أَلَم يَعلَم بِأَنَّ اللَّهَ يَرىٰ

Does he not know that Allah sees?

EXPOSITION

Tabatabai writes that Prophet Muhammad’s (s) unnamed opponent referred to in these verses would easily relate to and understand the threatening message in this verse^{‎[1]Mizan, 20/326.} since according to the picture that the Quranic verses paint of the Prophet’s contemporaries, they were henotheists. Henotheism is the belief in a high god who is the ultimate creator of everything. He is worshipped with other lesser gods deemed his intercessors. Some Quranic verses which substantiate the idea that henotheism was the belief system prevalent among the pre-Islamic Arabs are 6:136 and 29:61-65. This is while other Arabs believed in the angels and jinn as daughters of God, thus associating these beings with Him. Tabatabai writes that the necessary corollary of belief in God as the creator of everything is the belief that He is omniscient, while the Arab henotheists contemporaneous to the Prophet considered ‘Allah’ (the high god) to be far above the attributes of deficiency. Consequently they deemed Him far above being ignorant.^{‎[2]Mizan, 20/326.}  

[1] Mizan, 20/326.
[2] Mizan, 20/326.