An-Nisa · Madani · ayah 148 of 176

An-Nisa 4:148

۞ لَّا يُحِبُّ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْجَهْرَ بِٱلسُّوٓءِ مِنَ ٱلْقَوْلِ إِلَّا مَن ظُلِمَ ۚ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ سَمِيعًا عَلِيمًا

“Allāh does not like the public mention of evil except by one who has been wronged. And ever is Allāh Hearing and Knowing.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Allah dislikes ugliness dragged into public view, yet keeps a door open for the wronged to speak, and He hears both voices.

A reflection

The One who knows most covers most

The ayah closes with two names. Samīʿ: He hears every word, shouted or whispered. ʿAlīm: He knows every secret behind the word.

Pause on what that means. Nobody holds more evidence about anyone than Allah does. He knows every hidden lapse of every person who has ever lived. And the same ayah opens by saying He does not like the ugly thing announced.

One classical theologian reads the ayah against what came just before. Allah had just exposed the hypocrites at length. Exposure, he says, does not sit easily with the Merciful, the Generous. So the ayah explains: He does not love bringing faults into the open, except where the harm is great and the scheming widespread. Even His own unveiling has a reason and a limit.

Another commentary notices a pairing. The previous ayah called Allah the One who appreciates, who thanks the smallest good. So He loves gratitude and its open declaration. And He dislikes ugliness and its open declaration.

Now look at us. We know a sliver about a few people. Yet we broadcast that sliver with real eagerness. Much of it is ego. Telling someone's fault quietly raises us a step above them, at least in our own eyes.

Picture an IT technician fixing a colleague's laptop. The screen wakes on her open tabs: a debt-advice site and a forum about failing marriages. He closes them, finishes the repair and never mentions it. Not even as a joke at lunch.

That small silence is a reflection of something vast. The One who sees everything veils most of it. The proud tongue that tells everything has forgotten who it is.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.