The Ocean of the Quran

A verse by verse explanation of The Ultimate Scripture

Al-Qiyāmah – Verse 14

بَلِ الإِنسانُ عَلىٰ نَفسِهِ بَصيرَةٌ

Rather, man is a witness to himself.

EXEGESIS

Baṣīrah (witness) is the verbal noun from the verb baṣara, meaning to see. The tāʾ marbūṭah is not a feminine marker but is added because it is the emphatic form of baṣīr, like ʿallāmah meaning ‘one who is very knowledgeable’.‎[1] The literal translation would be: man is one who sees himself very clearly.

This is the only verse in the Quran where baṣīrah is used in this sense. The word is found only in one other verse in the Quran, in Sūrat Yūsuf, where it is used in the more common sense of insight: Say: ‘This is my way. I summon to Allah with insight’ (12:108).

EXPOSITION

This verse is similar to other verses, such as: Read your book! Today your soul suffices as your own reckoner (17:14), and, Then a soul shall know what it has readied [for itself] (81:14). It dives into the heart of the surah’s main theme of how man has the capacity to be his own judge. Here God informs us that even though man is given a full accounting of what he has done and not done, the purpose of that is not to teach him something he did not know, but only to impress upon him the final proof and to make the argument against him complete. Man is quite aware of himself and knows what he has and has not done. The philosophy of this review is hence the same that is found in the other processes of accounting. For example, witnesses will be arrayed against him on that day, even though his book of deeds already includes a full record of his actions and misdeeds, and even though in truth no witness is required except the Lord Himself, and Allah suffices as a witness (4:79).

It is true that in this life we often forget many things that we have done, especially as time passes, or some people may even willingly or unwillingly distort their memories of certain events. This verse suggests that man will have his memories fully restored to him on that day, so that he will not be ignorant of anything he had done.

This verse is also an important reminder that God has given us the capacity of introspection. We should use that capacity now for self-improvement or risk a day of great regret. As is mentioned in the well-known hadith: ‘Take account of yourselves, before you are taken to account.’‎[2]

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

  1. From ʿUmar ibn Udhaynah, that he asked Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) in a letter: ‘How severe should an illness be to allow one to break the fast, or not to have to stand when praying?’ The Imam replied: ‘Rather, man is a witness to himself. That is up to him, he knows himself best.’‎[3]

Note: While this verse is speaking about the Day of Judgement, the true observation it makes about human nature can also have practical legal applications as well, as noted here by Imam al-Ṣādiq (a). Other applications have been mentioned by him (quoted below) and other scholars as well. For example, Ibn al-ʿArabī argues that it is evidence that a person’s testimony against themselves is to be accepted.‎[4] This verse is a good example why Muslim jurists cannot agree about the specific number of legal verses (āyāt al-aḥkām) in the Quran, since many verses can indirectly be applied to legal rulings as well.

  1. From ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Ḥajjāj, that: ‘I asked Abū ʿAbd-Allāh‎[5] about dozing off once or twice. He said: “I cannot know what is meant [exactly] by ‘dozing off once or twice’. Indeed, God says: Rather, man is a witness to himself. Ali (peace be upon him) used to say: ‘Whoever experiences the sensation of sleep while standing or sitting, then ablution becomes obligatory upon him.’”’‎[6]

Note: Like being too ill to fast, it is only a person himself who can understand the truth of his own inner state. The Imam cannot comment on whether or not someone actually fell asleep, but rather it is the person himself who is best suited to make such a judgement about himself.

  1. From ʿAbd-Allāh ibn Yaḥyā al-Kāhilī, that he told Imam al-Ṣādiq (a): ‘We visit a brother of ours in an orphanage wherein they have a manservant. We sit on their furniture, drink from their water, their servant serves us, and sometimes we eat food there brought by our friend, which includes some of their food. What do you think about this?’ He said: ‘If your visit brings them benefit, then there is no problem; but if it brings harm, then no.’ He then said: ‘Rather, man is a witness to himself; your own selves are not hidden from you. And God – mighty and glorious – has said: Allah knows the one who causes corruption from the one who brings about reform [2:220].’‎[7]

Note: The fact that man is a witness to himself is not only about a person’s physical state and well-being, but primarily a moral reality and declares that a person is aware of his own moral soundness or lack thereof. This is the function of nafs lawwāmah. If a person has a conscience and heart that still functions as it should, he will usually be able to understand if what he is doing is right or wrong. The inner voice of his conscience will inform him of that, although the wicked are so adept at ignoring that voice that it will eventually be completely muted; Indeed it is not the eyes that turn blind, but the hearts turn blind – those that are in the breasts! (22:46).

