Tafseer of The Resurrection · Al-Qiyaama · 75:15
Even if he presents his excuses.
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.
His word: بَلِ الإنْسَانُ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ بَصِيرَةٌ ("But man is, against himself, a witness with insight"). The Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: rather, man has against himself, from himself, watchers who observe him in his conduct and who bear witness against him concerning it.
And in the sense of what we have said about this, the people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) also spoke.
* Mention of who said that:
ʿAlī related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word: بَلِ الإنْسَانُ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ بَصِيرَةٌ ("But man is, against himself, a witness with insight"), he said: his hearing, his sight, his hands, his feet and his limbs. And "the insight" (al-baṣīra) is, according to this interpretation, that which Ibn ʿAbbās mentioned of the limbs of the son of Adam; and the [word "baṣīra"] is in the nominative by His word عَلَى نَفْسِهِ ("against himself"), and "man" (al-insān) is in the nominative by the referring pronoun that refers to him in His word "himself" (nafsihi).
And others said: no, the meaning of it is: rather, man is a witness against himself, he alone. Whoever made this statement made "al-baṣīra" the predicate of "man" and put "man" in the nominative by means of it.
* Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: بَلِ الإنْسَانُ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ بَصِيرَةٌ ("But man is, against himself, a witness with insight"), he says: man is a witness against himself, he alone.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: بَلِ الإنْسَانُ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ بَصِيرَةٌ ("But man is, against himself, a witness with insight"), he said: a witness against it [his soul] by means of its conduct.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: بَلِ الإنْسَانُ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ بَصِيرَةٌ ("But man is, against himself, a witness with insight"): whenever you wish, by Allah, you see him sharp-sighted toward the faults and sins of people, but heedless toward his own sins. He said: and it used to be said: in the Gospel it is written: O son of Adam, you see the splinter in your brother's eye, but you do not see the beam in your own eye.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His word: بَلِ الإنْسَانُ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ بَصِيرَةٌ ("But man is, against himself, a witness with insight"), he said: he is a witness against himself, and he recited: اقْرَأْ كِتَابَكَ كَفَى بِنَفْسِكَ الْيَوْمَ عَلَيْكَ حَسِيبًا ("Read your book; you yourself suffice today as a reckoner against you"). And whoever made this statement says: the hāʾ [the final tāʾ marbūṭa] was introduced into His word بَصِيرَةٌ ("a witness with insight"), even though it is the predicate of "man," just as one says to a man: "you are a proof against yourself" (anta ḥujjatun ʿalā nafsika). This is the statement of some of the grammarians of Baṣra. Some of them said: this hāʾ was introduced into "baṣīra," even though it is an adjectival word for the masculine [substantive], just as it was introduced into "rāwiya" (a very learned transmitter) and "ʿallāma" (a very learned scholar).
