Tafsir of An-Nisa' 4:166

(But Allah bears witness): With the nun unvowelled (takhfif) and the Name of Majesty (Allah) in the nominative case. Al-Sulaymi recited it with the nun doubled (tashdid) and the Name of Majesty in the accusative case. This is a rectification (istidrak) regarding the implications of what preceded it. It is as if, when they asked the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) to send down a book from the sky and were stubborn, Allah refuted them by saying: "Indeed, We have revealed to you..." It is said: They do not bear witness, but Allah bears witness. The conclusion is: even if the argument does not bind them and they do not bear witness for you, Allah (Exalted is He) bears witness.

It is also said: Since He (Exalted is He) likened the revelation to him (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) to the revelation given to the Prophets (peace and blessings be upon them), that comparison might have implied a superior merit for the revelation sent to them. Thus, it was rectified by stating that the revelation sent to you has the merit of Allah’s testimony.

(By that which He has sent down to you): Meaning, by the truthfulness of that which He has sent down to you, which is the Qur’an. The prepositional phrase (al-jar wal-majrur) is connected to "bears witness," and the ba is for connection (silah). That which is testified to is the "truthfulness." It is also permissible that what is testified to is "Prophethood," and the connection to "that which He has sent down to you" is one of instrumentality—meaning, He testifies to your Prophethood by means of what He sent down to you, because its miraculous nature serves as evidence for your truthfulness and Prophethood. Perhaps the outcome of the meaning and its intended result are one, for His (Exalted is He) testimony to the truthfulness of the Qur’an He revealed—by demonstrating the miracle—is intended to prove his (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) Prophethood.

Al-Bayhaqi recorded in al-Dala’il and others from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he said: A group of Jews entered upon the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), and he said to them: "I swear by Allah, I know that you know I am the Messenger of Allah." They replied: "We do not know that." So, “But Allah bears witness” was revealed. In a narration by Ibn Jarir from him, when “Indeed, We have revealed to you” was revealed, they said: "We do not bear witness for you," so “But Allah bears witness by that which He has sent down to you” was revealed. It was also recited as unzila (as a passive voice).

(He sent it down with His knowledge): Four meanings have been mentioned regarding this:

1. That the meaning is: He sent it down with His own special knowledge which no one besides Him (Exalted is He) knows, namely, its composition in a structure and style that every eloquent person and master of rhetoric is incapable of imitating. A group of exegetes preferred this.
2. That the meaning is: He sent it down while He knew that you were worthy of having it sent down to you, due to your adherence to the truth within it and your calling people to it. Al-Tabarsi preferred this.
3. That the meaning is: He sent it down accompanied by the knowledge of the servants' interests.
4. That the meaning is: He sent it down while He is All-Knowing of it, Watchful over it, and Protecting it from the devils through the vigilance of the angels.

Regarding the first view, it is said that "knowledge" (al-'ilm) here means the "known object" (al-ma'lum), intending the specific composition and structure. This is not to say that "knowledge" is used metaphorically for that. If "knowledge" is taken in its verbal noun sense and the ba is for accompaniment (mulabasah), and the composition is an explanation for its accompaniment—not for the knowledge itself—that would be valid. However, it contains a metaphorical shift in that the composition is not the accompaniment itself, but rather its effect. It is also possible in this view that the ba is for instrumentality, just as one says, "He performed it with his knowledge" when it is done perfectly and as it should be; thus, it would be a description of the Qur’an’s perfect beauty and eloquence.

As for the second and third views, "knowledge" is in its literal sense (or in the third view, it means the "known object"). The prepositional phrase serves as a state (hal) for the subject or the object, and the object of knowledge varies: either that you are worthy of its revelation, or the servants' interests. The outward appearance of his [Al-Zamakhshari’s] speech suggests that in the second view, it is a state of the subject, and in the third, a state of the object. It is also permissible that it be an absolute object (maf'ul mutlaq), meaning "a revelation accompanied by His knowledge." In the first view, the sentence occupies the position of an explanatory sentence, as it is an explanation of the testimony as stated by Al-Zamakhshari. In the two other views, it occupies the position of confirmation and clarification for the relative clause (silah). It is said that in all three views, it acts like an explanation for "He has sent down to you" because it is a clarification of his revelation in a specific manner.

