recompense each according to what is befitting.
"He knows what is in the heavens and the earth," meaning: of all matters, among which is my affair and yours. This is a confirmation of what preceded it regarding His, the Exalted, sufficiency as a witness. It has been permitted that the meaning is: "He, the Exalted, is sufficient as a witness to my truthfulness," meaning: one who confirms me in that which I claimed through miracles, just as a witness confirms the claim of a claimant. The sentence "He knows" is either an adjective for "Witness," or a circumstantial clause, or an initiation to provide the reason for His sufficiency. It has been objected to this: that this view is not suited by the Almighty’s saying "between me and you"—whether it is attached to "sufficient" or to "witness"—nor by the Almighty's saying "He knows what is in the heavens," etc. There is reflection to be had here.
This is further supported by what has been narrated: that Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf and his companions said, "O Muhammad, who bears witness that you are the Messenger of Allah?" Then this verse was revealed: "Say, 'Sufficient is Allah...'" However, there is some reservation in the heart regarding the authenticity of this narration, given that the context and the preceding text concern the disbelievers of Quraysh, so do not be heedless.
In any case, there is no contradiction between this verse and the Almighty's saying, "And call upon your witnesses other than Allah" (al-Baqarah: 23), based on the understanding that the meaning is: Do not seek witness from Allah, the Exalted, and do not say "Allah, the Exalted, bears witness that what we claim is true," as someone incapable of establishing evidence would say. For here, either the "witness" is in the sense of the "All-Knowing," and the speech is a promise and a threat, or it is in the sense of the "Confirmer through miracles," and the testimony is not in either of those two meanings there.
The "ba" in "billahi" (by Allah) is extra, and the Majestic Name is the subject of "kafa" (sufficient). Al-Zajjaj said: "The 'ba' entered because 'kafa' implies the meaning of 'iktfi' (be content/rely), so the 'ba', as al-Laqani said, is transitive, not extra." Ibn Hisham said regarding the meaning: "It is highly elegant." It is validated by their saying: "Atqa (let him fear) Allah, an individual who does good and is rewarded for it," meaning "let him fear," proven by the jussive "yuthab." It is required by their saying "kafa bi-Hind" (Hind is sufficient) while omitting the feminine 'ta' [on the verb]. If one argues regarding the separator [between the verb and subject], it is a permission, not an obligation, evidenced by "And whatever leaf falls" (al-An'am: 59). If one counters with "Ahsin bi-Hind" (How good is Hind!), [know that] the 'ta' does not attach to imperative forms, even if their meaning is declarative.
Sheikh Yas al-Homsi critiqued this in his marginalia on al-Tasrih, saying: "I say, the interpretation of 'kafa' according to this view as 'iktfi' is incorrect, since the subject of 'kafa' would then be the pronoun of the addressee, and 'kafa' is a past tense verb; it does not take a hidden pronoun of the addressee as its subject." There is a subtlety in this argument that is not hidden from the reflective person.
Some people thought that "kafa" in this view is a verbal noun of command with which the singular masculine and others are addressed, like "hayya" (come) in "hayya 'ala al-salah" (come to prayer). Thus, the meaning here would be: "Be content with Allah." You know that this is far from what was intended by the speech of al-Zajjaj, and the speech of Ibn Hisham rejects it. Ibn al-Sarraj said: "The subject is the pronoun of 'sufficiency'." Ibn Hisham said: "The correctness of his statement is dependent upon the permissibility of attaching a prepositional phrase to the pronoun of a verbal noun." This is the view of al-Farisi and al-Rummani; they permitted "Mururi bi-Zayd hasan" (my passing by Zayd is good) and "wa bi-'Amr qabih" (and by 'Amr [my passing] is ugly). The Kufans permitted its operation on the adverb and otherwise, while the majority of the Basrans prohibited its operation absolutely.
Ibn al-Sa'igh critiqued this, saying: "We do not concede that correctness is dependent upon that, because it is possible for the 'ba' to be for the state (hal). Thus, the meaning would be: 'Sufficient is'—that is, the state of sufficiency—in a condition of being combined with Allah, the Exalted." It is not hidden that unless this view is invalidated, the claim of Ibn Hisham—that omitting the 'ta' in "kafa bi-Hind" necessitates that "kafa" implies the meaning of "iktfi"—does not hold. Reflect upon this.
"And those who believe in al-batil (falsehood/vanity)..." Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: "Meaning: in other than Allah, the Exalted." This includes [the claims regarding] Jesus and the angels (peace be upon them).
"Al-batil," in reality, is the worship of them. "Al-batil" here is not the same as in the saying of Hassan: "Indeed, everything other than Allah is vanity." Muqatil said: "Meaning: by the worship of Satan." It is also said: "Meaning: by the idol."
"And disbelieve in Allah" (with the combination of the imperatives to believe in Him, the Exalted), "it is they who are the losers," the ones cheated in their transaction, for they purchased disbelief with faith and thus became deserving of punishment on the Day of Reckoning. In the speech, as it is said, there is a metaphor (isti'arah makniyyah); the exchanging of disbelief for faith—which necessitates punishment—is likened to a purchase that necessitates loss. In "the loss" (al-khusran) there is a conceptual metaphor (isti'arah takhyiliyyah) which is its correspondent, because "loss" is conventionally known in trade. This speech was delivered in the manner of fairness, as it did not explicitly state "They are the ones who believe in falsehood and disbelieve in Allah," but rather brought it out in the form of a generalization so that the reflection might strike the intended target. It is like the Almighty's saying: "And indeed, we or you are upon guidance or in clear error" (Saba: 24), and like the saying of Hassan: "For the best of you is a ransom for the worst of you." This is of the type of disputing in a way that is best.
