| Al 'Imran: (18) Allah has testified...

Know that when the Almighty praised the believers and commended them with His saying: {Those who say, "Our Lord, indeed we have believed"} (Al 'Imran: 16), He followed it by clarifying that the proofs of faith are manifest and clear, saying: {Allah has testified}. In this, there are several issues:

Issue 1: The Nature of the Testimony

Know that anything whose knowledge depends on knowing the prophethood of Muhammad (peace be upon him) cannot be established solely by transmitted (auditory/scriptural) proofs. However, that which is not dependent on it may be established by transmitted proofs. This applies to the angels and to the people of knowledge. But the knowledge of the truth of Muhammad's prophethood does not depend on knowing the Oneness of Allah. Therefore, it is permissible to establish the Oneness of Allah merely through the transmitted, Quranic proofs.

Having established this, we say: Scholars have mentioned two opinions regarding His saying: {Allah has testified that there is no god but He, and [so have] the angels and those of knowledge}.

The First Opinion: The testimony from Allah, the angels, and the people of knowledge carries one and the same meaning.

The Second Opinion: It is not so.

We can support the first opinion in two ways:

First Way: Interpret "testimony" (shahāda) as an affirmation coupled with knowledge. This meaning is singular and applies to Allah, the angels, and the people of knowledge.

• As for Allah, He has informed in the Quran of His Oneness, and we have established that relying on transmitted evidence for this matter is permissible.
• As for the angels and the people of knowledge, they all affirmed that Allah is One, having no partner. Thus, based on this interpretation, the concept conveyed by "testimony" is one and the same for Allah, the angels, and the people of knowledge.

Second Way: Interpret "testimony" as manifestation and clarification.

• Allah manifested and clarified this by creating things that point to it.
• As for the angels and the people of knowledge, they manifested and clarified it by establishing proofs and arguments. The angels clarified it to the Messengers (peace be upon them), the Messengers to the scholars, and the scholars to the common people. The difference lies only in the means by which the manifestation occurred. Therefore, the concept conveyed—manifestation and clarification—is singular for Allah (glorified and exalted is He) and for the people of knowledge.

It is thus clear that the meaning conveyed by "testimony" is one, based on these two ways. The purpose of this is as if He is saying to the Prophet (peace be upon him): The Oneness of Allah is an established matter confirmed by the testimony of Allah Himself and the testimony of all considered beings among His creation. A religion as firm and a path as straight as this will not weaken, unlike the claims of some ignorant Christians and idolaters. Therefore, you and your people, O Muhammad, must remain firm upon this, for this is Islam, and the religion accepted by Allah is Islam.

The Second Opinion: This is the view of those who say that Allah's testimony to His own Oneness means that He created the proofs pointing to His Oneness. The testimony of the angels and the people of knowledge means their affirmation of that. Since both actions are called "testimony," it is not far-fetched to include them all under one term. A parallel is His saying: {Indeed, Allah and His angels send blessings upon the Prophet. O you who have believed, send your blessings upon him and ask for [His] greeting of peace} (Al-Ahzab: 56). It is known that the blessing from Allah is different from the blessing of the angels, and the blessing of the angels is different from the blessing of the people, yet they are all gathered under the term "blessing."

If it is asked: Allah is the claimant of Oneness, so how can the claimant be a witness?

The Answer has several aspects:

1. The True Witness is Only Allah: He is the one who created things and made them proofs of His Oneness. Without these proofs, testimony would not be valid. Furthermore, it is He who guided the scholars to know these proofs. Without the proofs established and indicated by Allah, they would be incapable of reaching the knowledge of Tawhid (Oneness). Since this is the case, the only true witness to Oneness is Allah alone. This is why He said: {Say, "What is greatest in testimony?" Say, "Allah"} (Al-An'am: 19).
2. Eternal Existence: He is eternally existent, while everything else was pure non-existence in eternity. Non-existence resembles the absent, and existence resembles the present. Everything else was absent, and by the testimony of the Truth (Allah), it became a witness. Thus, the Truth is a witness over everything, which is why He said: {Allah has testified that there is no god but He}.
3. Meaning of Acknowledgment: Although this is in the form of testimony, it is in the meaning of acknowledgment (iqrār). When He proclaimed that there is no god but Him, all beings became His servants. It is not fitting for the Noble Master not to attend to the interests of His servants. Thus, this statement functions as an acknowledgment that it is incumbent upon Him, as a noble being, to rectify the affairs of all creation.
4. Alternative Reading: Ibn Abbas narrated a reading where annahu (that He) was read with a kasra (innahu), and then {Indeed, the religion with Allah is Islam} (Al 'Imran: 19) was read with a fatḥa (anna). Under this reading, the meaning would be: "Allah testified that the religion with Allah is Islam," and the phrase {that there is no god but He} would be an interjection. However, this reading is not accepted by scholars, and the first reading is agreed upon, so the objection is not resolved by relying on the other reading.

Issue 2: Who are "Those of Knowledge" (Ulū al-'Ilm)?

