The 4th verse speaks about the witnesses on the Day of Judgment. Firstly it speaks about God who is the greatest witness and so it says:

“To us is their return and moreover God knows what they used to do.”(1)

In a court of justice where the Judge is God and the witness too is it possible that there can be any negligence and something is over looked when being accounted?

We should definitely feel the awe of such a court though there is no question of being misjudged but we should be afraid because of our deeds.

Some commentators have taken the terms witness and proof as punishment and reward though such an interpretation which is against the literal words of the verse is not required because God may stand witness through His angels.

Some commentators have also said the Witness by God will be in the sense that He will order the limbs of men to speak and relate whatever they did.

The 5th verse also speaks about the witnesses on the Day of Judgment but here it speaks about the Prophets standing witness against there people and the Last Messenger standing witness on all on the Prophets. It is said:

“How will it be when we bring forth from each nation a witness and you as a witness against these people.”

Though the verse does not state that the witness against every nation will be its prophets but this is understood from various sources because he has the experience and the capacity to do so.

The words do not tell who “ These people” will be so the commentators have given two views about it . Some have said that this speaks about the Ummah of the Last Messenger and he will stand witness on these people. He will identify the pious people and the liars and evil people also. (2)

But most commentators have taken the word “ haa-‘u-laaa-I” to mean the group of prophets and so the Messenger of Islam will be the witness upon witnesses.

What will be manner of witness of the prophets on their people when the word “ Shahuud” means the knowledge of the incident of a certain time but the prophets and even the Messenger of Islam livid in a certain fixed period? It may be that their soul witnesses the deeds of the people in purgatory. This is against verse 117 of Surah Maidah in which Jesus says :

“ And I was a witness over them while I lived amongst them. You took me up and you were the watcher over them and you are a witness to all things.”

It may be said that the pure soul of the messenger of Islam was among the people through the history of mankind and had witnessed their deeds as we find in many hadiths that says that the first person (soul) to be created was the Messenger of Islam.(3)

 Another meaning of the word witness has been given and that is it is the scale of judging one thing with another because a exemplary person can be a witness over the pious ( who are like him) and over the evil people ( who are far from him) In this case the meaning of the verse will not be attached to the witnesses on the Day of Judgment.

It will be proper if we mention the hadith in which the Messenger of Islam asked Ibn Masood, “ Recite the Qura’n to me.”. Ibn Masood said, O Messenger of God! You have taught us the Qura’n.” He said, “ O Messenger I wish that I could hear the Qura’n from some one else.” Ibn Masood began reciting Surah Nisaa and when he came to the verse , “ How will it be when we bring from each nation a witness and We bring you as a witness against these people?” the Messenger wept (4)

In another place the rest of the hadith is:

He wept so much that his face was fully wet and then he said:

“God! This is for those with whom I live and what we will be for those that I have not seen?” (5)

The weeping of the Messenger was due to his great responsibility on the Day of judgment of being witness on the people he lived with and also for those that he had not seen and for which he sought the help of God.

The sixth verse speaks about the justice of God and the witness of the angels. It is said:

“And every person (with an angel) to drive (him) and one angel as witness.”

The “Saiq” will herd him to the gathering and the “shaheed’ will stand witness.

The verse does not clarify that the herder or the witness will be angels or someone else. If it will be an angel then which angel will it is? But from various sources it is clear that it will definitely be an angel. It is also very appropriate that the angels who record the deeds are closer to the humans and they should perform this task. But some people have taken “Saiq’ as the angel of death who will herd him towards death and “Shahid” as the deed of man or his body parts or his book of deeds. Some others have taken Saiq” to mean the Satan and ‘Shahid” as an angel but excepting for the first interpretation all others are incompatible with the verse.

The first angel will not let him escape and the second angel will not let him deny.

The conditions of these people are like the criminals who are brought to the courts in the world with one policeman leading him by hand and the second carrying the file of his misdeeds.

There is a saying of Amirul Muminin in Nahjul Balagha after he recited this verse:

“One will herd him towards the gathering and one will be the witness on his deeds.” (6)

The 7th verse speaks about the witness given by the body parts of a person. It says:

“On the Day when their tongues, hands, feet will bear witness against them for what they used to do.”

And God will recompense them exactly for what they deserve.

