أَلَم تَرَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَعلَمُ ما فِي السَّماواتِ وَما فِي الأَرضِ ۖ ما يَكونُ مِن نَجوىٰ ثَلاثَةٍ إِلّا هُوَ رابِعُهُم وَلا خَمسَةٍ إِلّا هُوَ سادِسُهُم وَلا أَدنىٰ مِن ذٰلِكَ وَلا أَكثَرَ إِلّا هُوَ مَعَهُم أَينَ ما كانوا ۖ ثُمَّ يُنَبِّئُهُم بِما عَمِلوا يَومَ القِيامَةِ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بِكُلِّ شَيءٍ عَليمٌ
Have you not regarded that Allah knows whatever there is in the heavens and whatever there is in the earth? There is no secret talk among three, but He is their fourth [companion], nor among five but He is their sixth, nor less than that, nor more, but He is with them wherever they may be. Then He will inform them about what they have done on the Day of Resurrection. Indeed Allah has knowledge of all things.
EXEGESIS
The term najwā is a verbal noun and means carrying on a whispered conversation, conversing or conferring intimately and confidentially, secret conversation, and exchanging secrets. It is derived from the noun najwah. Both share the same root letters, n-j-w. The latter noun means elevation from the ground, upland, rising ground. The relationship between the two is that najwā happens when one raises something such as a message to the (ear, mind or heart of the) other such that others, not supposed to be privy to it, do not know of it, and it therefore becomes like an elevated ground beyond the reach of others. Another word that shares the same root letters with najwā and najwah is najāh, which means deliverance, rescue, and salvation. It is also derived from najwah and the relation between the two is that najāh implies the raising or elevation of the thing rescued from affliction, adversity, and destruction.
EXPOSITION
This verse begins with a question: Have you not regarded that Allah knows whatever there is in the heavens and whatever there is in the earth? This is a reference to each and every thing that can be known, and it is in a rhetorical style which aims to convey censure and disapproval (by the speaker) coupled with surprise in respect of a deed by the addressee, which is not befitting him/her. In this case it refers to the act of secret counsels and conversations specifically negated in verses 8 and 10. The phrase Have you not regarded metaphorically means certain, definite knowledge, and therefore means: Do you not certainly and definitely know …? Although this address is to the Prophet, those intended by it are the generality of the people, especially those rebuked in verses 8 and 10.
The beginning part of this verse is explained by the subsequent part, which is, There is no secret talk among three, but He is their fourth [companion], nor among five but He is their sixth, nor less than that, nor more, but He is with them wherever they may be. The third person singular personal pronoun huwa (he) that recurs in this verse refers to God, the glorified, while Him being the fourth of three secret conferrers and the sixth of five secret conferrers and Him being present with them wherever they may be and whatever their number, whether less than the number mentioned or more, in the course of engaging in a secret conference, means that God is present and participating in knowledge with those who engage in whispered, secret conversations, and what they secretly confide in each other. This is corroborated by the opening and terminal statements of this verse, two statements which encompass this narrative; these two statements are the interrogative statement at the beginning of this verse, Have you not regarded that Allah knows whatever there is in the heavens and whatever there is in the earth?, and the emphatic statement at its end, Indeed Allah has knowledge of all things. Thus nothing is hidden from Him since Allah knows whatever there is in the heavens and whatever there is in the earth and He is with them wherever they may be and Indeed Allah has knowledge of all things, as if He is with them like a spectator or an observer and everything is manifest to Him with complete clarity akin to one who is with the human being in one place and sees the human being clearly.
God being the fourth of three and the sixth of five does not mean a similarity or identicalness with the secret conferrers in completing the number, and this is because God the glorified is far beyond corporeality and free from materiality. Rather, it means Him knowing, being aware, and being fully acquainted with what they secretly confer, not that He is with them in terms of body like another human being.
Nor less than that, nor more: nor less than what is mentioned of number nor more than what is mentioned of number. Thus by means of these two words – less and more – the narrative encompasses all possible numbers of secret conferrers. If less than that then less than three would be two, for a secret conversation can only take place with two people and more, while less than five would be four; and as for more, then more than five would be six and beyond that number. Moreover, from the delicate and graceful style of this verse is the arrangement of the numbers three, four, five, and six in it without repetition. Thus the verse did not say ‘nowhere is there a secret counsel between three persons but He is the fourth of them, nor between four but He is the fifth of them’, and so on.
