They worship Him as He deserves to be worshipped and stand in awe of Him, whereas most of those people neither fear Allah nor believe in Him at all. Instead, they reject Him outright and claim that the universe has no Lord—that nature alone brings it into being and governs it, just as the communists maintain. They deny the Lord even though they possess worldly knowledge; how, then, can anyone call such individuals “the people of knowledge”?

That is a grave mistake. The term “knowledge” applies only to its rightful possessors. It is an honored title that is never bestowed upon atheists and unbelievers by saying, “These are the people of knowledge.”

The angels and the scholars have borne witness to Allah’s oneness; therefore, the words of others—atheists, polytheists, or the Sabians who disbelieve in Allah—carry no weight whatsoever. Neither they nor their statements are worthy of consideration, for they contradict the testimony of Allah, of His angels, and of the learned among His creation.

As for His words qāʾiman bil-qisṭ (“upholding justice”), the phrase is an adverbial accusative modifying “bore witness,” meaning “while He Himself is upholding justice.” Al-qisṭ means justice; in other words, Allah upholds justice in everything.