Appearance
Verse 135
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُونُوا قَوَّامِينَ بِالْقِسْطِ شُهَدَاءَ لِلَّهِ وَلَوْ عَلَىٰ أَنْفُسِكُمْ أَوِ الْوَالِدَيْنِ وَالْأَقْرَبِينَ ۚ إِنْ يَكُنْ غَنِيًّا أَوْ فَقِيرًا فَاللَّهُ أَوْلَىٰ بِهِمَا ۖ فَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا الْهَوَىٰ أَنْ تَعْدِلُوا ۚ وَإِنْ تَلْوُوا أَوْ تُعْرِضُوا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرًا ١٣٥
(4:135) O you who believe! be maintainers of justice, bearers of witness for Allah’s sake, though it may be against your own selves or (your) parents or near relatives; if he be rich or poor, Allah is nearer to them both in compassion; therefore do not follow (your) low desires, lest you deviate; and if you swerve or turn aside, then surely Allah is aware of what you do.
al-Qist means ‘justice’. To stand with justice means to enforce it, to maintain it. Maintainers of justice are those who fully and perfectly establish justice without deviating from, or inclining against, it because of some low desire or sentiment, fear, or greed, or other such factors.
This virtue is the most perfect cause and nearest factor for following the truth and protecting it from getting lost. One of its corollaries is adherence to truth in giving evidence.
This verse has been revealed to describe the rule of evidence, but it has started with talk of justice, and then it proceeds to the rule of evidence. In other words, first a general ideal has been described and then it focuses on one of its aspects. It is as though it says: ‘You should be bearers of witness for God’s sake but it will be difficult for you unless you become maintainers of justice.’ So, you should be maintainers of justice in order to become bearers of witness for God’s sake.
The words, “bearers of witness for God’s sake”, show the purpose of the action; bear witness so that your witness should be for God, as God has said: And give testimony for Allah (). An evidence will be for the sake of God when it is given in truth for the sake of demonstrating the truth and reviving it, as is clear from the sentence: therefore do not follow (your) low desires, lest you deviate.
…though it may be against your ownselves or (your) parents or near relatives…: Even if the evidence goes against your own interest or against the interest of your parents or near relatives, it should not prompt you to alter the evidence or hide it. Giving evidence against oneself or against one’s parents or relatives means that the evidence, when given, will harm the testifier or his parents or relatives. It makes no difference whether the party which would suffer damage is the one against whom the evidence is given directly; for example, if there is a case between his father and someone else and he testifies against his own father; or the damage may reach them indirectly.
…If he be rich or poor, Allah is nearer to them both in compassion…: The dual pronoun of “them both” refers to “rich or poor” because the same person can be rich at one time and poor at another; thus the conjunction, ‘or’ brings the two alternatives together just for describing the situation. There is no plurality in actual fact. This is what has been described by some exegetes. The meaning: God is nearer to the rich in his wealth and to the poor in his poverty. What the verse emphasizes is that the wealth of the rich should not cause you to deviate from the truth and incline to him; nor should the poverty of the poor incite you to try to better his condition by twisting the truth in his favor. You should bear witness for the sake of God and then leave Him to look at the rich and the poor. He is nearer to them and more Merciful to their condition. It is a reflection of His Mercy that He has obliged you to follow the truth compulsorily and has enjoined you to maintain the justice; when the justice is maintained and the truth becomes manifest, then the humanity will enjoy felicity and it will strengthen the rich and improve the condition of the poor.
A rich or poor may benefit in one or two cases from an evidence which is twisted or hidden, but in the long run it makes the truth feeble and the justice dead. It gives life to oppression and strengthen to falsehood and injustice; and this is the incurable disease which destroys the humanity.
…therefore do not follow (your) low desires, lest you deviate…: There is a danger that you will deviate from truth and justice by following your low desire and by not giving the evidence for the sake of God. The words, “lest you deviate”, describe the reason of this order. It may also be translated as, do not follow your low desires to deviate from truth.
…and if you swerve or turn aside, then surely Allah is aware of what you do: Swerving with evidence means twisting it, and turning aside means not giving evidence and hiding it.
Some people have recited this sentence “wa in talū”; in that case, the meaning will be, if you are given responsibility of giving evidence and you fulfil it or turn aside; in both cases, surely God is aware of what you do and He will give you its recompense.
Examining Narrations
- Abū ʿAbdillāh has said, “A believer has seven rights on another believer. The most obligatory of them is that the man should tell truth, even if it goes against his own self or against his parents, he should not deviate from truth for their sake.” Then the Imām recited: therefore do not follow (your) low desires, lest you deviate, and if you swerve or turn aside, from the truth. (al-Tafsīr, al-Qummī)
Author’s comment: This tradition generalizes the meaning of evidence to include general truthfulness. al-Tabrisī says: It is said that the last phrase means: If you change the evidence or hide it; and he has said that it is narrated from Abū Jaʾfar.