ﲝ ﲞ ﲟ ﲠ ﲡ ﲢ ﲣ ﲤ ﲥ ﲦ ﲧ ﲨ ﲩ ﲪ ﲫ ﲬ ﲭ ﲮ ﲯ ﲰ ﲱ ﲲ ﲳ ﲴ ﲵ ﲶ ﲷ ﲸ ﲹ ﲺ ﲻ ﲼ
I said not to them except what You commanded me - to worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord. And I was a witness over them as long as I was among them; but when You took me up, You were the Observer over them, and You are, over all things, Witness.
Tafsir
Verse range: 5:117
Then the Almighty said, recounting what Jesus said:
**{I said nothing to them except what You commanded me to say: "Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord."}**
The an (that) here is explanatory (mufassirah), and the explanation is the pronoun hā' (it) in bihi (with it), which refers back to the statement (al-qawl).
The meaning is: I did not say anything to them except a statement that You commanded me with. However, the word "statement" (qawl) is used in place of "command" (amr) out of respect for good etiquette (al-adab al-hasan), so as not to make himself and his Lord both commanders simultaneously. The original meaning is indicated by mentioning the explanatory an.
Then the Almighty said:
**{And I was a witness over them as long as I was among them.}**
This means: I testified concerning what they were doing as long as I resided among them.
**{But when You took me to Yourself,}**
What is meant by "took me to Yourself" (tawaffaytani) is the ascension (raf') to heaven, based on the verse: {Indeed, I will cause you to die and raise you to Myself} (Al 'Imran: 55).
**{You were the Watcher over them.}**
Al-Zajjaj said: The Keeper over them, the Observer of their conditions.
**{And You are over all things a Witness.}**
This means: You are the Witness for me when I was among them, and You are the Witness over them after I departed from them. Al-Shahīd (The Witness) can mean the one who testifies (al-shāhid). It can also be interpreted as sight (al-ru'yah), and it can be interpreted as knowledge (al-'ilm), and it can be interpreted as speech meaning testimony. Thus, Al-Shahīd is one of the essential attributes (al-ṣifāt al-ḥaqīqiyyah) under all interpretations.
Then the Almighty said:
**{If You should punish them - indeed, they are Your servants; but if You forgive them - indeed, it is You who is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.}**
