The Third Final Trial

After the First and Second Trials

This trial is not the beginning of the case; rather, it begins where the two preceding trials ended.

In the first trial, the court asked: Where did the crime begin?

The case concluded with: the killing of the first brother, and complicity with Iblis in leading the human being astray.

Then came the second trial, which asked: Who is the allotted share, and what function does it perform?

The court reached its verdict: The first charge was established: the allotted share. The second charge was established: carrying out the project of leading astray, filling with wishes, commanding, and altering.

The court specified that those meant in this case are not the Children of Israel in general, but rather: the Jews—the specific group among the Children of Israel whom the Qur'an described through their actions and positions, and who called themselves Jews.

Thus, the third court does not reopen the previous judgments. The previous verdict stands.

But a question remained unanswered by the two trials: If the project was exposed, the share was exposed, and the function was exposed… who witnessed this?

Here the third trial begins.

The First Trial: Where Did the Crime Begin?

The Second Trial: The Case of the “Allotted Share”

Scene One: From Iblis to the Allotted Share

The judge returns to the origin of the case file. Iblis said:

﴿لَأَتَّخِذَنَّ مِنْ عِبَادِكَ نَصِيبًا مَّفْرُوضًا﴾ (I will surely take for myself an allotted share of Your servants.) [النساء: 118]

Then he disclosed the function of this share:

﴿وَلَأُضِلَّنَّهُمْ وَلَأُمَنِّيَنَّهُمْ وَلَآمُرَنَّهُمْ فَلَيُبَتِّكُنَّ آذَانَ الْأَنْعَامِ وَلَآمُرَنَّهُمْ فَلَيُغَيِّرُنَّ خَلْقَ اللَّهِ﴾ (And I will surely lead them astray, and I will surely fill them with wishes, and I will surely command them, and they will surely slit the ears of livestock; and I will surely command them, and they will surely change God's creation.) [النساء: 119]

But the court does not leap directly to the identity of the share; rather, it returns to the beginning of the sequence:

Iblis → Israel → the Children of Israel.

The Qur'an says:

﴿كُلُّ الطَّعَامِ كَانَ حِلًّا لِّبَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ إِلَّا مَا حَرَّمَ إِسْرَائِيلُ عَلَىٰ نَفْسِهِ مِن قَبْلِ أَن تُنَزَّلَ التَّوْرَاةُ﴾ (All food was lawful for the Children of Israel except what Israel forbade himself before the Torah was sent down.) [آل عمران: 93]

Then he says:

﴿وَمِن ذُرِّيَّةِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْرَائِيلَ﴾ (And from the descendants of Abraham and Israel.) [مريم: 58]

Israel is a singular name, whereas the Children of Israel are a group. The Qur'an places Israel in his context before the revelation of the Torah, and subsequently uses the expression the Children of Israel.

Thus, the court records the trajectory it will test: Iblis → Israel → the Children of Israel. But it does not turn this trajectory into an accusation based on descent; not all the Children of Israel stand accused.

Scene Two: From the Children of Israel to the Jews

The court moves from the name to the group described by the Qur'an.

﴿مِنَ الَّذِينَ هَادُوا يُحَرِّفُونَ الْكَلِمَ عَن مَّوَاضِعِهِ﴾ (Among those who became Jews are those who distort words from their proper places.) [النساء: 46]

﴿وَمِنَ الَّذِينَ هَادُوا سَمَّاعُونَ لِلْكَذِبِ… يُحَرِّفُونَ الْكَلِمَ مِن بَعْدِ مَوَاضِعِهِ﴾ (And among those who became Jews are avid listeners to falsehood… they distort words after they have been set in their proper places.) [المائدة: 41]

Then the name appears: the Jews.

But the Qur'an does not permit the Children of Israel to be made into a single undifferentiated body; rather, it says: ﴿لَيْسُوا سَوَاءً﴾ (They are not all alike), and says: ﴿مِنْهُمْ أُمَّةٌ مُقْتَصِدَةٌ﴾ (Among them is an ummah that follows a moderate course).

The court therefore records a fundamental rule: No accusation on the basis of descent.

The case is not: the Children of Israel = the accused. Rather, it concerns a specific group described by the Qur'an through actions, positions, and a function. This is the group that the second trial ultimately identified in this case: the Jews.

