Verse No. 17

“Indeed, there are two witnesses between the Prophet and his nation: the Book of Allah and the one who has knowledge of the Book, and he is Allah’s Caliph among them after the Prophet.”

قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى:

﴿وَيَقُولُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَسْتَ مُرْسَلًا ۚ قُلْ كَفَى بِاللَّهِ شَهِيدًا بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَكُمْ وَمَنْ عِنْدَهُ عِلْمُ الْكِتَابِ﴾[1]

Translation:

God Almighty has said:

“And those who disbelieved say: You are not a Prophet, say, God and whoever has knowledge of the Book are sufficient as witnesses among me and you”.

Considerations

1 . أَخْبَرَنَا يُونُسُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ الْخَتْلَانِيُّ، قَالَ: سَأَلْتُ الْمَنْصُورَ عَنْ قَوْلِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَيَقُولُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَسْتَ مُرْسَلًا ۚ قُلْ كَفَى بِاللَّهِ شَهِيدًا بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَكُمْ وَمَنْ عِنْدَهُ عِلْمُ الْكِتَابِ﴾، فَقَالَ: شَهَادَةُ اللَّهِ كِتَابُهُ، وَإِنَّ بَيْنَ الرَّسُولِ وَأُمَّتِهِ شَهِيدَيْنِ: كِتَابَ اللَّهِ وَمَنْ عِنْدَهُ عِلْمُ الْكِتَابِ، وَهُوَ خَلِيفَةُ اللَّهِ فِيهِمْ بَعْدَ الرَّسُولِ، وَلَا تَعْدِمُهُمَا أُمَّتُهُ حَتَّى تَقُومَ السَّاعَةُ، قُلْتُ: جَعَلَنِيَ اللَّهُ فِدَاكَ، فَقَدْ أَظْهَرْتَ لِي مِنْ كِتَابِ اللَّهِ مَا يُخْفُونَهُ! قَالَ: لَا يُخْفُونَهُ، وَلَكِنْ لَا يَتَدَبَّرُونَهُ، أَمْ عَلَى قُلُوبٍ أَقْفَالُهَا! فَأَخَذَنِي الْبُكَاءُ، فَقَالَ: مَا لَكَ؟! قُلْتُ: آسَفُ عَلَى النَّاسِ، فَإِنَّهُمْ لَمْ يَسْمَعُوا قَوْلَكَ، وَإِنَّهُ الْحِكْمَةُ وَفَصْلُ الْخِطَابِ، وَلَوْ سَمِعُوهُ لَاهْتَدَوْا، فَقَالَ: لَا تَأْسَفْ عَلَيْهِمْ، ﴿وَلَوْ عَلِمَ اللَّهُ فِيهِمْ خَيْرًا لَأَسْمَعَهُمْ ۖ وَلَوْ أَسْمَعَهُمْ لَتَوَلَّوْا وَهُمْ مُعْرِضُونَ﴾[2]!

Translation:

Yunus ibn Abdullah al-Khatlani informed us, he said: I asked Mansoor about the words of God Almighty that says: “And those who disbelieved say: You are not a Prophet, say, God and whoever has knowledge of the Book are sufficient as witnesses among me and you”, so he said: The witness of God is His Book, and indeed there are two witnesses among the Prophet and his nation: the Book of God and the one who has knowledge of the Book, and he is the Caliph of God among them after the Prophet, and his nation will never be without those two until the Day of Judgment arrives. I said: May God make me a sacrifice for you; because you revealed to me something of the Book of God which they conceal! He said: They do not conceal it, but do not ponder on it, or there are locks on the hearts[3]! At this time I cried, so he said: What is bothering you?! I said: I feel sorry for people; because they have not heard your words, while it is wisdom and decisive statement, and if they heard it, they would be guided, so he said: Do not feel sorry for them, “If God had found any good in them, He would have certainly made them hear, and if He were to make them hear, they would turn away in rejection”!

