Transliteration:( Qul ayyu shai'in akbaru shahaadatan qulil laahu shaheedum bainee wa bainakum; wa oohiya ilaiya haazal Qur'aanu li unzirakum bihee wa mam balagh; a'innakum latashhadoona anna ma'al laahi aalihatan ukhraa; qul laaa ashhad; qul innamaa Huwa Ilaahunw Waahidunw wa innanee baree'um mimmaa tushrikoon )
"Please declare (O Beloved Prophet): 'Whose evidence [36] is the greatest?' Please declare: 'Allah is the Witness [37] between you and me, and this Quran, revealed to me, so that, with it, I may warn [38] you and whomsoever it reaches [39]. Then do you give this evidence that besides Allah there are other gods?' [40] Please declare: 'He is One Allah to be worshipped, and I totally disassociate from what you associate with Him.'"
Reason for its revelation:
When the infidels of Makkah demanded a witness for the Prophethood of the Holy Prophet ﷺ, this verse was revealed. It affirms that Allah Himself is the witness, and there is no testimony greater than His.
Allah Almighty bears testimony to the truth of the Holy Prophet ﷺ in multiple ways:
Through His beloved servants who testified to the Prophethood.
Through the Book revealed to him.
Through the miracles granted to him.
This shows that bearing testimony of Allah is the Prophet’s way, and bearing testimony of the Prophet ﷺ is Allah’s way. This dual testimony is preserved in the Kalimah Shahadah.
If Allah were not a witness to the truth of the Prophet ﷺ, He would not have revealed the Holy Qur’an. The revelation is a direct confirmation of his Prophethood.
The message of the Qur’an and the Prophethood of Muhammad ﷺ are universal. They are not limited by time, place, or people. Those who have not received the message are treated differently, as seen in the example of the Naturalist Group.
A believer must openly affirm monotheism and completely detach from all forms of shirk. Feigning belief or hiding one’s faith (taqiyya) is the trait of hypocrites, not true believers. Faith must be evident through appearance, actions, and speech.
The tafsir of Surah Al-Anam verse 19 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Anam ayat 17 which provides the complete commentary from verse 17 through 21.
(6:19) Ask them: ‘Whose testimony is the greatest?’ Say: ‘Allah is the witness between me and you;[11] and this Qur’an was revealed to me that I should warn you thereby and also whomsoever it may reach.’ Do you indeed testify that there are other gods with Allah?[12] Say: ‘I shall never testify such a thing.’ [13] Say: ‘He is the One God and I am altogether averse to all that you associate with Him in His divinity.’
11. God Himself witnesses that the Prophet (peace be on him) has been designated by Him and that what he communicated was by His command.
12. In order to bear witness to something, mere guesswork and imagination are not sufficient. What is required is knowledge on the basis of which a person can state something with full conviction. Hence. the question means: Did they really have knowledge of anyone other than God who could lay claim to man’s worship and absolute service by dint of being the omnipotent sovereign, the one whose will prevailed throughout the universe?
13. The interlocutor is instructed to tell people that if they wanted to bear false witness and testify without knowledge, they could do so, but that he himself could not do something so unreasonable.
[298]- At every time and place until the Day of Judgement.
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