Tafseer of The Women · An-Nisaa · 4:166
But Allah bears witness to that which He has revealed to you. He has sent it down with His knowledge, and the angels bear witness [as well]. And sufficient is Allah as Witness.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The explanation of the statement: لَكِنِ اللَّهُ يَشْهَدُ بِمَا أَنْزَلَ إِلَيْكَ أَنْزَلَهُ بِعِلْمِهِ وَالْمَلائِكَةُ يَشْهَدُونَ وَكَفَى بِاللَّهِ شَهِيدًا (166) ("But Allah bears witness concerning that which He has sent down to you; He has sent it down with His knowledge, and the angels bear witness; and Allah suffices as a Witness") (4:166).
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose praise is exalted, means by this: although the Jews who asked you to send down for them a book from heaven, and who said to you, مَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ عَلَى بَشَرٍ مِنْ شَيْءٍ ("Allah has not sent down anything upon any human being"), disbelieve in that which We have revealed to you, O Muḥammad, and thus call you a liar — they have lied. The matter is not as they claimed: rather, Allah bears witness concerning His sending down to you of what He has sent down of His Book and His revelation, that He has sent it down to you with knowledge on His part that you are His chosen one among His creation and His trusted one among His servants; and His angels also bear witness to that for you. So let not the accusation of lying by whoever calls you a liar, nor the contradiction of whoever contradicts you, grieve you = "and Allah suffices as a Witness," He says: and Allah suffices you as a witness of your truthfulness, apart from all the rest of His creation; for when your Lord bears witness for you to your truthfulness, then the accusation of lying by whoever calls you a liar will not harm you.
It has been said that this verse was sent down concerning a group of the Jews whom the Prophet ﷺ invited to follow him, and whom he informed that they knew the truth of his prophethood, whereupon they denied his prophethood and disavowed their knowledge of it.
Mention of the narration concerning that:
10850 — Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Yūnus related to us, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq, who said: Muḥammad ibn Abī Muḥammad, the freedman of Zayd ibn Thābit, related to me, saying: Saʿīd ibn Jubayr — or ʿIkrima — related to me, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: A group of the Jews entered upon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and he said to them: "By Allah, I surely know that you know that I am the Messenger of Allah!" They said: "We do not know that!" Then Allah sent down: "But Allah bears witness concerning that which He has sent down to you; He has sent it down with His knowledge, and the angels bear witness; and Allah suffices as a Witness."
10851 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, saying: Ibn Isḥāq related to me, saying: Muḥammad ibn Abī Muḥammad related to me, on the authority of ʿIkrima and Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: A band of the Jews entered upon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ — and then he mentioned something similar.
10852 — Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: "But Allah bears witness concerning that which He has sent down to you; He has sent it down with His knowledge, and the angels bear witness; and Allah suffices as a Witness" — witnesses, by Allah, who are not to be suspected.
