He interpreted the clear evidence as the Messenger and understood the witness to attest to his truthfulness. The witness, then, is Gabriel or someone else. Had he said, “The witness is the Quran, which bears witness for the believers, for it follows them just as they follow it,” he would have stated the correct interpretation.

He mentioned many views that others did not mention. Concerning “follows him,” he cited two interpretations: the first, “follows him”; and the second, “recites it.” Both are well-known interpretations. Concerning the pronoun in yatlūhu (“follows him/it”), he mentioned two views: that it refers to the Prophet, and that it refers to the Quran.

The correct analysis is that it refers either to “one who” or to the clear evidence. The clear evidence means the Quran, so the meaning would be that the witness is from the Quran. If the pronoun refers to “one who,” and this is understood to mean the Prophet alone, may Allah bless him and grant him peace—a view whose error has already been explained—then the pronoun refers to the clear evidence. If, however, “one who” encompasses every believer who stands upon clear evidence from his Lord—and Allah’s Messenger is foremost among the believers—then it includes them all.

What further clarifies this is that Allah’s Messenger brought the message from Allah, something unique to him. Yet affirming the truth of this message and believing in it is obligatory upon both humankind and jinn. The Messenger is the first obliged to believe in this message that Allah sent him