Translation of the meanings Ayah 19 Surah Al-An‘ām - English Translation - Dr. Waleed Bleyhesh Omary - The Noble Qur'an Encyclopedia

Ayah: 19

قُلۡ أَيُّ شَيۡءٍ أَكۡبَرُ شَهَٰدَةٗۖ قُلِ ٱللَّهُۖ شَهِيدُۢ بَيۡنِي وَبَيۡنَكُمۡۚ وَأُوحِيَ إِلَيَّ هَٰذَا ٱلۡقُرۡءَانُ لِأُنذِرَكُم بِهِۦ وَمَنۢ بَلَغَۚ أَئِنَّكُمۡ لَتَشۡهَدُونَ أَنَّ مَعَ ٱللَّهِ ءَالِهَةً أُخۡرَىٰۚ قُل لَّآ أَشۡهَدُۚ قُلۡ إِنَّمَا هُوَ إِلَٰهٞ وَٰحِدٞ وَإِنَّنِي بَرِيٓءٞ مِّمَّا تُشۡرِكُونَ

(19) Say ˹Muhammad˺: “What thing is most weighty in testimony?”^[1326] Say: “Allah is a Witness between me and you. He revealed to me this Qur’an to warn you with it and whoever it reaches. Certainly you testify that there are other gods with Allah”. Say: “I ˹most certainly˺ do not testify ˹to this˺!” Say: “He is none but One God. I certainly denounce what you Associate ˹with Him˺”^[1327].

[1326] To prove the Truthfulness of Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ), God is evoked as Arbiter between him and his opponents (cf. Ibn ʿĀshūr). In Arab culture, this is a very solemn undertaking; building on a sort of a code of honour. That God’s Most Majestic Name, ‘Allah’, is specifically mentioned draws on the addressees’ belief that Allah is Most Supreme over all the gods whom they claimed they only worshipped to draw them nearer to Him (39: 3). He is the One by Whom they used to bind each other in their pledges, dealings and interactions (cf. 4:1). They owed all their exceptional privileges over and above the whole of Arabia, to their legitimacy as guardians of His holiest shrine, the Kaʿbah. So to evoke His Name in testimony is extremely serious, especially when it comes from the one person whom they used to call al-amīn (the honest), Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ). “˹Nay˺ But ˹in spite of the Deniers˺ Allah ˹Himself ˺ bears witness to what He sent down to you – He sent it with His Knowledge – and the angels bear witness ˹to it˺ too—sufficient is Allah ˹indeed˺ as Witness” (4: 166).
[1327] This is the testimony of monotheism: the ultimate declaration, that there is only One God worthy of worship, Allah (عز وجل).