Surah Al-An'aam (6) — Ayah 19

(Ayah 19)➊ {قُلْ اَيُّ شَيْءٍ اَكْبَرُ شَهَادَةً … :} After the disbelievers of Makkah, when the majority of Jews and Christians also denied you, the disbelievers began to say, "Tell us, now who bears witness to your prophethood?" So Allah commanded you to say to these disbelievers, "Which being is greater than Allah?" When there is none, then tell me, who will be the greatest witness? You yourself make it clear before them that it is only Allah, and Allah's testimony is that He has sent down the Qur'an upon me, which is a living miracle until the Day of Resurrection, for no one has ever been able to bring a surah like any of its surahs, nor will anyone ever be able to. This Qur'an, by virtue of being a miracle, is a clear proof of my being a true Prophet. In view of this, it is said: «وَ اُوْحِيَ اِلَيَّ هٰذَا الْقُرْاٰنُ » "And this Qur'an has been revealed to me." (Razi) Shah Abdul Qadir (may Allah have mercy on him) writes that here "testimony" means "oath," i.e., I swear by Allah, what greater oath can there be than this? (Muwadhih) In this verse, it is being established for Allah that He is {’’ شَيْءٍ ‘‘}, that He is an existent, ever-living being, not merely an imaginary or conceptual being.

➋ {لِاُنْذِرَكُمْ بِهٖ وَ مَنْ بَلَغَ:} That is, this Qur'an has been revealed to me so that I may warn you with it, and also whomever it reaches. By this is meant all Arabs and non-Arabs, jinn and mankind, who will come until the Day of Resurrection, and the purpose is that my prophethood is universal and for all times until the Day of Resurrection. Accordingly, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) invited Rome, Persia, Abyssinia, and many countries to the religion of Islam, and commanded every individual of his ummah: [ بَلِّغُوْا عَنِّيْ وَلَوْ آيَةً] "Convey from me, even if it is one verse (matter)." [ بخاری، أحادیث الأنبیاء، باب ما ذکر عن بنی إسرائیل : ۳۴۶۱، عن عبد اللہ بن عمرو رضی اللہ عنہما ] And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Let every person who hears my words convey them to one who is not present." [ بخاری، الحج، باب الخطبۃ أیام منًی : ۱۷۴۱ ] And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "May Allah keep fresh the face of every servant who remembers my words and conveys them to others." [ ترمذی، العلم، باب ما جاء فی الحث علی تبلیغ السماع : ۲۶۵۶ تا ۲۶۵۸ ] From these hadiths and verses, it is known that the rulings of the Qur'an and hadith are for all people and for all times until the Day of Resurrection; there can be no change in them. It is obligatory upon the people of every era to convey them to the people of the next era. To restrict the rulings of the Qur'an only to the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and to change the rulings of the Qur'an and hadith under the pretext of changing circumstances, is an attempt to evade the rulings of the Qur'an and is a clear distortion, because of which the Jews were declared accursed.

➌ {اَىِٕنَّكُمْ لَتَشْهَدُوْنَ …:} That is, despite the clear and decisive arguments for monotheism mentioned in the Qur'an, do you bear witness that there are other deities with Allah? Say: "Say whatever you wish, I can never bear this testimony." Say: "The only deity is Allah; I do not accept anyone else as a deity, and I clearly declare that I am free from all those beings whom you associate as partners." If "ma" is masdariyyah, then the meaning will be: I am free from your polytheism, which you commit.