Verse 25 of Surah Nur says: “On that Day God will pay them the recompense of their deeds in full”

The 8th verse also speaks about something similar but that it speaks about the witness given by the human skin. It says when they will come near the edge of Hell then their ears, ayes and skin will give witness and they will speak to their skins:

“And they will say to their skins “Why do you testify against us?” They will answer, “God has made us speak”

The verse says that God will empower the body parts and even the skin to be able to speak. Each limb will speak about what it did. The ears will relate what they heard, the eyes will speak about what they say, and the skin will tell about what they touched or what touched them, the tongue will say what it had said and the same will be for the hands and legs. All these six body parts will stand witness.

Now some commentators have said that they will stand witness for all the deeds of time and not those in which they were involved does not seem appropriate. Now if some body parts ( Like hearts, brain, lips, teeth and others which are connected with intentions, eating, and speaking) are not mentioned then it does mean that only these six body parts will stand witness they all will and what better witness can there be?

It is clear that this witness is the witness of the body part though it will be done through the powers endowed by God but will not be considered the witness of God while Tafsir Kabeer mentions various commentators about this. (7)

It should be noted that the sinners will ask only their skins about why they are giving witness or how they are giving witness. (In the first instance the question is about the cause in the second it is about the condition) but the rest of the5 parts will not be asked. This may be because the witness of the skin is stranger than that of others. They will be questioned about the deeds in which they had physical contact and not with the contact of any particular part of the body like genitals as some commentators have said.

Finally we learn from the Qura’n than the other body parts will give witness other than the tongue and when the matter is cleared then the tongue will join in agreement as said in verse 65 of Surah Yasin:

“This Day We shall seal their mouths and their hands should speak to Us and their legs shall bear witness as to what they earned.”

The 9th verse describes the witness of the earth on man’s doings. It is said:

“That Day it will declare its information because your God has so inspired it.”

The earth will be an important witness that will testify what was done on it. There is a hadith from the Messenger.

He asked, “Do you know what Akhbar is?” the companions replied, “God and His Messenger know best.” Then he said:

“The witness of the earth means the deeds of both men and women will be narrated by it and say “So and so did this on such and such day. This is what means by the earth giving witness.” (8)

Abu Saeed Hazari is reported to have said:

“If you are in the desert then raise your voice in giving the Adhan because I have the Messenger say: “the people, Jinn and stones when they ( hear your voice) it will give witness ( On the Day of Judgment) about it.” (9)

But commentators have raise questions about the explanation of this verse e.g. that the earth will give the news about the Day of Reckoning and man at that time will see the earthquake and say, “ What is wrong with the earth?’ (that it is shaking so much)

Some have also said that the earth will speak about the people it will throw up and say that this is the body of so-and so” (10)

But the first is compatible with the verse and also with the hadiths regarding it.

Some hadith quote Hazrat Ali to have said:

“the earth will give witness about the daily prayers and even the distribution of the public fund.”(11)

How will the earth give witness? Some have accepted the literal meaning of the verse that it will get the necessary powers From God and will begin speaking about all that was done on it. This is not strange because The Day of Judgment is the Day of true life. Verse 64 of Surah Ankabut says:

“The home of the hereafter- that is the life indeed”

Some have said that God will create the sound waves in it so actually the speaker is God (It is like some one taping his speech)

It has also been said that the speaking of the earth means the manifestation of the effects that have occurred on it because the deeds of man are imprinted in this world and on earth for ever.

But the first interpretation is the best.

We have learnt from all the previous verses that other than the witness of God there will be witnesses like the angles, the body parts and the earth on the deeds of men.

1. Tafsir Al Mizan says that the word “ Summa” is used to denote delay in witness and not the delay in time . We can think about a new time for this verse because God will first resurrect the people and then give witness against them since it denotes the witness and proof at the moment of accounting.

2. This doubt has been expressed in Tafsir Kashaf vol.1 page 512 and Tafsir Majmaul Bayan vol.3 page 49.

3. Behar-ol-Anwar vol.15 page 4

4. Tafsir Kabeer vol.10 page 105

5. Tafsir Qartabi vol. 3 page 1747. Others have mentioned his hadith will some difference.

6. Nahjul Balagha Sermon 85

7. Tafsir Kabeer vol. 23 page 194

8. Tafsir Majmaul Bayan vol.10 page 526 and the same Tafsir for the verse in discussion is in Tafsir Qartabi, Tafsir Ruhul Ma’ani and Tafsir Kabeer.

9. Tafsir Majmaul Bayan vol.10 page 526. The columns contain the explanation given in Tafsir Ruhul Bayan vol.10 page 493.

10. Tafsir Qartabi about this verse.

11.        Laali-ol-Akhbar vol.5 page 79 ( New edition)