Scene Three: From the Share to the Function

The court opens another file:

﴿أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا نَصِيبًا مِّنَ الْكِتَابِ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْجِبْتِ وَالطَّاغُوتِ﴾ (Have you not seen those who were given a share of the Book, who believe in al-jibt and al-taghut?) [النساء: 51]

﴿لِمَ تَلْبِسُونَ الْحَقَّ بِالْبَاطِلِ وَتَكْتُمُونَ الْحَقَّ وَأَنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ﴾ (Why do you confound truth with falsehood and conceal the truth while you know?) [آل عمران: 71]

﴿وَإِنَّ مِنْهُمْ لَفَرِيقًا يَلْوُونَ أَلْسِنَتَهُم بِالْكِتَابِ لِتَحْسَبُوهُ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ وَمَا هُوَ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ﴾ (And indeed, among them is a group who twist their tongues with the Book so that you may think it is from the Book, though it is not from the Book.) [آل عمران: 78]

Here the court is not looking for an isolated word, but for a conjunction:

The share + the Book + concealing the truth + confounding truth with falsehood + twisting the Book + al-jibt and al-taghut.

Then it returns to: ﴿لَأَتَّخِذَنَّ مِنْ عِبَادِكَ نَصِيبًا مَّفْرُوضًا﴾ (I will surely take for myself an allotted share of Your servants).

Here the verdict was issued in the second trial: The Jews are the allotted share in this case. The third court does not reconsider this verdict, but asks: What is the nature of this share's work?

Scene Four: A General Project and a Specific Project

Here the court discovers that the Iblis file contains two distinct levels.

First: The General Project—Going Astray

Iblis said:

﴿لَأُغْوِيَنَّهُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ﴾ (I will surely cause them all to go astray.) [الحجر: 39]

The scope here is broad: all of them. The Qur'an reveals the instruments of this course, including:

﴿فَوَسْوَسَ لَهُمَا الشَّيْطَانُ﴾ (Then Satan whispered to them both.) [الأعراف: 20]

﴿وَشَارِكْهُمْ فِي الْأَمْوَالِ وَالْأَوْلَادِ﴾ (And share with them in wealth and children.) [الإسراء: 64]

﴿وَلَأُمَنِّيَنَّهُمْ﴾ (And I will surely fill them with wishes.) [النساء: 119]

﴿زُخْرُفَ الْقَوْلِ غُرُورًا﴾ (Embellished speech, as a deception.) [الأنعام: 112]

Thus, the court has before it a general project:

Going astray → whispering → making things appear alluring → filling with wishes → exerting influence.

It is a project that targets the human being on a broad scale.

Second: The Specific Project—Leading Astray and Altering

But the court finds another, more specific course:

﴿وَلَأُضِلَّنَّهُمْ وَلَأُمَنِّيَنَّهُمْ وَلَآمُرَنَّهُمْ…﴾ (And I will surely lead them astray, and I will surely fill them with wishes, and I will surely command them…) []

Here a different sequence emerges: leading astray → filling with wishes → commanding → altering.

The Qur'an itself says:

﴿رَبَّنَا أَرِنَا الَّذَيْنِ أَضَلَّانَا مِنَ الْجِنِّ وَالْإِنسِ﴾ (Our Lord, show us the two who led us astray from among the jinn and humankind.) [فصلت: 29]

The phrase that thus appears before the court is: those two who led us astray. Not: those two who caused us to go astray.

Here the court records the distinction revealed by Tadbur: going astray describes the condition of one who has fallen into error, whereas leading astray is an act performed by one who misleads another.

He said of Adam:

﴿وَعَصَىٰ آدَمُ رَبَّهُ فَغَوَىٰ﴾ (And Adam disobeyed his Lord and went astray.) [طه: 121]

And the people of the Fire said: ﴿الَّذَيْنِ أَضَلَّانَا مِنَ الْجِنِّ وَالْإِنسِ﴾ (The two who led us astray from among the jinn and humankind).

Thus, the question is not: Who went astray? Rather: Who led others astray?

Here the case moves from merely a human being who has fallen into deviation to a human being who assumes the function of influencing another's deviation. This is the specific course connected with the allotted share in this case.

