Āl ʿImrān 3:81-82

Wa idh akhadha'llāhu mīthāqa'n-nabiyyīna lamā ātaytukum min kitābin wa ḥikmatin thumma jāʾakum rasūlun muṣaddiqun limā maʿakum la-tuʾminunna bihī wa la-tanṣurunnah, qāla a-aqrartum wa akhadhtum ʿalā dhālikum iṣrī, qālū aqrarnā, qāla fa'shhadū wa ana maʿakum mina'sh-shāhidīn · Fa-man tawallā baʿda dhālika fa-ulāʾika humu'l-fāsiqūn

"God took this covenant from the prophets: 'I have given you a Book and wisdom; then, when a messenger comes to you confirming what is with you, you shall surely believe in him and you shall surely help him.' 'Do you affirm this, and do you take up My heavy charge on these terms?' He said. 'We affirm it', they said. 'Then bear witness; and I am with you among the witnesses', He said. · Whoever turns away after this — those are the ones who have gone out of the way."

The content of the pledge must be recorded, and it is tied to two verbs:

Both verbs come with the nūn of emphasis — in Arabic the most forceful binding form an utterance can take. That is, the pledge is not a loose intention but an undertaking taken in the heaviest pattern.

And the condition itself must be recorded: rasūlun muṣaddiqun limā maʿakum. The attribute of the messenger who comes: one who confirms what is with you. The same attribute was used of the Book in the third verse of the sūra: muṣaddiqan limā bayna yadayh. Two occurrences, one for the Book, one for the messenger. This is a repetition verifiable within the sūra.

The root أ-ص-ر: to bind, to hold fast; and a heavy load. Iṣr — both a bond and a burden hard to carry.

And both senses of the word are at work here at once: the pledge taken is both a bond and a burden. The word occurred at 2/286 in al-Baqara (wa lā taḥmil ʿalaynā iṣrā), and there it is the subject of a prayer. Here it is an obligation taken up.

Two occurrences, two directions. This is a fact verifiable from the text.

And the compact closes with a call to bear witness. And both sides of the witnessing are counted.

I record this as an observation about the word order: the verb ishhadū had occurred twice earlier in the sūra (52: the disciples; 64: to the other side). Now for a third time, and this time to the prophets. Three occurrences, three separate addressees:

Three occurrences, in a single sūra. This is a repetition verifiable within the sūra.

There is a disagreement in the grammar of the verse, and it is not to be concealed:

Both are transmitted, and different recitations are found in the variant readings; I impose no preference and give no reciter's name, because I cannot give one with certainty.