3وَشاهِدٍ وَمَشهودٍAli UnalAnd by the one who witnesses and that which is witnessed.1The verses that follow are concerned with the persecutions carried out against the believers, and the end that awaits the persecutors, as well as the reward that the persecuted believers will receive. So, by swearing by the heaven with constellations, God suggests that, as stated in 15: 16–18, just as the devils attempting to ascend the heaven are repulsed from it, so too will the devilish people persecuting the believers ultimately be repulsed and receive their due on the Promised Day (of Judgment). So, the phrase, one who witnesses, refers to the believers and the Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, in particular: i.e., those who witness the evil deeds of the wrongdoing unbelievers and who will witness their trial and punishment on the Judgment Day. The phrase, that which is witnessed, means the persecutions the believers suffer and those who carry them out, and the punishment dealt to the persecutors in the Hereafter.