Scene Five: Leading Astray Is Not the End of the Project

The court returns to the verse: ﴿وَلَأُضِلَّنَّهُمْ﴾ (And I will surely lead them astray). But it does not stop; rather: ﴿وَلَأُمَنِّيَنَّهُمْ﴾ (And I will surely fill them with wishes), then: ﴿وَلَآمُرَنَّهُمْ﴾ (And I will surely command them), then: ﴿فَلَيُبَتِّكُنَّ آذَانَ الْأَنْعَامِ﴾ (And they will surely slit the ears of livestock), then: ﴿فَلَيُغَيِّرُنَّ خَلْقَ اللَّهِ﴾ (And they will surely change God's creation).

Thus, the specific project is not merely leading astray. It is an integrated course:

Leading astray → filling with wishes → commanding → altering.

Here the importance of distinguishing between the two projects becomes clear: general seduction targets the human being, whereas the specific project seeks to bring the human being to the act of alteration.

Scene Six: What Is “God's Creation”?

The court reaches the most consequential word in the sequence:

﴿فَلَيُغَيِّرُنَّ خَلْقَ اللَّهِ﴾ (And they will surely change God's creation).

And the Qur'an says:

﴿اللَّهُ خَالِقُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ﴾ (God is the Creator of all things.) [الزمر: 62]

Creation is therefore not confined to the human being; it encompasses the heavens and the earth and what lies between them, human beings, animals, plants, and all other creation.

Thus the material level of alteration emerges. The Qur'an has provided a direct example: ﴿فَلَيُبَتِّكُنَّ آذَانَ الْأَنْعَامِ﴾ (And they will surely slit the ears of livestock).

In our age, issues such as genetic engineering, gene editing, cloning, and intervention in biological characteristics can be brought before this text to test the extent to which the concept applies to them.

But the court opens another door.

Scene Seven: Altering That by Which You See

The Qur'an says:

﴿فِطْرَتَ اللَّهِ الَّتِي فَطَرَ النَّاسَ عَلَيْهَا ۚ لَا تَبْدِيلَ لِخَلْقِ اللَّهِ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ الدِّينُ الْقَيِّمُ﴾ (The primordial disposition bestowed by God, upon which He fashioned people. There is no altering God's creation. That is the upright religion.) [الروم: 30]

Here a connection emerges: creation → primordial disposition → the human being → religion.

From here, the nonmaterial level of alteration can be tested: primordial disposition, thought, perception, knowledge, choice, religion, and the human being's relationship to time and meaning.

The formulation thus becomes: what you see may be altered, and that by which you see may be altered.

The alteration may occur in the created thing, or it may occur in the human being who receives, understands, perceives, and judges that thing.

Here the issue is no longer merely an alteration in form. Rather, the question becomes: can alteration extend to the human being as such, and to the way in which one sees and understands God's creation, truth, and religion?

This is the field of inquiry opened by the verse.

Scene Eight: A Witness from the Qur'an — al-Samiri

The court summons a witness from within the Qur'an: al-Samiri. Not because the Qur'an explicitly calls him “one who leads astray,” but because his account presents a model of an act that moved from the inner self to the community.

He said:

﴿بَصُرْتُ بِمَا لَمْ يَبْصُرُوا بِهِ﴾ (I perceived what they did not perceive.) []

Then:

﴿فَقَبَضْتُ قَبْضَةً مِّنْ أَثَرِ الرَّسُولِ فَنَبَذْتُهَا وَكَذَٰلِكَ سَوَّلَتْ لِي نَفْسِي﴾ (So I took a handful from the trace of the messenger and cast it away; thus my soul prompted me.) [طه: 96]

Then he made the calf:

﴿فَأَخْرَجَ لَهُمْ عِجْلًا جَسَدًا لَّهُ خُوَارٌ﴾ (Then he brought forth for them a calf, a body that lowed.) [طه: 88]

And he said: ﴿هَٰذَا إِلَٰهُكُمْ وَإِلَٰهُ مُوسَىٰ﴾ (This is your god and the god of Moses).

And Aaron says:

﴿يَا قَوْمِ إِنَّمَا فُتِنتُم بِهِ﴾ (O my people, you are only being tried through it.) [طه: 90]

Thus the court has before it a Qur'anic model:

Inward prompting → action → influence on the community → the community's trial.

The Qur'an need not name the agent as one who leads astray on every occasion; rather, it presents the act and its effects. Here the question returns: when does an individual's seduction become a function of leading others astray?

Scene Nine: The One Ummah

Having established the nature of the project, the court turns to the party that will bear witness to it.