As for the fourth view, "knowledge" has been subsumed under the meaning of "Watchful" and "Protector," and the prepositional phrase is a state of the subject. The phrase unzilahu would then be a repetition to attach what is attached, or as was said. Some did not consider this view because it has no bearing on this context. Others said that the ba (bi-'ilmihi) contains a glorification of the Qur’an’s status through its protection from the devils of the jinn, which implies its protection from the devils of mankind as well. Thus, the sentence would then also be like an explanation of the testimony. It was also recited as nazzalahu.

(And the angels bear witness): They also bear witness to what Allah (Exalted is He) has testified to, because they are followers of Him (Exalted is He) in the testimony. The sentence is a conjunction to what preceded it. It is also said to be a state of the object of anzalahu, meaning: "He sent it down while the angels bear witness to its truthfulness and validity." Some made the angels' testimony to his (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) truthfulness in his claim conditional upon their coming to assist him (peace and blessings be upon him) in battle, manifesting as they did in the Battle of Badr. Whatever the case, they bear witness based on the act of testifying. It was mentioned that regarding the fourth view, it is a witness for protection.

(And sufficient is Allah as a Witness): Concerning what He has testified for you, as He set up the evidence, clarified the path, removed doubts, and exaggerated in that in a way that makes the testimony of anyone other than Him (Exalted is He) unnecessary.

(From the perspective of "Isharah" / Mystical Allusion in the verses): "Allah does not like the evil that is said in public" — meaning He does not like for the servant to tear his veil if a slip occurs or a stumble happens. "Except by one who has been wronged"—meaning, let the one who is wronged by his own self, through the firm establishment of base qualities within him, show what is in him of those qualities and present them to the physicians of the heart so they may prescribe a cure for him. It is said: Allah (Exalted is He) does not like the disclosure of the secret of Lordship, the manifestation of the gifts of Divinity, or the lifting of the veil from the hidden treasures of the Unseen and the guarded secrets of the Unseen, except for one who is wronged by the overpowering states and the alternating cups of Majesty and Beauty, until he is compelled to speak. He then speaks with the Remaining Tongue, not the Fading Tongue, saying: "I am the Truth," and "Glory to Me! How great is My affair!" The naming of that overpowering state as "wrong" has a subtlety that is not hidden.

The outward appearance of the verse contains a great glad tiding for sinners, for He (Exalted is He) has shown that He is not pleased with tearing the veil except for the wronged one; so how would He (Exalted is He) be pleased with tearing the veil of the sinners, when they are not wronging Him (His Majesty is great), but rather wronging themselves, as the Book has declared.

"Indeed, those who disbelieve in Allah and His messengers and wish to discriminate between Allah and His messengers..." These are a people who were veiled by the "Oneness" (Unity) from the "Diversity," so they denied the messengers due to their illusion of a unity that contradicts multiplicity, and a oneness that is opposed to diversity. Hence, they abandoned the laws, permitted the forbidden, and neglected the prayers, wishing to take between that—belief in the whole in unity and diversity, and disbelief in the whole as a path. Those are the disbelievers who are truly veiled by their own selves and attributes, for their knowledge is illusion and error, and their monotheism is heresy and misguidance. Killing one of them is more beneficial than killing a thousand combatants, as the Proof of Islam, Al-Ghazali (may his secret be sanctified), has indicated.

"But those who believe in Allah and His messengers and do not discriminate between any of them..." They are the believers in both unity and diversity; they are not veiled by unity from diversity, nor by diversity from unity, like the truthful masters among the people of Unity. "Those We will give their rewards" from the three Gardens. "And Allah is Ever Forgiving" (veiling their selves and attributes), "Merciful" (showing mercy to them with the gifted, Divine existence and the everlasting survival).

"The People of the Scripture ask you to bring down to them a book from the heaven"—meaning, certain knowledge through direct disclosure (mukashafah) from the heaven of the spirit. They had asked Moses for something greater than that, saying: "Show us Allah outright"—meaning, they demanded visual contemplation (mushahadah), and undoubtedly, that is greater and higher than disclosure. "So the thunderbolt struck them"—meaning, the fire of "egoism" overcame them and destroyed their capacity due to their wrong, which was their request for contemplation while their selves remained. "Then they took the calf"—the calf of desires, which the Samiri of the Commanding Self (al-nafs al-ammara) fashioned—"after the clear signs had come to them," which deterred them from that. "And We gave Moses a clear authority"—this is the brilliance of the light of the Theophany (tajalli) from his face, until he needed to cover his face with a veil out of mercy for the "bats" of his nation. "And We raised the Mount above them"—meaning, We made it hold authority over them by their covenant—meaning, due to their giving the covenant. The Mount (al-Tur) is an allusion to Moses (peace be upon him), or to the Intellect, and raising it above them is his support with Divine lights. "And We said to them, 'Enter the gate'"—the gate of traveling and traversing that leads to the enclosure of Holiness, the King of the Realm of Sovereignty—"prostrate, humble."