  1. ‘From Muhammad ibn Muslim, that Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said: ‘What use is it for one of you to display goodness outwardly while concealing evil within? Isn’t it the case that, when he looks back at himself, he knows it is not truly so? And God – exalted is He – says: Rather, man is a witness to himself. Indeed, when the hidden self is improved, the outward is strengthened.’‎[8]
  2. From ʿUmar ibn Yazīd, that Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) recited this verse,‎[9] then said: ‘What does a person achieve by making excuses to people for things about himself which God knows the opposite to be true? The Messenger of God (s) used to say: “Whoever conceals a secret version of himself, God will [eventually] clothe him with its garment; if it is good, then good, and if it is evil, then evil.”’‎[10]

Note: These reports apply the verse to a moral lesson that can be put to practical use: through introspection, man is able to be quite aware of himself. If he wishes true and lasting success in this world and the next, he should seek to improve himself and overcome the flaws that he is aware of, and in this way his social and material life will also be improved. If you want others to think good of you, simply be good and eventually they shall. As for the one who hides his wickedness, he should know that one cannot fool God or himself, and sooner or later he cannot fool anyone else either.

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

Many exegetes have understood this to mean that man’s own body parts will testify against him,‎[11] like in the verse, On the day when witness shall be given against them by their tongues, their hands, and their feet concerning what they used to do (24:24). Baṣīrah in this case would have to be understood as ‘evidence’, similar to its usage in the verse, You certainly know that no one has sent these [signs] except the Lord of the heavens and the earth as eye-openers (baṣāʾir) (17:102).‎[12] While there is nothing inherently wrong with this meaning, it does not fit the context as well; it is also not in line with the understanding of the verse implied in the reliable narrations from the Imam that we quoted earlier, in which the Imam has clearly and consistently applied the verse based on the meaning of man being aware of his own self, not in the sense of him being a witness against himself.

Rāzī has opined that the verse can intend how man may with his tongue claim some things to be good even though they are evil, while in his heart and with his sound reason he understands the reality and knows them to be wrong.‎[13] This is definitely common, but it is also often the case that a person’s ability to distinguish right from wrong becomes corrupted by his actions or society, and he sees nothing wrong with what he does, like someone the evil of whose conduct is presented as decorous to him, so he regards it as good (35:8).

INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS

  1. ‘Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, “Let me take the speck out of your eye,” when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?’‎[14]

Note: This passage of the Bible was reportedly quoted by Qatādah when he commented on this verse, adding: ‘If you willed, by God, you could see man well aware of the faults of others and their sins, but heedless of his own sins.’‎[15]

  1. ‘They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.’
  2. ‘If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and He knows everything.’‎[16] 
[1] See also Tibyan, 10/195. The exegetes have also suggested other grammatical explanations for the tāʾ marbūṭah.
[2] See for example Kafi, 8/143; Nahj, sermon 90; Wasail, 16/95, h. 21075; Amali.M, p. 274; Tirmidhi, 4/54, h. 2577.
[3] Kafi, 4/118; Istibsar, 2/114; Tahdhib, 3/177. Almost exactly the same is also reported via Zurārah, see Faqih, 2/132, h. 1941; Tabrisi, 10/599; Nur, 5/462.
[4] Ahkam, 4/1890.
[5] Imam al-Ṣādiq (a).
[6] Kafi, 3/37; Istibsar, 1/81; Tahdhib, 1/8.
[7] Kafi, 5/128; Nur, 5/463.
[8] Tabrisi, 10/598-599 (quoting the non-extant portion of Tafsīr al-ʿAyyāshī); Nur, 5/462; Kafi, 2/295.
[9] Considering the content of the report, it probably intends the next verse as well.
[10] Tabrisi, 10/599. With slight variation Kafi, 2/294, 296.
[11] See for example Tabrisi, 10/599; Tabari, 29/115. This opinion has been attributed to Ibn Abbas and others. Thaʿlabī quotes the opinion of Qabasī that this is why baṣīrah is feminine, as it is connected to jawāriḥ (body parts).
[12] Related in Mizan, 20/106-107.
[13] Razi, 30/726.
[14] Matthew 7:3-5.
[15] Tabari, 29/115.
[16] 1 John 3:20.