Yet some have maintained that what is intended here is bearing false testimony—that is, lying—but this requires reconsideration. The Exalted said:

“They do not witness falsehood” (al-Furqān 25:72),

and He did not say, “They do not bear false witness.” In Arabic usage one says, “I witnessed such-and-such,” meaning: I was present at it. Thus Ibn ʿAbbās said, “I witnessed the ʿĪd(1) with the Messenger of Allah, ﷺ,”(2) and ʿUmar said, “The spoils belong to whoever witnessed the engagement.”(3) Expressions of this sort are common in their speech. By contrast, “I witnessed with regard to such-and-such” means: I testified to it.

The interpretive approach of the aforementioned Successors is based on the fact that zūr refers to anything embellished and varnished so that it appears other than it really is. Hence the Prophet said, “Whoever pretends(4) to have been given what he has not been given is like one who wears two garments of falsehood.”(5) Such a person projects an air of greatness he does not actually possess, and the one who bears zūr likewise produces words that belie what is within. For this reason the early scholars sometimes defined zūr as whatever looks attractive outwardly—whether through a specious doubt or a carnal desire—while being ugly inwardly: shirk and similar practices appear fair because of doubtful arguments, whereas singing and the like seem pleasing because of desire.(6)