فَلا أُقسِمُ بِما تُبصِرونَ
وَما لا تُبصِرونَ
No indeed! I swear by what you see
and what you do not see.
EXEGESIS
Tubṣirūn (you see) in verses 38 and 39 is derived from the afʿala–yufʿilu (fourth) form of the verb baṣara (to see), whose verbal infinitive baṣīrah not only suggests to see but also to realise, understand, comprehend, and grasp. Unlike other terms like naẓar (to look), baṣīrah carries the meaning of looking with knowledge and insight. It implies perspicacity, discernment, perception, and even enlightenment. It is the opposite of an empty looking that is heedless and devoid of instruction-taking (7:198, 10:43). God is always described as all-seeing with the divine attribute al-baṣīr (2:110, 17:1, 22:61, 35:31, 40:20, 40:44, 42:11, 58:1, 67:19, etc.).
A blind man may be called Abū Baṣīr to show respect and to indicate that although he is blind of physical eyes, he is nonetheless endowed with mental perception. It may also be used in praise of one who is skilful, possessing understanding and intelligence.
At times, baṣīrah as mental perception is contrasted with mere baṣar as physical perception and looking, such as the expression: ʿamā al-abṣār ahwanu min ʿamā al-baṣāʾir (blindness of the eyes is easier (to bear) than the blindness of the perceptive faculties of the mind). And when Muʿāwiyah ibn Abī Sufyān said to Ibn Abbas: ‘O sons of Hāshim, you are afflicted in your eyes (abṣārikum),’ the latter is said to have replied: ‘And you, O sons of Umayyah, are afflicted in your perceptive faculties of the mind (baṣāʾirikum).’
The Arabs say, ʿamā allāhu baṣāʾirahu (may God blind his faculties of understanding!) as well as the expression, amā laka baṣīratun fī-hi (is there not for you an example in him whereby you should be admonished?).
And in the Quran as well, baṣāʾir is that which gives admonition as one observes and looks to it: Rather man is a witness (baṣīrah) to himself (75:14). Certainly, We gave Moses the book … as [a set of] eye-openers (baṣāʾir) for mankind (28:43). And God sends signs to open people’s eyes (17:59, 27:13). Interestingly, baṣāʾir is also that which protects, such as a shield or armour.
EXPOSITION
The Quran’s oaths are usually in God’s name, or in the name of specific creations that it wants to draw attention to, but the two verses here cover everything in existence since nothing falls out of the range of either what you see (verse 38) or what you do not see (verse 39). Past exegetes have suggested everything for this pair of verses from the world versus the hereafter and humans versus angels (or jinn) to bodies versus spirits and apparent bounties versus hidden blessings.
Of course, to God there is no difference between the manifest and the hidden – they are equally manifest to Him, encompassed by His knowledge and in need of Him for their existence. But God, in His wisdom and power, makes some matters manifest and others are hidden to His creation, as He pleases. An example of this wisdom would be to conceal from man what is related to the hereafter, such as angels and demons, and paradise and hellfire, so as to test man’s faith in God. The God-wary believe in the unseen (2:3) though the faithless deny it.
On the use of the term baṣīrah (vision) in the words what you see and what you do not see, in addition to what is explained of this word under the Exegesis, God provides insights (baṣāʾir) and, whereas the faithful see and benefit from them, the wrongdoers choose to remain blind to them to their own detriment (6:104). They have eyes with which they do not see (lā yubṣirūna bihā) (7:179). Hence, whereas the faithful are people of insight (ahl al-baṣīrah), even whilst in this world (see Insights from Hadith), the wrongdoers only gain baṣīrah (realisation) in the hereafter when it is too late (32:12, 52:15, 68:5).
INSIGHTS FROM HADITH
- From Imam Ali (a): ‘The loss of sight (baṣar) is lighter than the loss of perception (baṣīrah).’
- From Imam Ali (a): ‘The gazing of the eye (baṣar) does not benefit if the inner eye [of perception] (baṣīrah) is blind.’
- From Imam Ali (a): ‘You have been shown (buṣṣirtum) if you care to see (abṣartum), and you have been guided if you care to take guidance, and you have been made to listen if you care to listen.’
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
All the examples offered by past exegetes to contrast what you see and what you do not see are plausible because these two verses are general enough to cover all of these and more – except for the suggestion by Rāzī that what you see and what you do not see includes the Creator and the creation. That appears to be an invalid interpretation because it is implausible to imagine the Quran would bundle the Creator with other matters of the unseen. God, rather, is the Knower of the sensible and the unseen (6:73, 13:9, 23:92) and they all belong to and return to Him (11:123, 16:77). When referring to God, the Quran always exalts and magnifies Him uniquely and independent of reference to all other besides Him. And finally, what you do not see suggests that which has a physical presence except that man is unable to witness it; whereas God is not a physical entity that is merely hidden from man.
[1] Lane, b-ṣ-r.
[2] Lane, b-ṣ-r.
[3] Lane, b-ṣ-r.
[4] Razi, 30/633.