An-Naml · Makki · ayah 74 of 93

An-Naml 27:74

وَإِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَيَعْلَمُ مَا تُكِنُّ صُدُورُهُمْ وَمَا يُعْلِنُونَ

“And indeed, your Lord knows what their breasts conceal and what they declare.”

Saheeh International

Essence

The plots that tightened the Prophet's chest four ayat ago were never secret: his Lord knew what their hearts guarded before their hands ever moved.

A reflection

The schemer's secret was never his

This ayah returns almost word for word at 28:69, and its fuller treatment belongs there. Here it closes a particular circle.

Four ayat earlier the Prophet ﷺ was told not to be distressed by what his opponents plot (27:70). Now he is told why. His Lord knows what their chests conceal and what they declare. The one who plots in secret imagines that secrecy is his advantage. That is the ego's oldest comfort: what no one sees, no one can touch.

The ayah removes that comfort. Their whispered plans were known as fully as their public speeches. A schemer's pride rests on knowing something others do not. Before Allah, there is nothing he knows that is not already known.

That should humble anyone who keeps a private room in his heart, believing it unseen. It also answers a natural question. Why does Allah declare His knowledge at all? Not to be admired. He tells it to the one being plotted against, so that he can stop carrying the fear. The declaration serves the frightened, not the Speaker.

The full entry has 2 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.