The terminal part of this verse says, Then He will inform them about what they have done on the Day of Resurrection, which means God shall inform them of the reality of what they had done of deeds, which includes their secret conversations. This is a natural concomitance of one who is described as knowing whatever is in the heavens and the earth and one who is present anywhere a secret conference takes place, and this is because He has safeguarded their deeds big and small (verse 6). This is while the part of this verse that says Indeed Allah has knowledge of all things serves as a justifying explanation for the part of the verse that says Then He will inform them about what they have done on the Day of Resurrection, and an affirmation of what has been mentioned previously regarding His knowledge of whatever is in the heavens and in the earth and Him being present with the secret conferrers.
Finally, this verse is befitting as a preliminary to the content of the following verses, paving the way for them, while its terminal part consists of a severely threatening tone relating to what occurs in the succeeding verses of censure and warning. It is also possible that this verse serves as a warning to some hypocrites and weak-faith Muslims who were whispering secretly about the new ruling on ẓihār.
Before moving on to the next verse it is worthwhile to appreciate how this verse explicitly invokes the concept of God’s omniscience and omnipresence mentioned in the previous verses, while this verse repeats almost verbatim what was mentioned in verse 6 of God informing the evildoers of their evil deeds and its consequences on the Day of Resurrection. It also reflects 57:3. Many verses in the Quran invoke God’s omniscience in terms similar to the initial part of this verse, such as 35:38, 25:6, 64:4, 49:18, 6:3, 2:33, 18:26, 16:77, 11:123, and 21:4. It is also necessary to appreciate that the beginning and terminal parts of this verse indicate that God’s omniscience goes beyond the issue of secret conversations, where the latter is mentioned as one relevant example only.
INSIGHTS FROM HADITH
- It is related from Imam al-Ṣādiq (a): ‘Moreover, He [God] is named as One who is all-hearing (samīʿ) due to the fact that … There is no secret talk among three, but He is their fourth [companion], nor among five but He is their sixth, nor less than that, nor more, but He is with them wherever they may be … He hears the whispered conversation, the crawling of the ants in alignment, the flapping and pulsating of the wings of the bird in the air. Nothing is hidden from Him; neither that which the hearing and the sight realise nor that which the hearing and sight fail to realise, neither greater than that nor subtler, neither smaller than that nor bigger.’
- The Christian archbishop asked Imam Ali (a): ‘Tell me about God, where is He?’ Imam Ali (a) answered: ‘He is over here and over there, above and below, encompassing us and with us, which is the meaning of God’s speech … There is no secret talk among three, but He is their fourth [companion], nor among five but He is their sixth, nor less than that, nor more, but He is with them wherever they may be.’
- Imam Ali (a) said: ‘He is with everything but not by comparison, and He is other than everything but not by separation.’
- Mufīd cites the following report in his Kitāb al-Irshād, that a Jewish rabbi came to Abū Bakr and asked him: ‘Are you the successor (khalīfah) of the Prophet of this community?’ Abū Bakr replied in the affirmative, whereupon the rabbi said: ‘We find in the Torah that the successors (khulafāʾ) of prophets are the most knowledgeable of their communities, so tell me about God, the exalted. Where is He? Is He in heaven or on earth?’ Abū Bakr answered: ‘He is in heaven on the Throne.’ On receiving this reply, the rabbi said: ‘Then in that case I should consider the earth to be devoid of Him and I should consider, according to your statement, that He is in one place and not in another!’ Abū Bakr exclaimed: ‘That is the doctrine of atheists,’ and he said: ‘Get away from me or I will kill you!’ The rabbi turned away in amazement and mockery at Islam. Imam Ali (a) met him and said to him: ‘Jew, I know what you asked and what answer you got. We say to you that God created and determined “the where” and so there is no “where” for Him. He is far above having a place contain Him. He is in every place, without contact with anything and without being next to anything. He encompasses in knowledge of what is there and nothing of it is beyond His management and administration. What I am telling you is written in one of your own books, which attests to the truth of what I have told you. If you know it, will you believe in it?’ The Jew replied in the affirmative. The Imam said: ‘Do you not find in one of your books that Moses, the son of ʿImrān, was seated one day when an angel came to him from the east. Moses asked him: “From where have you come?” It answered: “From God.” Then an angel came to him from the west. He asked him: “From where have you come?” It answered: “From God.” Then another angel came to him and said: “I have come to you from the seventh heaven, from God.” Another angel came to him and said: “I have come to you from the lowest firmament, from God.” Thereupon Moses said: “May God be praised, no place is without Him and He is not nearer to one place than another.”’ The Jew replied: ‘I testify that this is the truth and you have more right to [occupy] the place of your Prophet than the one who has control over it.’
