51. Al-Shaheed الشهيد

Allah (SwT) has said,

“Is it not sufficient as regarding your Lord that He is Witness over all things?” (Qur’an, 41:53).

According to Mu’jam maqayees al lugha by Ibn Faris1, the topic of the verb shahida, saw, witnessed, or testified, indicates, linguistically, presence, knowledge, and the dissemination of such knowledge. The attribute ”ash-Shaheed” is derived from shuhood, [eye] witnesses, and it requires knowledge by observation: Allah (SwT) is ash-Shaheed because He is present and observes all beings whom

He has created and whom He will create at any time and in any place, and He is fully aware of such beings;”... and He is with you wherever you may be. “ Al-Shaheed is a superlative of al-Shahid, the Witness. In his work Taj al-’Aroos, al-Zubaidi has indicated that ash-Shaheed is one of Allah’s Attributes meaning:”the One Who is faithful in His witness and from whose knowledge nothing at all escapes. His knowledge is the very ultimate regarding all apparent matters, all things to observe and to witness. “ The Holy Qur’an states the following in Surah Ali-‎’Imran (the family of Imram):

“Allah bears witness that there is no god but He” (Qur’an, 3:18).

Al-Shahid knows and manifests the knowledge of what He knows to a select group from among His most sincere and loyal servants. Allah (SwT) has proven His being One through all what He has created. Al-Shaheed is ever-present; from His kingdom nothing at all can be absent; everything is included within the realm of His kingdom.

Addressing the Messenger, Allah (SwT) says the following in Surah al-Nisa’ (Women):

“... And We have sent you (O Muhammad!) to mankind as a prophet, and Allah suffices as Witness (to that)” (Qur’an, 4:79).

That is, Allah (SwT) suffices as Witness to all people regarding the truth of your message: He testifies that you are His Messenger who does not have full control over His servants. In Surah al-An’am, He says,

“Say: What is the weightiest in testimony? Say: Allah is Witness between you and me” (Qur’an, 6:19),

that is, were we to rephrase it, “Ask them: What is the greatest witness? Say: Allah (SwT) testifies with regard to you and to me. “ Allah (SwT) ordered His Messenger to ask the disbelievers, “Whose testimony is the greatest and the most accurate?” Then He ordered him to tell them that the greatest is the testimony of the One Whose statement does not permit any lying or erring. The testimony, that is, shahada, of the Almighty is of three types: 1) His own telling people in His Book that He has sent the Prophet as His Mes­senger; 2) His own support for His Messenger in numerous ways the greatest of which is the Holy Qur’an, which is the everlasting scholarly and rational miracle. It has been practically proven that all people put together are incapable of producing a chapter or a verse like it; 3) the testimony of previously revealed divine books and the fact that messengers before him had already brought the glad tidings of his Prophethood.

In Surah Younus, the Great Qur’an says,

“Allah, therefore, suffices as Witness between us and you that we were quite unaware of your worship (of us)” (Qur’an, 10:29).

It may be paraphrased thus: Allah (SwT) suffices as Witness, O polytheists, and as Judge between us and you, for He is fully knowledgeable of our condition and yours, and we were not happy with your own associating partners with Him.In Surah at-Tawbah, the Almighty says,

“... Allah and His Prophet will witness your deeds, then you shall be brought back to the One Who knows the unseen and the seen, then He will inform you of what you did” (Qur’an, 9:94),

that is, He knows what you hide or manifest, what you conceal or reveal.

The Almighty has repeated the phrase”‘Alim al ghayb wal shahada, “ the One Who knows the unseen and the seen, about ten times; among such references are the following:

... His is the kingdom on the Day when the trumpet is blown, [and He is] the One Who knows the unseen and the seen, and He is the Wise, the Aware. (Qur’an, 6:73)

The One Who knows the unseen and the seen, the Great, the Most High (is He). (Qur’an, 13:9)

The One Who knows the unseen and the seen, so may He be exalted above what they associate (with Him). (Qur’an, 23:92)

Such knows the unseen and the seen, the Mighty, the Merciful. (Qur’an, 32:6)

Say: O Allah! Originator of the heavens and the earth Who knows the unseen and the seen! You judge between Your servants as to that wherein they differ. (Qur’an, 39:46)

He is Allah, besides Whom there is no other god, the One Who knows the unseen and the seen; He is the Beneficent, the Merciful. (Qur’an, 59:22)

Say: (As for) the death from which you flee, it will surely overtake you, then you shall be sent back to the One Who knows the unseen and the seen, and He will (then) inform you of whatever you did. (Qur’an, 62:8)

The believing nation, the nation that believes in Muhammad as the Messenger of Allah, always remembers that its Lord, Allah, is the Witness over it, and it is also the nation of testimony in every field. Its Lord has said the following about it:”Thus have We made you a medium (just) nation so that you may be the bearers of witness to people, and so that the Messenger may be a bearer of witness to you” (Qur’an, 2:143).

