Al-Isra · Makki · ayah 96 of 111

Al-Isra 17:96

قُلْ كَفَىٰ بِٱللَّهِ شَهِيدًۢا بَيْنِى وَبَيْنَكُمْ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ بِعِبَادِهِۦ خَبِيرًۢا بَصِيرًا

“Say, "Sufficient is Allāh as Witness between me and you. Indeed He is ever, concerning His servants, Aware and Seeing."”

Saheeh International

Essence

His case made, the Prophet rests it with Allah as witness: the One who knows His servants within and sees them without.

A reflection

Enough, with nothing to add

Notice what the Prophet ﷺ is told to say when argument has done all it can. Not 'many will testify for me'. Not 'history will prove me right'. Only this: Allah is enough as a witness between me and you.

The verb has a homely picture in its root, and the lexicons state it. A kufya was a ration of food that was enough to live on. One lexicon defines the root as the measure that needs nothing added. Another describes sufficiency as what fills the gap and reaches the goal. One commentary stresses the word 'alone' here: Allah by Himself is enough.

Now set that beside the ego. After a row at work, a man forwards the email chain to six friends. He adds one line: 'Am I wrong here?' He waits for each reply. Four say no, one says maybe, one never answers. He rereads the silent one most. The need for witnesses never fills up. Each verdict leaves room for one more.

That hunger is a form of pride, even when we have truly been wronged. It wants the crowd on our side. The ayah offers something smaller and far greater: one witness, and enough. When He has seen, nothing needs adding.

The ayah then gives the reason: He is, of His servants, All-Aware, All-Seeing. Someone may ask whether Allah needs to tell us how much He knows. Is this a kind of self-praise?

It is the opposite of what a vain person does. A vain person praises himself to be admired, because he needs admiration. Allah needs nothing from anyone (35:15). He tells us that He knows because we are the ones who need to know it. The wronged need to hear that someone has seen. The wrongdoer needs to hear it too. The sentence is for them, not for Him.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.