- Imam al-Kāẓim (a) said: ‘Indeed, God the blessed and exalted was, without time and place, and He is now just as He was. No place is devoid of Him nor does any place occupy Him and … There is no secret talk among three, but He is their fourth [companion], nor among five but He is their sixth, nor less than that, nor more, but He is with them wherever they may be … No curtain exists between Him and His creation save [the curtain of] His creation. He veiled Himself without a hidden curtain and He hid himself without a hidden screen. There is no God except Him, the great, the transcendent.’
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
An alternative understanding of this verse is that not only is the address in this verse made to the Prophet, but he is also the one intended by it and not the generality of the people; however, he is not intended by it in the manner of a rebuke but in the manner of consolation and comfort. The context is still the same, which is that a group of people had gathered together to engage in malicious and malignant secret conversations against the Prophet and his followers, probably regarding the new ruling on ẓihār. These are the ones rebuked and censured in verses 8 and 10. Hence, this verse attempts to comfort the Prophet and to raise his morale by saying: O Muhammad, let not the vile and hurtful speech of such people, and their secret, malignant gatherings against you and against your followers, cause you disquiet and worry. Indeed, why would you allow their vicious talk to affect you when you are certain that God knows the secrets hidden deep in the consciences of people, and when you know He knows the secret conversations of those who engage in such acts, whatever their number? Further, you know that God shall resurrect and gather them together on the Day of Judgement and shall take them to task for what they used to say and do.
Some commentators have conjectured as to why the numbers three and five are specifically mentioned in the verse and not other numbers. They have given several explanations, but one plausible explanation is that a consideration of this and the next three verses (8-10) suggests that these verses descended in response to a phenomenon occurring at that time, which was that of a group of people gathering together to secretly confer maliciously against the Prophet and the Muslims, which displeased God. Thus it is possible, some commentators conjecture, that the numbers three and five reflect a historical reality, which is that a gathering of exactly these numbers used to occur, and the revelation descended in response. In light of this, what is attributed to Ibn Abbas regarding the occasion of revelation of this verse is probably unlikely. He is attributed to have narrated that this verse descended regarding three individuals, Rabīʿah, Ḥabīb, and Ṣafwān, who were having a conversation with each other. One of them asked: ‘Does God know what we are talking about?’ One of the other two responded: ‘He knows a part of it and doesn’t know another part of it,’ whereupon the third commented: ‘If He knows a part of it then He knows all of it,’ which is when this verse descended and made known that God is present at every conversation and at every place on the face of this earth and in the heavens. Thus this revelation occurred so that the error of the unaware could be corrected and clarified. The reason it is unlikely this incident precipitated the revelation of this verse is that the incident is devoid of any malice against the Prophet and the Muslims while the context of this and the next three verses suggests that was what the secret conversations entailed; it appears that these three individuals were having a harmless conversation regarding a theological topic and trying to make sense of it.
INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS
- For where two or three meet in my name, I am there among them.
[1] Tabrisi.J, 4/258; Mizan, 19/184; Arabic-English Dictionary of Quranic Usage, p. 921.
[2] Tibyan, 9/548; Tabrisi, 9/375.
[3] Tibyan, 9/548; Tabrisi, 9/375; Razi, 29/489.
[4] Tibyan, 9/548; Tabrisi, 9/375; Razi, 29/489.
[5] Tabrisi, 9/375; Razi, 29/489.
[6] Razi, 29/490.
[7] Arabic-English Dictionary of Quranic Usage, p. 920.
[8] Tibyan, 9/548.
[9] Tibyan, 9/548; Tabrisi, 9/375.
[10] Mizan, 19/184; Tabrisi, 9/375.
[11] Mizan, 19/184; Tibyan, 9/546; Tabrisi, 9/375; Razi, 29/489.
[12] Tibyan, 9/546; Tabrisi, 9/375-376.
[13] Munyah, 28/59.
[14] Mizan, 19/184.
[15] Tibyan, 9/546; Tabrisi.J, 4/258.
[16] Mizan, 19/184; Tabrisi.J, 4/258.
[17] Mizan, 19/184; Tabrisi.J, 4/258.
[18] Mizan, 19/184; Tabrisi.J, 4/258.
[19] Tibyan, 9/548; Kashif, 7/267.
[20] Mizan, 19/184; Tabrisi.J, 4/258.
[21] Mizan, 19/184; Munyah, 28/60.
[22] Munyah, 28/60.
[23] Mizan, 19/185.
[24] Bihar, 3/194.
[25] Kafi, 1/30, h. 1.
[26] Daqaiq, 13/130.
[27] Kitab al-Irshad: The Book of Guidance, pp. 145-146.
[28] Furqan, 28/201.
[29] Kashif, 7/269.
[30] Furqan, 28/201; Baydawi, 2/460; Daqaiq, 13/129.
[31] Razi, 29/490.
[32] Matthew 18:20.