سُوْرَةُ النِّسَآءِ
Surah An-Nisaa (4) — Ayah 159
وَإِن مِّنْ أَهْلِ ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ إِلَّا لَيُؤْمِنَنَّ بِهِۦ قَبْلَ مَوْتِهِۦ ۖ وَيَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ يَكُونُ عَلَيْهِمْ شَهِيدًا ﴿159﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
And there is none of the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) but must believe in him [‘Îsâ (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary), as only a Messenger of Allâh and a human being] before his [‘Îsâ (Jesus) عليه السلام) or a Jew’s or a Christian’s] death (at the time of the appearance of the angel of death). And on the Day of Resurrection, he [‘Îsâ (Jesus)] will be a witness against them.
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
وَإِن
wa-in
And (there is) not
مِّنْ
min
from
أَهْلِ
ahli
(the) People
ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ
l-kitābi
(of) the Book
إِلَّا
illā
but
لَيُؤْمِنَنَّ
layu'minanna
surely he believes
بِهِۦ
bihi
in him
قَبْلَ
qabla
before
مَوْتِهِۦ ۖ
mawtihi
his death
وَيَوْمَ
wayawma
And (on the) Day
ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ
l-qiyāmati
(of) the Resurrection
يَكُونُ
yakūnu
he will be
عَلَيْهِمْ
ʿalayhim
against them
شَهِيدًۭا
shahīdan
a witness
Tafsir Ahsan al-Bayan — Hafiz Salahuddin Yusuf
Tafsir Ahsan al-Bayan is a well-known Quran commentary by Hafiz Salahuddin Yusuf, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. This tafsir explains the meanings of the Quran in accordance with the methodology of the Salaf (early righteous generations), relying on authentic sources and straightforward language. Due to its reliability and adherence to sound Islamic scholarship, the Saudi government publishes and distributes this tafsir among the Hujjaj (pilgrims) visiting the Haramain. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
159. 1. In "قبل موتہ", according to some commentators, the pronoun refers to the People of the Book (نصاریٰ), and the meaning is that every Christian, at the time of death, comes to believe in Jesus (peace be upon him). Although faith at the time of death is not beneficial. But according to the predecessors and most commentators, its reference is to Jesus (peace be upon him), and the meaning is that when he will descend again in the world and will kill the Dajjal and establish the dominance of Islam, then all the Jews and Christians present at that time will also be killed, and no one except Muslims will remain on the face of the earth. In this way, all the People of the Book in the world who are to believe in Jesus (peace be upon him) will have believed in him before his death and will have passed from this world, regardless of the manner of their faith. This is also established from Sahih ahadith. Thus, the Prophet ﷺ said: "By Him in Whose hand is my soul! Surely a time will come when the son of Mary will descend among you as a just ruler, he will break the cross, kill the swine, abolish the jizya, and wealth will become so abundant that no one will accept it." That is, there will be no one to take charity or alms. "So much so that a single prostration will be better than the world and whatever is in it." Then Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) says: "If you wish, recite this verse of the Quran: 'وان من اھل الکتب الا لیؤمنن بہ قبل موتہ'" (Sahih Bukhari, Book of Prophets). These ahadith have come in such abundance that they have reached the level of tawatur, and on the basis of these mutawatir Sahih narrations, it is the unanimous belief of all schools of Ahl al-Sunnah that Jesus (peace be upon him) is alive in the heavens and near the Day of Judgment he will descend to the world, and after ending the Dajjal and all religions, he will make Islam dominant. The emergence of Gog and Magog will also occur during the presence of Jesus (peace be upon him), and by the blessing of his supplication, this tribulation will also be ended, as is clear from the ahadith.
159. 2. This testimony will be related to the circumstances of his first life, as is clarified at the end of Surah Al-Ma'idah (وَكُنْتُ عَلَيْهِمْ شَهِيْدًا مَّا دُمْتُ فِيْهِمْ) 5. Al-Ma'idah:117) "As long as I was present among them, I was aware of their circumstances."
159. 2. This testimony will be related to the circumstances of his first life, as is clarified at the end of Surah Al-Ma'idah (وَكُنْتُ عَلَيْهِمْ شَهِيْدًا مَّا دُمْتُ فِيْهِمْ) 5. Al-Ma'idah:117) "As long as I was present among them, I was aware of their circumstances."