The intended meaning of "those of knowledge" in this verse refers to those who recognized His Oneness through decisive proofs, because testimony is only accepted if the affirmation is coupled with knowledge. This is supported by the Prophet's saying: "When you know something like the sun, then testify." This indicates that this high rank and noble station belong only to the scholars of fundamental principles (Uṣūl).

Regarding His saying: {Establishing Justice} (Qā'iman bi-l-Qisṭ):

It is in the accusative case (naṣb), and there are several interpretations:

1. As a Circumstantial Adverb (Ḥāl):
   • Interpretation A: The implied meaning is: "Allah testified while He is establishing justice."
   • Interpretation B: It can be a circumstantial adverb describing the subject of the negation, meaning: "There is no god but He, establishing justice." This is called an emphatic circumstantial adverb, similar to saying, "So-and-so came to us, being brave."
2. As an Adjective (Ṣifah): It could be an adjective for the negated entity, as if saying: "There is no god establishing justice except Him." This is plausible because they sometimes separate the adjective from the noun it modifies.
3. For Praise (Madḥ): It is in the accusative case as an expression of praise.

If it is asked: Is it not required for praise to be definite, like saying, "Praise be to Allah, the Praiseworthy"?

We reply: It also comes in the indefinite form, as cited by Sībawayh:

And he seeks refuge with women, bare-headed, And unkempt, nursing infants, like she-demons.

There are two views:

1. It is a circumstantial adverb describing the believers (Ulū al-'Ilm), meaning each one of them is establishing justice in delivering this testimony.
2. The view of the majority of commentators: It is a circumstantial adverb describing {Allah has testified}.

It means being established in justice (ʿadl), just as one says, "So-and-so is established in managing affairs" (qā'im bi-t-tadbīr), meaning he executes them correctly.

This justice relates to two domains: worldly matters and religious matters.

• Worldly Matters: First, observe the creation of the human body parts to know Allah's justice therein. Then, observe the differences among creation in beauty and ugliness, wealth and poverty, health and sickness, long and short life, pleasure and pain, and conclude that all of this is justice, wisdom, and correctness from Allah. Then, observe the creation of the elements and the celestial spheres, and the specific measure and characteristic assigned to each, and conclude that all of this is wisdom and correctness.
• Religious Matters: Observe the differences among creation in knowledge and ignorance, sharpness and dullness, guidance and misguidance, and conclude that all of this is justice and equity.

The author of Al-Kashshāf delved into this matter with Mu'tazilite bias, claiming the verse proves that Islam is synonymous with justice and monotheism. That poor man was far from knowing these matters, though he was overly fond of discussing what he did not know. He claimed the verse proved that whoever permits the vision [of God] or adheres to fatalism (Jabr) is not following the religion of Allah, which is Islam. It is astonishing that the greatest Mu'tazilites spent their lives seeking proof that if God were visible, He would be a body, yet they found nothing but recourse to testimony without a decisive rational principle. How did this poor man, who never smelled the scent of knowledge, arrive at that conclusion? As for the issue of fatalism, that man's discussion is irrelevant, because by admitting that Allah knows all particulars and that the servant cannot turn Allah's knowledge into ignorance, he has already admitted to fatalism. Where does his subsequent discussion come from?

Regarding His saying: {There is no god but He}

The benefit of repeating this phrase has several aspects:

1. The structure is: "Allah testified that there is no god but He." Once He testifies to this, it is confirmed that there is no god but He. This is analogous to saying: "The proof indicates the Oneness of Allah, and once that is the case, the statement of Allah's Oneness is confirmed."
2. Since Allah, the angels, and the people of knowledge have testified to this, the implication is as if He is saying: "O community of Muhammad, then you too say in accordance with the testimony of Allah, the angels, and the people of knowledge: {There is no god but He}." The purpose of the repetition is to command the utterance of this phrase in agreement with those testimonies.
3. The benefit of this repetition is to inform the Muslim that he must always repeat this phrase. The most noble word a person utters is this word. If he is occupied with reciting and repeating it most of the time, he is occupied with the greatest form of worship. Thus, the purpose of the repetition in this verse is to urge the servants to repeat it.
4. The phrase {There is no god but He} was mentioned first so that it is known that worship is due only to Allah. It was mentioned a second time so that it is known that He is the One Establishing Justice, who does not commit injustice or oppression.

Regarding His saying: {The All-Mighty, the Wise} (Al-'Azīz al-Ḥakīm)

• The All-Mighty (Al-'Azīz): Points to the perfection of power.
• The Wise (Al-Ḥakīm): Points to the perfection of knowledge.

These are the two attributes without which divinity is impossible, because establishing justice (Qā'im bi-l-Qisṭ) is not complete unless He knows the measure of needs and is capable of achieving what is necessary.

The attribute Al-'Azīz was mentioned before Al-Ḥakīm because knowledge of His being Powerful precedes knowledge of His being Knowing in the path of inferential reasoning (Istidlāl). Since it is prioritized in inferential knowledge, and this address is to those who use inference, it is appropriate that the Almighty mentioned Al-'Azīz before Al-Ḥakīm.

19 < { Indeed, the religion with Allah is Islam, and those who were given the Scripture did not differ except after knowledge had come to them—out of mutual envy. And whoever disbelieves in the verses of Allah, then indeed, Allah is swift in account. } >