2 . أَخْبَرَنَا الْحَسَنُ بْنُ الْقَاسِمِ وَوَلِيدُ بْنُ مَحْمُودٍ وَصَالِحُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ وَغَيْرُهُمْ، قَالُوا: كُنَّا جَمَاعَةً عِنْدَ الْمَنْصُورِ، فَأَقْبَلَ عَلَيْنَا وَقَالَ: إِنَّ لِلَّهِ عَلَى النَّاسِ شَهِيدَيْنِ: كِتَابَ اللَّهِ وَمَنْ عِنْدَهُ عِلْمُ الْكِتَابِ، وَلَا يَكْفِيهِمْ أَحَدُهُمَا دُونَ الْآخَرِ، وَهَذَا قَوْلُ اللَّهِ: ﴿قُلْ كَفَى بِاللَّهِ شَهِيدًا بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَكُمْ وَمَنْ عِنْدَهُ عِلْمُ الْكِتَابِ﴾، ثُمَّ نَظَرَ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ فَقَالَ: اللَّهُمَّ هَلْ بَيَّنْتُ؟! فَدَاخَلَنَا مِنْ خَشْيَةِ اللَّهِ مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ لَمَّا قَالَ هَذَا، ثُمَّ رَجَعَ إِلَيْنَا وَقَالَ: إِنَّ الْأَرْضَ لَا تَخْلُو مِنْ كِتَابِ اللَّهِ وَمَنْ عِنْدَهُ عِلْمُ الْكِتَابِ، لِيَكُونَا شَهِيدَيْنِ بَيْنَ الرَّسُولِ وَأُمَّتِهِ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ، وَمَنْ عِنْدَهُ عِلْمُ الْكِتَابِ رَجُلٌ مِنْ عِتْرَةِ الرَّسُولِ أَهْلِ بَيْتِهِ، وَهَذَا قَوْلُهُ: «إِنِّي تَارِكٌ فِيكُمُ الثَّقَلَيْنِ: كِتَابَ اللَّهِ وَعِتْرَتِي أَهْلَ بَيْتِي، إِنْ تَمَسَّكْتُمْ بِهِمَا لَنْ تَضِلُّوا بَعْدِي، وَإِنَّهُمَا لَنْ يَفْتَرِقَا حَتَّى يَرِدَا عَلَيَّ الْحَوْضَ»، ثُمَّ نَظَرَ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ نَظْرَةً أُخْرَى فَقَالَ: اللَّهُمَّ هَلْ وَفَّيْتُ؟! فَأَخَذْنَا نَرْتَعِدُ مِنْ هَيْبَتِهِ لَمَّا قَالَ هَذَا كَأَنَّهُ لَيْسَ فِي هَذِهِ الدُّنْيَا!

Translation:

Hasan ibn Qasim and Walid ibn Mahmoud and Salih ibn Muhammad and others informed us, they said: We were a group in the presence of Mansoor, then he looked at us and said: Indeed, for God there are two witnesses over people: the Book of God and the one who has knowledge of the Book, and neither of those two makes them not need the other, and this is the words of God that has said: “Say, God and whoever has knowledge of the Book are sufficient as witnesses among me and you”, then he looked at the sky and said: O God! Did I explain?! Then something from the fear of God came to us that God knows when he said this, then he looked at us again and said: Indeed, the earth is not empty of the Book of God and the one who has knowledge of the Book in order to be two witnesses among the Prophet and his nation until the Day of Judgment, and the one who has knowledge of the Book is a man from the Itrah and Ahl al-Bayt of the Prophet, and this is his words that has said: “Indeed, I leave among you two precious things: The Book of God and my Itrah, my Ahl al-Bayt, and those two will never be separated until they come to me by the Pond”, then he looked at the sky again and said: O God! Did I fulfill?! Then we started to flinch because of his dignity when he said this, as if he were not in this world!