• 1. He is”Abul-Husayn” Ahmed ibn Faris ibn Zakariyya ibn Muhammad Ibn Habib al-Qazvini ar-Razi, a linguist, actually an imam of language and literature. His exact date of birth is unknown, but he died in 395 A.H./1005-06 A.D. There is also disagreement about his homeland. He is said that he was from Qazwin (the Caspian Sea area). He stayed for a period of his life in Hamadan then moved to Ray (ancient Tehran) where he died and to which he is attributed. Yaqut al-Hamawi quotes Yahya ibn Mandah al-Isbahani narrating an incident about him in which he says that he sought knowledge of hadith in Baghdad. He is one of the most outstanding scholars who wrote in several arts in language, literature, oratory, usool (principles of jurisprudence) and exegesis. Among his works are: معجم مقاييس اللغه وهو من أشهر كتبه a concordance in linguistic scales which is his most famous work، الإتباع والمزاوجهAl-Ittiba’ wal Muzawaja، اختلاف النحويين Ikhtilaf al-Nahwiyyeen (grammarians’ dispute)، أخلاق النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم Akhlaq al- Nabiyy (manners of the Prophet)الإفراد، Al-Ifrad ، أمثلة الأسجاع،Al-AmaliالأماليAmthilat al-Asja’الانتصار لثعلب، Al-Intisar li Tha’lab,التاج ذكره ابن خير الأندلسيAt-Taj to which reference is made by Ibn Khayr al-Andalusi, تفسير أسماء النبي صلى الله عليه وسلمAn explanation of the Prophet’s names,تمام فصيح الكلامTamam Fasih al-Kalam, ، الثلاثه ذكره Al-Thalatha (the three) to which Brockleman refers,، جامع التأويل ـ كتاب في التفسير A compilation of interpretation of the Holy Qur’an,، الحجر Al-Hajar (the stone),حلية الفقهاءHilyat al-Fuqaha,الحماسة المحدثهAl-Hamasa al-Muhdatha, خلق الإنسان (في أعضاء الإنسان وصفاته) Khalq al-Insan (discusses man’s parts and characteristics),دارات العربDarat al-’Arab (famous Arab homes),ذخائر الكلماتDhakha’ir al-Kalimat,ذم الخطأ في الشعر Dhamm al-Khata’ fil Shi’r,ذم الغيبهDhamm al-Gheeba,رائع الدرر ورائق الزهر في أخبار خير البشر Ra’i’ ad-Durar wa Ra’iq al-Zahr fi Akhbar Khayril Bashar,سيرة النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم (وصفه ياقوت بأنه كتاب صغير الحجم) Biography of the Prophet (Yaqut al-Hamawi described it as a small book), عبد الملك بن رسالة الزهري إلىAl-Zuhri’s letter to Abdul-Malik ibn Marwan,،الشِيات والحلى ـ ليس كما يعتقد أنه الثياب والحلى Al-Shiyat wal Huli, الصاحبي (كتاب اشتهر به كتاب فقه اللغه) As-Sahibi (a book made famous by jurists of the language),، كفاية المتعلمين في اختلاف النحويين Kifayat al-Muta’allimeen fi Ikhtilaf an-Nahwiyyeen,، قصص النهار وسمر الليل Qasas an-Nahar wa Samar al-Layl، اليشكريات (منها جزء بالمكتبة الظاهريه) Al-Yashkuriyyat (some of them are at the ²ahiri Library [in Damascus]),مقالة كلا وماجاء منها في كتاب اللهMaqalat Kalla wama Ja’a Minha fi Kitab Allah,مختصر في المؤنث والمذكرMukhtasar fil Mu’annath wal Mudhakkar,مقدمة في النحو (ذكره ابن الأنباري)Muqaddima fil Nahu (mentioned by Ibn al-Anbari),المجمل وهو من أشهر كتبهAl-Majmal, one of his most famous books,اللامات (منه جزء بالمكتبة الظاهرية)Al-Lamat (a volume of it is at the ²ahiri Public Library),غريب إعراب القرآنGhareeb I’rab al-Qur’an,العم والخال (ذكره ياقوت الحموي) Al-‘Amm wal Khal (mentioned by Yaqut al-Hamawi,فتيا فقيه العربFitiyya Faqih al-Arab,الفرق (بسكون الراء) Al-Farq,الفريدة والخريدهAl-Farida wal Kharida,الليل والنهارAl-Layl wanna-Har، مأخذ العلم (ذكرهحجرفي المجمع) ابنMa’khath al-‘Ilm، متخير الألفاظ (بتشديد الياء وفتحها) Mutakhayyar al-Alfaz,مسائل في اللغهMasa’il fil Lugha، مقدمة في الفرائضMuqaddima fil Fara’idh,، النيروز (نسخته في مكتبة تيمور باشا مستنسخة من المكتبة الظاهريه)Al-Nayrooz,نعت الشعرأونقدالشعرNa’t al-Shi’r aw Naqd al-Shi’r. Many of these books have been in manuscript form for almost one thousand years. The Zahiriyya Public Library الظاهريهالمكتبة, by the way, to which reference is made above, was founded by the Mamluk sultan al-Zahir Baibars al-Bunduqdari in 676 A.H./1277 A.D. (compare this date with that of the founding of the Bodleian Library, the main research library of the Oxford University in England, of 1602…!). It is located at the Bab al-Bareed (Mail Gate) near the Umayyad Mosque in old Damascus. It used to have very precious references and a huge number of books and manuscripts, and it is regarded as one of the most important Arab public libraries. It was first a school. Its manuscripts and references have been moved to the Central National Library or the Assad Library which is regarded as one of the largest public libraries and the most important, containing thousands of classic references and rare manuscripts.