﴿إِنَّ هَٰذِهِ أُمَّتُكُمْ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً وَأَنَا رَبُّكُمْ فَاعْبُدُونِ﴾ (Indeed, this ummah of yours is one ummah, and I am your Lord, so worship Me.) [الأنبياء: 92]

In its Qur'anic foundation, the ummah is not merely a name. It is one ummah, with a unifying foundation: one Lord and the worship of God.

Then he says:

﴿كُنْتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ وَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ﴾ (You are the best ummah brought forth for people: you enjoin what is right, forbid what is wrong, and believe in God.) [آل عمران: 110]

The court therefore records: brought forth for people. And it has a function: enjoining what is right, forbidding what is wrong, and believing in God.

The ummah, then, is not merely a community bearing a name. It has a function toward people. The question now is: does bearing witness belong to this function?

Scene Ten: From the Conveyance (balāgh) to Witnessing (shahāda)

The court returns to the Messenger.

﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الرَّسُولُ بَلِّغْ مَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِن رَّبِّكَ وَإِن لَّمْ تَفْعَلْ فَمَا بَلَّغْتَ رِسَالَتَهُ﴾ (O Messenger, convey what has been sent down to you from your Lord; if you do not, you will not have conveyed His message.) [المائدة: 67]

The conveyance (balāgh) is the Messenger's function. What God has sent down falls within the conveyance (balāgh). And the warning disclosed by the Qur'an is not outside the substance of what God has sent down.

Then comes the decisive verse:

﴿وَكَذَٰلِكَ جَعَلْنَاكُمْ أُمَّةً وَسَطًا لِّتَكُونُوا شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ وَيَكُونَ الرَّسُولُ عَلَيْكُمْ شَهِيدًا﴾ (And thus We have made you a middle ummah, so that you may be witnesses over people and the Messenger may be a witness over you.) [البقرة: 143]

Here the complete structure emerges:

The Messenger → the ummah → people.

The Messenger is a witness over the ummah, and the ummah are witnesses over people.

The verse did not stop at ﴿لِّتَكُونُوا شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ﴾ (so that you may be witnesses over people), but added: ﴿وَيَكُونَ الرَّسُولُ عَلَيْكُمْ شَهِيدًا﴾ (and the Messenger may be a witness over you).

Witnessing (shahāda) thus takes two directions: the Messenger over the ummah, and the ummah over people. Here the third trial begins in earnest.

Scene Eleven: What Comes after the Messenger?

The question is: does the function of witnessing (shahāda) end with the end of the Messenger's life?

The Qur'an did not assign witnessing (shahāda) over people to the Messenger alone; rather, it said to the ummah: ﴿لِّتَكُونُوا شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ﴾ (so that you may be witnesses over people).

The function of witnessing (shahāda) was thus assigned to the ummah itself. From here, the transfer of the function becomes apparent: the Messenger conveys and bears witness over the ummah, and the ummah bears witness over people.

This does not mean that the ummah holds the Messenger's station in prophethood or messengership; rather, it bears the function of witnessing (shahāda) that the Qur'an explicitly assigned to it.

The question therefore remains open: if the Messenger has conveyed… has the ummah fulfilled its witnessing (shahāda)?

Scene Twelve: Neither Collective Accusation nor Collective Exemption

Here the defense rises.

The Defense: The Inherited Legacy

It says: the ummah is not a single individual. Not every person is a scholar. Not every person is a decision-maker. Not every person is capable of research, elucidation, or change.

The court does not reject this defense; rather, it accepts it in principle, because the Qur'an itself distinguishes between people. But accepting this principle does not mean exempting everyone.

﴿كُونُوا قَوَّامِينَ بِالْقِسْطِ شُهَدَاءَ لِلَّهِ وَلَوْ عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِكُمْ﴾ (Stand firmly for justice as witnesses for God, even against yourselves.) [النساء: 135]

﴿وَلَا تَكْتُمُوا الشَّهَادَةَ﴾ (And do not conceal witnessing.) [البقرة: 283]

Thus there is no collective accusation before the court, but neither is there a collective exemption.

Every person participates in witnessing (shahāda) from their own position: through their knowledge, capacity, specialization, and position, and in proportion to the responsibility they have borne.

The scholar is not like the nonscholar, the researcher is not like the nonresearcher, the specialist is not like one who has no specialization, the decision-maker is not like one who has no power to decide, and one who has capacity is not like one who has none.

