An-Nisa · Madani · ayah 135 of 176

An-Nisa 4:135

۞ يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ كُونُوا۟ قَوَّٰمِينَ بِٱلْقِسْطِ شُهَدَآءَ لِلَّهِ وَلَوْ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِكُمْ أَوِ ٱلْوَٰلِدَيْنِ وَٱلْأَقْرَبِينَ ۚ إِن يَكُنْ غَنِيًّا أَوْ فَقِيرًا فَٱللَّهُ أَوْلَىٰ بِهِمَا ۖ فَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا۟ ٱلْهَوَىٰٓ أَن تَعْدِلُوا۟ ۚ وَإِن تَلْوُۥٓا۟ أَوْ تُعْرِضُوا۟ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرًا

“O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm in justice, witnesses for Allāh, even if it be against yourselves or parents and relatives. Whether one is rich or poor, Allāh is more worthy of both.[223] So follow not [personal] inclination, lest you not be just. And if you distort [your testimony] or refuse [to give it], then indeed Allāh is ever, of what you do, Aware.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Keep standing for justice as witnesses for Allah, even against yourself, your parents and your family, bending neither for the rich nor for the poor.

A reflection

Witnesses for Allah, not for anyone else

Most commands come to people simply as people. This one gives them a title. Shuhadāʾa li-llāh: witnesses for Allah.

The root sh-h-d joins three things: being present, knowing, and saying so. The Arabs called the tongue al-shāhid, the one that tells what the eye saw. A shahāda is never hearsay. It is what you say because you were there.

But for whom do you say it? Not for the court, the family, the community, or the side that hopes to win. For Allah. One early authority spelled it out. Testimony belongs to Allah, not to people. Allah has accepted justice for Himself. Justice is His scale on earth. By it He takes back from the strong for the weak, and from the liar for the truthful. By it the one in the right recovers from the one in the wrong.

Then the ayah adds: fa-llāhu awlā bihimā. Rich or poor, Allah is closer to both than you are. The root w-l-y means nearness with nothing in between, the nearness of one who also takes charge. One classical scholar draws it out. He is their Lord and Master, and they are His servants, just as you are.

This is where the ego shrinks. When we bend the truth to protect someone, we quietly appoint ourselves their guardian. As if their fate hung on our version of events. The ayah takes that role away. Their Guardian is already present, nearer to them than we could ever be.

And it closes: Allah is ever Khabīr of what you do. He knows the inside of every testimony.

Does Allah need our justice? He needs nothing; He is the Rich (35:15). Justice is His scale, held out for us to carry. We carry it so the weak are not crushed and the liar does not win.

The full entry has 7 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.