Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: “O Prophet, indeed We have sent you as a witness, a bringer of good news, and a warner”

To honor him and manifest his prophethood. His saying: combines for him the two descriptions of prophethood and messengership explicitly. Otherwise, if he were described by messengership alone, it would imply his description by prophethood, because every messenger is a prophet, but not every prophet is a messenger. However, combining the two descriptions is preferable by way of explicit text and specification. In the hadith of al-Bara' ibn Malik, regarding what is said in the dhikr at sleep, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) taught him that when he goes to his bed, he should say, among other things: When al-Bara' repeated it to him, he said: “I believe in Your Book which You revealed and in Your Messenger whom You sent” He said to him: Why? The scholars said: to combine for him the two descriptions of prophethood and messengership by way of specification, because the implication of messengership regarding prophethood is from the category of implied commitment, whereas the implication of prophethood regarding prophethood is from the category of explicit text and specification. This is from one angle. Another angle is that if he said “and Your Messenger whom You sent,” it would not be an explicit text regarding belief in Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), as it is possible that the intended meaning is the angelic messenger rather than the human messenger. Here he says: To combine for him the two descriptions of prophethood and messengership by way of specification and explicit text. But look at his saying: [Al-Ma'idah: 67] where he said: Then he said: because he is only commanding him to convey, and this befits messengership. He said: upon those to whom I sent you. The word is a state (hal) from the kaf in his saying: The term witness (shahid) is used for the one who informs and for the judge. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is a witness who informs and judges. He is an informer about Allah (Mighty and Majestic) with what He sent him with, and likewise an informer about those to whom he was sent regarding their acceptance or rejection. O servant of Allah, he is also a judge, for judgment belongs to Allah and His Messenger. The evidence that witness means judge is the saying of Allah the Exalted: [Yusuf 26:27]. Thus, witness means informer and judge. He is an informer about Allah and an informer about the servants of Allah. He is an informer about Allah with what He revealed to him, and an informer about the servants of Allah regarding acceptance or rejection. He is also a witness over the nations that preceded him in conveying the messages of the messengers and in the disbelief of their people toward them, as Allah the Exalted said: [Al-Baqarah: 143]. Thus, he is a witness with what Allah revealed to him, and he judges with it. He is a witness over those to whom he was sent, and a witness over the nations that preceded him. His saying: is conjoined to his saying:
The student: ...

The Shaykh : Meaning, and We sent you as a bringer of good news. The good news requires three things: the one who brings the good news, the one who is brought the good news, and what is brought as good news. Four things, and a cause that leads to what is brought as good news. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is the one who brings the good news. I said that the good news must have four things: the one who brings the good news, the one who is brought the good news, what is brought as good news, and a cause that leads to what is brought as good news. If the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is the one who brings the good news, then there must be those who are brought the good news, and they are those to whom he was sent and who followed him in what he called them to. And there must be what is brought as good news. What is it, O noble one?
The student: ...?

The Shaykh : No, no, Paradise is what is brought as good news. We have mentioned in these verses [Al-Ahzab: 47]. And there must be a cause that leads to what is brought as good news. What is it? Righteous deeds. Thus, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) clarified and conveyed the message to those who are brought the good news, and clarified what is brought as good news and what it contains of reward and types of bliss, and clarified the causes that lead to it, which are righteous deeds. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) left his community upon a clear white path, its night like its day, and none deviates from it except one who is destroyed. The warner is the one who came with the warning, which is information accompanied by threat, and it is called a warning. In the hadith of Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) regarding the description of the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) sermon: “He was like a warner of an army, saying: ‘Your morning and your evening’” His saying: We say in it what we said in It must have four things: the one who warns, the one who is warned, what is warned about, and causes that lead to it. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) brought all of these. What is the one who is warned? The community in general. What is warned about is the Fire, and its causes are evil deeds. The one who warns is the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) clarified all these matters. He clarified to all those who are warned and delivered the message to them, or delivered the trust. He also clarified what is warned about and the various punishments and painful torment within it.