For this reason, the court does not ask: Why did everyone not do everything? Rather, it asks: What could this person have known? What could he have done? What was he responsible for? And did he discharge his witnessing (shahāda)?

Scene Thirteen: The Ummah's Witnessing (shahāda) Is Not a Title

The court returns to the beginning of this case file.

The general project: leading into error → the human being.

And the specific project: leading astray → filling with wishes → commanding → altering.

And the allotted share in this case: the Jews.

Then comes the ummah: ﴿لِّتَكُونُوا شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ﴾ (So that you may be witnesses over people).

Here the function of witnessing (shahāda) becomes clear. The ummah is not required merely to bear the name. Nor is witnessing (shahāda) a certificate of affiliation. Nor is witnessing (shahāda) the repetition of what it has been told.

Rather:

Seeing → knowledge → discernment → elucidation → witnessing (shahāda).

If there is leading astray, the witness asks about that leading astray. If there is filling with wishes, the witness asks about that filling with wishes. If there is commanding, the witness asks about that commanding. And if alteration appears, the witness asks about that alteration.

Not because the ummah stands accused of carrying out the project, but because it has been placed in the Qur'an in the position of witnessing (shahāda) over people.

Scene Fourteen: The Sequence of the Three Trials

The judge raises the three case files before him.

The First Trial

Where did the crime begin?

The finding: the killing of the first brother, and participation with Iblis in leading the human being astray.

The Second Trial

Who is the allotted share, and what is its function?

The finding: the Jews are the allotted share in this case.

And the function: leading astray → filling with wishes → commanding → altering.

It then became apparent that the project has two levels: a general project—leading into error; and a specific project—leading astray, filling with wishes, commanding, and altering.

The Third Trial

After the project has been exposed… who bears witness?

The answer comes:

﴿لِّتَكُونُوا شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ وَيَكُونَ الرَّسُولُ عَلَيْكُمْ شَهِيدًا﴾ (So that you may be witnesses over people and the Messenger may be a witness over you).

Thus the sequence is completed:

Iblis → Israel → the Children of Israel → those who became Jews → the Jews → the allotted share → the specific project → leading astray → filling with wishes → commanding → altering → the witnessing ummah → the human witness.

Here the case is no longer merely a matter of history, but becomes a matter of witnessing (shahāda).

⚖️ The Final Judgment

The Judge

Having heard the case file and the judgments delivered in the two preceding trials, the court does not reopen matters already adjudicated, but builds upon them.

The second trial established:

First: that the Jews are the allotted share in this case, and that they are the specific group among the Children of Israel whom the Qur'an described by their deeds and positions, and who called themselves Jews.

Second: that the function associated with this share is:

Leading astray → filling with wishes → commanding → altering.

It has also become clear to the court that the Qur'an presents two levels of Iblis's project: a general project of leading into error, targeting the human being on a broad scale; and a specific project of leading astray, filling with wishes, commanding, and altering, which leads to altering God's creation.

The court does not pass judgment on the Children of Israel as a whole, nor on every individual merely on grounds of lineage or name.

As for the ummah, the Qur'an has placed it in a clear position:

﴿لِّتَكُونُوا شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ﴾ (So that you may be witnesses over people).

And the Messenger:

﴿وَيَكُونَ الرَّسُولُ عَلَيْكُمْ شَهِيدًا﴾ (And the Messenger may be a witness over you).

Accordingly, the court rules:

Witnessing (shahāda) is a function, not a title.

Neither collective accusation nor collective exemption, but responsibility proportionate to knowledge, capacity, competence, position, and the responsibility a person has undertaken.

Therefore, the court does not ask a person: Why did you not do what you could not do? Rather, it asks him: What did you know? What were you capable of? What is your responsibility? And what did you do with your witnessing (shahāda)?

Then the judge looks at the case file and says:

The question of who the accused was has ended. The question of the share's function has ended. The question of the witness remains.

Then he raises the judgment:

The file is no longer before the court. It is now before the witness himself. Has he discharged his witnessing (shahāda)?

The court is adjourned.

The three trials have ended… and witnessing (shahāda) has begun.

Related Case Materials

The First Trial: The Sons of Adam and the Children of Israel

The Decisive Trial: The Case of the “Allotted Share”

After the Judgment: The Ummah's Witnessing (shahāda) over People

The Importance of the Discovery and the Danger of the Project