His (Exalted is He) statement: "But Allah raised him to Himself" refers—according to what some of the People [of the Path] have mentioned, and the accountability lies with them—to the connection of his (peace be upon him) spirit to the higher realm upon his departure from the lower realm. That raising, according to them, is to the fourth heaven, because the source of the effusion of his (peace be upon him) spirit is the spirituality of the sphere of the Sun, which is like the heart of the world. Since he had not reached the true perfection, which is the degree of "Love," there was no escape for him but to descend once again in a bodily form, following the Muhammadan nation, to attain that high degree. At that time, everyone will know him, and the People of the Scripture—meaning, all the people of knowledge who are cognizant of the Beginning and the End—will believe in him before his (peace be upon him) death, through annihilation in Allah (Exalted is He). Then, when they believe in him, on the Day of Resurrection—meaning, the day of their emergence from the bodily veils and their awakening from the sleep of heedlessness—he will be a witness. That is because the Truth will manifest to them in his image.

"...Due to the wrong of those who are Jews"—namely, their worship of the calf of desires and taking it as a god, their refusal to enter the gate of the enclosure of Holiness, their transgression in the Sabbath by opposing the Law (which is the greatest manifestation), their being veiled from the disclosure of the "Monotheism of Acts," their breaking the covenant of Allah (Exalted is He), and their being veiled from the "Monotheism of Attributes"—which is disbelief in the signs of Allah—and other evils. If those evils were distributed among the beautiful, they would not command them except with divorce! "We forbade them the good things" that were great and magnificent, which are what is in the three Gardens; these were made lawful for them according to their capacity, were it not for these impediments.

"...And [by] their averting from the way of Allah"—the path leading to Him (Exalted is He). "...Many"—meaning many of the creations, which are the spiritual faculties. And their taking of "Riba" (usury)—which is the surplus of formal, dialectical knowledge that is like the tree of discord; it has no fruit, just like bodily pleasures and the favors of the self. They were forbidden from it because it is the great veil. And their consumption of people's wealth by falsehood—meaning the utilization of the sciences of the spiritual faculties to obtain base worldly things, or taking what is in the hands of the servants out of the vice of greed and covetousness.

"But those who are firm in knowledge"—the upright in the special hearing from Allah (Exalted is He) without the opposition of the selves or the agitation of the secrets. "And the believers" (by the visionary faith), while they believe in what was sent down to you and what was sent down before you—of the legal rulings and the Divine secrets. "And those who establish prayer" in the most perfect way, "and the givers of Zakat" by spending their essence in the various types of obedience, "and the believers in Allah and the Last Day"—meaning the Beginning and the End. The intended meaning of these linked descriptions is one group, as we have previously stated. "Those We will give a great reward" whose measure cannot be calculated, in what is prepared for them of the Gardens.

"Indeed, We have revealed to you, as We revealed to Noah..." The comparison is of the same type as the comparison in His (Exalted is He) statement: "Prescribed for you is fasting as it was prescribed for those before you," according to the view: "Messengers bringing glad tidings" of the manifestations of Gentleness, "and warners" of the manifestations of Severity, "so that mankind will have no argument against Allah after the messengers"—meaning, so they would not have a manifestation and authority after that was erased by the support of the messengers. "And Allah is Ever Exalted in Might"—granting them His attributes and annihilating their selves—"All-Wise"—effusing upon them from His attributes and keeping them in His Essence as wisdom requires.

"But Allah bears witness by that which He has sent down to you" for His (Exalted is He) manifestation within it. "He sent it down with His knowledge"—meaning accompanied by His all-encompassing knowledge, from which not even the weight of an atom in the heavens or on the earth escapes. Hence, he (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) knew what had been and what would be. "And the angels"—they are the possessors of the holy selves—they also bear witness because they are not veiled. "And sufficient is Allah as a Witness," because He is the All-Encompassing, and there is no existent thing besides Him. And Allah (Exalted is He) is the Granter of success to what is correct.