His words, Exalted is He:

and [by] the witness and the witnessed,

He said:

It has been said that the witness (shāhid) is the angel,^{1Designated for each soul.} just as He has also said, [and every soul will be accompanied by] a driver and a witness [50:21].^{2See above for Tustarī’s interpretation of this verse.} That which is borne witness to (mashhūd) is the Day of Resurrection, ⸢for that is a day that is [indeed] witnessed (wa dhālika yawmun mashhūdun).⸣^{3Added on the basis of all three MSS: Z515, f. 131a, F638, f. 64a and F3488, f. 313b.}

Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهم said, ‘The witness is Muḥammad ﷺ, and that which is witnessed is the Qurʾān.’ It has also been said that that which is witnessed is mankind. Sahl said:

The witness is the spiritual self (nafs al-rūḥ) and that which is witnessed is the natural self (nafs al-tabʿ), for the natural self, along with the understanding of the intellect (fahm al-ʿaql) and the discernment of the heart (fiṭnat al-qalb),^{4On this triad of terms, see above the commentary on 18:21; 19:61, 49:9 and IT, p. xl.} will each have their witness, while God is the ever-present Witness (al-Shahīd) over everything.

His words, Mighty and Majestic is He:

And He is the Most Forgiving, the Most Loving,

He said:

This means that He is the Most Forgiving (al-Ghafūr) towards sinners, and the Most Loving (al-Wadūd) in [His] forgiveness (maghfira). He makes Himself beloved and endearing to His servants through the abundance of blessings that He has granted them, [along with] His beautiful bounties (jamīl ālāʾihi) and beneficence (iḥsān).

His words, Exalted is He:

in a Preserved Tablet.^{1That which is in the Preserved Tablet (lawḥ maḥfūẓ) being here the Qurʾān, which is mentioned in the previous verse. See above 44:3 and p. 186, n. 1. On the Preserved Tablet see also IC, p. 5 and n. 22, and p. 27, n. 84.}

He said:

That which is preserved (maḥfūẓ) is the breast (ṣadr) of the believer. It [the Qurʾān] is protected from being reached by anyone who is not of its people (ahlihi),^{2Or perhaps this might be translated as ‘anyone who is not worthy of it.’} for the people of the Qurʾān are the people of God and His elite. But God knows best.