سُوْرَةُ الْاَنْۣبِيَآءِ
Surah Al-Anbiyaa (21) — Ayah 61
قَالُوا۟ فَأْتُوا۟ بِهِۦ عَلَىٰٓ أَعْيُنِ ٱلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَشْهَدُونَ ﴿61﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
They said: "Then bring him before the eyes of the people, that they may testify."
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
قَالُوا۟
qālū
They said
فَأْتُوا۟
fatū
Then bring
بِهِۦ
bihi
him
عَلَىٰٓ
ʿalā
before
أَعْيُنِ
aʿyuni
(the) eyes
ٱلنَّاسِ
l-nāsi
(of) the people
لَعَلَّهُمْ
laʿallahum
so that they may
يَشْهَدُونَ
yashhadūna
bear witness
Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim — Hafiz Abdus Salam Bin Muhammad Bhutvi
Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim is a 4-volume Quran commentary by Hafiz Abdus Salam bin Muhammad Bhutvi, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar and Sheikh ul-Hadith from Pakistan. Based on over 45 years of teaching and research, this tafsir follows the methodology of Tafsir bil-Ma'thur — interpreting the Quran through authentic Hadith, statements of the Companions, and the understanding of the early generations (Salaf). It is distinguished by its complete avoidance of Israeliyyat (Judeo-Christian narratives) and unverified reports. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
(Ayah 61) ➊ { قَالُوْا فَاْتُوْا بِهٖ عَلٰۤى اَعْيُنِ النَّاسِ :} They said, "If that is so, then bring him before the eyes of the people."
➋ { لَعَلَّهُمْ يَشْهَدُوْنَ:} This has two meanings: one is that bring him before the people so that they may witness that this is the person who used to speak ill of the idols and used to swear to deal with them, and thus his guilt may be established that this act is also his, and perhaps there may be an eyewitness who saw him breaking the idols. From this, it is evident that despite being polytheists, those people considered it necessary to prove the crime upon the accused, which was a crime in their view. Baqa'i (may Allah have mercy on him) writes: "Now the complaint is only to Allah regarding those people (who, being Muslims) arrest and imprison the elders of their religion without any evidence or accusation (neither a charge sheet, nor any witness, nor any other proof, rather most of the time they arrest them for the crime of innocence)." The second meaning is that bring him before the people so that they may witness and see with their own eyes what exemplary punishment is meted out to him, so that no one dares to do such a thing in the future. They were gathering the people to prove Ibrahim (peace be upon him) guilty, but in reality, Allah Almighty was arranging for the heartfelt wish of Ibrahim (peace be upon him) to be fulfilled, that somehow all the people should gather so that he could make clear before them the helplessness of the idols and the foolishness of the polytheists, just as for Musa (peace be upon him) arrangements were made to gather all the people in the open field at noon on the day of the festival. See Surah Ta-Ha (58, 59).
➋ { لَعَلَّهُمْ يَشْهَدُوْنَ:} This has two meanings: one is that bring him before the people so that they may witness that this is the person who used to speak ill of the idols and used to swear to deal with them, and thus his guilt may be established that this act is also his, and perhaps there may be an eyewitness who saw him breaking the idols. From this, it is evident that despite being polytheists, those people considered it necessary to prove the crime upon the accused, which was a crime in their view. Baqa'i (may Allah have mercy on him) writes: "Now the complaint is only to Allah regarding those people (who, being Muslims) arrest and imprison the elders of their religion without any evidence or accusation (neither a charge sheet, nor any witness, nor any other proof, rather most of the time they arrest them for the crime of innocence)." The second meaning is that bring him before the people so that they may witness and see with their own eyes what exemplary punishment is meted out to him, so that no one dares to do such a thing in the future. They were gathering the people to prove Ibrahim (peace be upon him) guilty, but in reality, Allah Almighty was arranging for the heartfelt wish of Ibrahim (peace be upon him) to be fulfilled, that somehow all the people should gather so that he could make clear before them the helplessness of the idols and the foolishness of the polytheists, just as for Musa (peace be upon him) arrangements were made to gather all the people in the open field at noon on the day of the festival. See Surah Ta-Ha (58, 59).
