Tafsir of An-Nisa' 4:174

(O mankind): This is an address to all those bound by religious obligations, following the demonstration of the invalidity of what the disbelievers are upon regarding the various forms of disbelief and misguidance, and binding them with proofs before which the solid mountains would crumble. It contains a warning to them that the proof has been established, and henceforth, there remains no excuse for the one who offers excuses, nor any plea for the one who apologizes.

(There has come to you): Meaning, it has reached you and arrived to you.

(A proof from your Lord): That is, a decisive argument. It is said that what is meant by it are the miracles. Ibn ‘Asakir narrated from Sufyan al-Thawri, from his father, from a man whose name he did not remember, that the meaning of the "proof" is the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). This was also narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both). He was described as such because of the miracles he possessed which testify to his truthfulness (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). It is also said that what is meant is the true religion that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) brought. The tanwin (indefinite marking) serves to denote magnification, and "from" (min) is for the commencement of the limit figuratively; it is linked to "has come" or to an omitted descriptor that serves as an honorable qualification for the "proof," reinforcing what the tanwin indicates. It is also permissible that it be partitive with the omission of the genitive, meaning: "one existing from among the proofs of your Lord." The choice of the title of Lordship, along with the addition of the pronoun of the addressees, is to manifest kindness toward them and to signal that the arrival of this is for their rectification and perfection.

(And We have sent down to you): Through the medium of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). The omission of the medium is to manifest complete kindness toward them and to exaggerate in removing any excuse.

(A clear light): This is the Quran, as stated by Qatadah, Mujahid, and al-Suddi. The possibility that the previous scriptures are intended, as evidence for his prophethood (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), is extremely far-fetched. If the "proof" also refers to the Quran, then it has followed the path of conjunction based on the distinction between the two, treating the difference in terminology as equivalent to a difference in essence. It is called a "proof" because it is the strongest evidence for the truthfulness of the one who brought it, and it is called a "clear light" because it is manifest in itself—self-sufficient in the establishment of its truth and its origin from Allah the Exalted through its inimitability—and it is a clarifier for others of the truth of the truth and the falsehood of falsehood, guiding creation by bringing them out from the darkness of disbelief into the light of faith. Its relation to the addressees is expressed at one time by "coming," attributed to it, which signals the completeness of its strength in being a proof—as if it comes by itself to establish what it establishes without anyone bringing it, arriving to invalidate the doubts of the disbelievers—and at another time by "sending down," which befits its state as a light. Each of its two titles has its appropriate share. The attribution of its sending down to Him (the Exalted) is a shift in address (iltifat) for the sake of its complete honor, as stated by our master, the Shaykh al-Islam, and the matter is easy under any other estimation.