Surah 2:143
"In this way We have made you a community (in the) middle, so that you may be witnesses over the people, and that the messenger may be a witness over you. And We established the direction (of prayer) which you were (facing) toward only so that We might know the one who would follow the messenger from the one who would turn back on his heels. Surely it was hard indeed, except for those whom God guided. But God was not one to let your belief go to waste. Surely God is indeed kind (and) compassionate with the people."
Witnesses on the Day of Judgment
Supporting Verses
Surah 4:159 → "Yet (there is) not one of the People of the Book except that he will indeed believe in it before his death, and on the Day of Resurrection he will be a witness against them."
Surah 4:41 → "How (will it be) when We bring from each community a witness, and bring you as a witness against them (all)?"
Opposing Verses
Surah 5:109 → "On the Day when God gathers the messengers, He will say, ‘What response were you given?’ They will say, ‘We have no knowledge. Surely You – You are the Knower of the unseen.’"
Surah 5:116 → "(Remember) when God said, ‘Jesus, son of Mary! Did you say to the people, “Take me and my mother as two gods instead of God (alone)”?’ He said, ‘Glory to You! It is not for me to say what I have no right (to say). If I had said it, You would have known it. You know what is within me, but I do not know what is within You. Surely You – You are the Knower of the unseen."
Surah 5:117 → "I only said to them what You commanded me: “Serve God, my Lord and your Lord!” And I was a witness over them as long as I was among them. But when You took me, You became the Watcher over them. You are a Witness over everything."
Who will bear witness on the Day of Judgment? Some verses state that messengers will have no knowledge of their peoples' actions and that God alone is the witness, while other verses state that the messengers and the believers will act as witnesses against the people.