فَلا يَحزُنكَ قَولُهُم ۘ إِنّا نَعلَمُ ما يُسِرّونَ وَما يُعلِنونَ
So do not let their remarks grieve you. We indeed know whatever they hide and whatever they disclose.
EXPOSITION
Denial of the truth is always a saddening and upsetting situation, especially if it is done by your closest friends, relatives, and loved ones. For the Holy Prophet however, it was not only the denials that hurt but the remarks and accusations which were levied against him.
Do not let their remarks grieve you is an expression by which God is consoling the Prophet and strengthening his spirit against many difficult challenges, stubbornness, evil plots, and false accusations in public and private, calling him a poet, a sorcerer, and insane. This verse can be an address to the believers and the righteous ones as well who go through similar circumstances. Hence, God would not abandon His righteous servants and leave them alone to face wickedness; He would indeed comfort them and support them.
As is observed nowadays, there are different types of idols, false gods, and arrogant powers in the east and the west of this world, and they have their worshippers. In between them, the righteous who resist these evil and wicked forces have to endure insults, mockery, humiliations, and hegemonies. The Quran mentions that these false gods and powers cannot help them, and they are a host brought up before them. Hence, it addresses the Prophet and all those who truly follow in his steps, and are annoyed and grieved by those oppressive worshippers of contemporary false gods: do not let their remarks grieve you. We indeed know whatever they hide and whatever they disclose.
We indeed know whatever they hide and whatever they disclose implies that if God knows it, He is able to deal with it. Thus, this is a consolation for the Prophet, reassuring him that they do not say or plot anything openly or secretly unless God is aware of it and will take care of it.
INSIGHTS FROM HADITH
- Imam Ali (a) said: ‘Reflect upon the condition of the believers who passed before you. How did they deal with the suffering and difficulties they faced? Were they not the most over-burdened among all the creations, with the most stressful circumstances among the people, and under the harshest conditions among the habitants of this world?! The rulers enslaved them, inflicted the worst punishments upon them, and made them suffer the bitterness of torture. They continuously remained in this state of disastrous disgrace and compulsion of subjugation. They could neither find a method of prevention nor a way of protection. Until God decreed their severe patience upon suffering for His love and bearing distresses in His fear, He provided them with relief from the toughness of the sorrows. So, He replaced their disgrace with honour and fear with security.’
- ʿAbd-Allāh ibn Jaʿfar ibn Abū Ṭālib said: ‘When Abū Ṭālib died, the Prophet (s) walked to Taif to invite [the people of Taif] to Islam, but they did not respond to him; [instead they mocked him and stoned him until his feet bled], so he left and came under the shade of a tree, offered two units of prayer, and thereafter he said: “O Allah! To you I complain about the weakness of my strength, the lack of my capabilities, and the people humiliating me. O the Most Merciful of those who are merciful, have Your mercy upon me. Upon whom are You are making me dependant? Upon a distant enemy who receives me with hostility? Or upon a close person You have empowered over me? But, as long as You are not displeased with me, I do not care. However, Your pardon is more vast for me. I seek refuge in the light of Your face that [gave light to the heavens and] illuminated every darkness, and that managed every affair of this world and the hereafter, against the descent of Your displeasure upon me, and the placement of Your wrath over me. I plea for Your pleasure until You are pleased, and there is no aptitude and strength without You.”’
Note: This supplication indicates the intensity of his pain and patience upon this event; it has been narrated that the behaviour of the people of Taif was the most painful event in his life.
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
There are three probabilities for the words hide and disclose; the first is what the hypocrites hide through their hypocrisy and what the polytheists disclose from their polytheism. The next probability is that they hide the awareness and knowledge about the Prophet being a faithful and truthful messenger, and they disclose their rejection and denial to him. The third probability is that they conceal their corrupt beliefs and disclose their immoral actions.
INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS
- For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
- If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god, would not God have discovered it since he knows the secrets of the heart?
- I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love, we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail … You have seen the depth of their vengeance, all their plots against me. Lord, you have heard their insults, all their plots against me – what my enemies whisper and mutter against me all day long. Look at them! Sitting or standing, they mock me in their songs.
[1] Amthal, 14/242.
[2] Amthal, 14/242.
[3] Amthal, 14/243.
[4] Nahj, sermon 192.
[5] Some versions do not contain this line.
[6] Bihar, 91/226.
[7] Ibn ʿAsākir, Tārīkh Damishq, < https://lib.eshia.ir/40314/49/152 >, 49/152.
[8] Razi, 26/107.
[9] Hebrews 4:12-13.
[10] Psalms 44:20-21.
[11] Lamentation 3:19-26, 32-33, 46, 52-63.