Muhammad · Madani · ayah 26 of 38

Muhammad 47:26

ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ قَالُوا۟ لِلَّذِينَ كَرِهُوا۟ مَا نَزَّلَ ٱللَّهُ سَنُطِيعُكُمْ فِى بَعْضِ ٱلْأَمْرِ ۖ وَٱللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ إِسْرَارَهُمْ

“That is because they said to those who disliked what Allāh sent down,[1505] "We will obey you in part of the matter." And Allāh knows what they conceal.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Their turning began with a whispered side deal, "we will obey you in part", made in secret with Allah listening to every word.

A reflection

The side deal nobody was meant to hear

"And Allah knows their secrets." The ayah ends there, quietly. Several commentaries fill in what it means. They said these things in secret, so Allah exposed them. Nothing of what they conceal is hidden from Him, and He reveals of it to His Messenger what He wills.

The people described had made a private arrangement. Openly, they stood with the believers. Privately, they told those who hated the revelation: we will go along with you in part. One commentary describes what that part was: discouraging people from striving, and weakening the Prophet's ﷺ cause in secret.

They felt clever. They were sure their side channel was invisible.

Picture two shopkeepers on a small high street, a butcher and a greengrocer. Over coffee one morning, they quietly agree not to undercut each other. They will raise prices together, a little at a time. Each feels sure the arrangement is invisible. Within a month, the pensioners who shop there every day have noticed. They compare receipts on the bench by the bus stop.

If ordinary people can see through a secret like that, what of the One who knows every whisper before it is spoken?

That is the ego-shrinking point of this ayah. Human cleverness depends on what others cannot see. Before Allah, there is nothing they cannot see. Every private arrangement is made in His full hearing.

This is not said to frighten the sincere. It is said to end the illusion of the double life. There is no room behind His back. The only safe way to live is as if every side conversation were spoken aloud, because before Him it already 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.