Qur'an 16:89
 | |
| Verse's Information | |
|---|---|
| Sura | Sura al-Nahl |
| Verse | 89 |
| Juz' | 14 |
| Content Information | |
| Cause of Revelation | No Cause |
| Place of Revelation | Mecca |
| Related Verses | Qur'an 4:41 |
Qur'an 16:89 refers to the raising of witnesses on the Day of Resurrection. According to the verse, a witness will be raised from every nation, and Prophet Muhammad (s) will bear witness over them all. The verse also describes the Qur'an as a clarification of all things (tibyan), guidance, mercy, and good news for Muslims. Some exegetes argue that this does not mean the Qur'an is a comprehensive encyclopedia of all sciences; rather, it sets out what human beings need in matters of belief, law, and ethics. Citing hadiths about the inclusion of all sciences in the Qur'an, 'Allama Tabataba'i argues that, if these hadiths are sound, the term tibyan may have a meaning beyond its literal sense and that the Qur'an may allude to secrets and mysteries beyond ordinary human understanding.
Introduction, Text and Translation
Verse 89 of Qur'an 16 refers to the raising of witnesses of deeds on the Day of Resurrection. A witness will be raised from each nation from among its own people, and Prophet Muhammad (s) will bear witness over them all.[1] The verse also describes the Qur'an as a clarification (tibyan), guidance, mercy, and good news.[2]
﴾وَيَوْمَ نَبْعَثُ فِي كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ شَهِيدًا عَلَيْهِم مِّنْ أَنفُسِهِمْ ۖ وَجِئْنَا بِكَ شَهِيدًا عَلَىٰ هَـٰؤُلَاءِ ۚ وَنَزَّلْنَا عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ تِبْيَانًا لِّكُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَهُدًى وَرَحْمَةً وَبُشْرَىٰ لِلْمُسْلِمِينَ ﴿
On the day when We raise up from every nation a witness against them from among themselves, We shall bring you as a witness over these. We have sent down to you the Book as a clarification of all things, and as guidance, mercy, and good news for the Muslims.
Prophet Muhammad (s) as a Witness
According to Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Tabataba'i, a Qur'an exegete, appointing a witness from each nation serves to complete the proof and strengthen the argument, leaving people with no excuse.[3] The Prophet (s) is mentioned separately to honor and exalt him.[4] It is narrated that whenever the Prophet (s) recited the phrase "and We brought you as a witness over these," his eyes filled with tears.[5]
Nasir Makarim Shirazi, in his commentary on Qur'an 16:89 and Qur'an 4:41, holds that each prophet witnesses and observes the deeds of his community while living among them. In the case of Prophet Muhammad (s), this applies to the deeds of the people of his time. After the prophets, the Infallible successors serve as witnesses to the deeds of the umma.[6] According to him, some exegetes, citing interpretive hadiths,[7] have regarded the Prophet (s) as a witness over all previous prophets and a proof against them.[8] Allama Tabataba'i believes that the witnesses appointed for each nation testify concerning its people, while the Prophet (s) witnesses the status of those witnesses. His witnessing of other people's deeds is mediated through their testimony.[9] Al-Alusi, a Sunni exegete, believes that the Prophet (s) remains a witness over all people until the Day of Resurrection, since the deeds of his umma continue to be presented to him after his demise.[10]
Although God knows everything, the presence of witnesses from each nation in Qur'an 16:89 is understood as emphasizing the ongoing oversight of human actions and warning people to remain vigilant.[11]
Does the Qur'an Encompass All Sciences?
According to Allama Tabataba'i, the phrase "and We sent down the Book to you as an explanation for everything" is an independent statement rather than a continuation of the preceding phrase of the verse.[12] Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Fadlallah, interpreting the phrase "explanation for everything," explains that the Qur'an clearly sets out what human beings need in matters of belief, religious rulings, and ethics. He argues that the Qur'an is not a comprehensive encyclopedia containing all sciences or details about objects and creatures, since providing such details was not the prophets' mission and there is no historical evidence that they undertook it.[13]
Citing hadiths that speak of all sciences being contained in the Qur'an, Allama Tabataba'i argues that, if these hadiths are sound, the term tibyan may need to be understood more broadly than its literal meaning. The Qur'an may contain indications of secrets and mysteries without stating them explicitly, matters that ordinary human understanding cannot grasp.[14]
Notes
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 12, p. 322.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 12, p. 324.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 12, p. 322.
- ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 6, p. 568.
- ↑ Suyūṭī, al-Durr al-manthūr, vol. 4, p. 127.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 11, p. 359; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 3, p. 392.
- ↑ Huwayzī, Tafsīr nūr al-thaqalayn, vol. 3, p. 73.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 3, p. 392.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 12, pp. 323-324.
- ↑ Ālūsī, Rūḥ al-maʿānī, vol. 7, p. 450.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 11, p. 359.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 12, p. 324.
- ↑ Faḍl Allāh, Min waḥy al-Qurʾān, vol. 13, p. 279.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 12, p. 325.
References
- Ālūsī, Maḥmūd b. ʿAbd Allāh al-. Rūḥ al-maʿānī fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿaẓīm wa l-sabʿ al-mathānī. Edited by ʿAlī ʿAbd al-Bārī ʿAṭiyya. Beirut, Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 1st ed, 1415 AH.
- Faḍl Allāh, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn. Tafsīr min waḥy al-Qurʾān. Beirut, Dār al-Malāk, 1st ed, 1419 AH.
- Huwayzī, ʿAbd ʿAlī b. Jumʿa al-. Tafsīr nūr al-thaqalayn. Edited by Hāshim Rasūlī. Qom, Ismāʿīlīyān, 4th ed, 1415 AH.
- Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir. Tafsīr-i nimūna. Tehran, Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 10th ed, 1371 Sh.
- Suyūṭī, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Abī Bakr al-. Al-Durr al-manthūr fī al-tafsīr bi-l-maʾthūr. Qom, Kitābkhāna-yi ʿUmūmī-yi Ḥaḍrat-i Āyatullāh al-ʿUẓmā Marʿashī Najafī, 1st ed, 1404 AH.
- Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn. Al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Beirut, Muʾassisa al-Aʿlamī lil-Maṭbūʿāt, 2nd ed, 1390 AH.
- Ṭabrisī, Faḍl b. Ḥasan al-. Majmaʿ al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Edited by Faḍl Allāh Yazdī Ṭabāṭabāʾī & Hāshim Rasūlī. Tehran, Nāṣir Khusraw, 3rd ed, 1372 Sh.