The expressions “So-and-so bore witness” and “I called him to witness” may refer either to witnessing a matter or to giving testimony. An example of the first is His statement:

“Retain them honorably or part with them honorably, and call two just men from among you to witness.”

An example of the second is His statement:

“Stand firmly for justice as witnesses for Allah, even against yourselves.”

His words, “And He made them testify concerning themselves,” belong to this second category. They do not mean that He made them witness something concerning themselves so that they might testify to it later. For in such cases, He, glorified be He, calls someone else to bear witness against a person—as in the account of Adam, when He called the angels to bear witness against him, and as with the testimony of the angels and the testimony of people’s limbs against them. Some commentators, having understood it this way, said: “What is meant is that He made them bear witness against one another.”

Yet wherever this expression occurs in the Quran, it means a person’s testimony against himself—that is, his giving testimony against himself, which is his own admission. Testimony here is thus a statement.

Their words, “Yes, we bear witness,” are their acknowledgment that He is their Lord. Whoever states something about himself has thereby testified to it against himself. Hence He says in the verse:

“And He made them testify concerning themselves: ‘Am I not your Lord?’ They said, ‘Yes.’”

Their answer, “Yes,” means: “You are our Lord.” This is an acknowledgment of His lordship over them, and this acknowledgment is