An-Nisa · Madani · ayah 166 of 176

An-Nisa 4:166

لَّـٰكِنِ ٱللَّهُ يَشْهَدُ بِمَآ أَنزَلَ إِلَيْكَ ۖ أَنزَلَهُۥ بِعِلْمِهِۦ ۖ وَٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةُ يَشْهَدُونَ ۚ وَكَفَىٰ بِٱللَّهِ شَهِيدًا

“But Allāh bears witness to that which He has revealed to you. He has sent it down with His knowledge, and the angels bear witness [as well]. And sufficient is Allāh as Witness.”

Saheeh International

Essence

When people refused to vouch for the Prophet ﷺ, Allah Himself bore witness, with the angels; and His witness alone is enough.

A reflection

When nobody in the room will vouch for you

Lākini llāhu yashhadu bi-mā anzala ilayk: but Allah bears witness to what He has sent down to you.

That opening 'but' answers a silence. Commentators explain it as a reply to people who said, in effect: we will not testify for you. The reports differ in detail. In one, a group told the Prophet ﷺ they did not know him to be a messenger. Either way, the human witnesses refused. The ayah replies: they do not testify, but Allah does.

The root of yashhadu joins three ideas: being present, knowing by seeing, and declaring what one saw. The tongue was even called al-shāhid, the one that tells what the eye has seen. A shahāda is never hearsay. It is spoken by someone who was there.

And Allah was there for every word of the revelation. No one else was present in that way.

Think how much of our lives we spend seeking someone to vouch for us. A young goalkeeper comes off the pitch to boos from his own supporters after a mistake. In the dressing room his coach, who has watched every training session for three years, says quietly: you were right to come for that ball. The boy's shoulders drop. One knowing witness outweighed thirty thousand who were guessing.

If one coach's word can do that, what of the Witness who sees all things? The ego chases a crowd's approval. The ayah points past the crowd to the only testimony that cannot be mistaken.

Does Allah need to announce that He testifies? No. He is free of all need (35:15). He says it for His Prophet ﷺ, and for every believer whose truth is doubted. It is a gift of steadiness, not a demand for applause.

Whose verdict are you living for today? Let it be the One who was actually there.

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.