And He, glorified be He, judges, bears witness, gives rulings, relates accounts, gives glad tidings, and guides through His speech. He also describes His speech as judging, giving rulings, relating accounts, guiding, giving glad tidings, and warning, as He says:

“Say, ‘Allah gives you a ruling concerning them.’”

“Say, ‘Allah gives you a ruling concerning collateral inheritance.’”

And He says:

“Indeed, this Quran relates to the Children of Israel most of that over which they disagree.”

And He says:

“We relate to you the best of stories.”

And He says:

“Say, ‘Indeed, I stand upon clear evidence from my Lord, yet you have denied it. What you seek to hasten is not in my power. Judgment belongs to Allah alone. He relates the truth, and He is the best of judges.’”

And He says:

“Indeed, this Quran guides to that which is most upright.”

Likewise, He calls the Messenger a guide, saying:

“And indeed, you guide to a straight path.”

He also calls him a bearer of glad tidings and a warner, and calls the Quran a bearer of glad tidings and a warner. Likewise, since He bears witness in support of the Messenger and the believers through His speech which He sent down, and since His speech is a testimony from Him, His speech is a witness from Him, just as it judges, gives rulings, relates accounts, gives glad tidings, and warns.

When ‘Alī ibn Abī Tālib was told, “You have appointed a created being as arbiter,” he replied, “I have not appointed a created being as arbiter; I have appointed only the Quran as arbiter.” For the judgment delivered by the Quran is Allah’s judgment, and the testimony borne by the Quran is the testimony of Allah, the Almighty and Majestic.

‘Abd al-Rahmān ibn Zayd ibn Aslam said—he was a leading scholar and learned Quranic exegesis from his father, Zayd, who was a leading scholar in that field. Mālik and others learned exegesis from him, as did ‘Abd Allāh