Al-Balad · Makki · ayah 7 of 20

Al-Balad 90:7

أَيَحْسَبُ أَن لَّمْ يَرَهُۥٓ أَحَدٌ

“Does he think that no one has seen him?”

Saheeh International

Essence

He spent to be seen by everyone, and forgot the only One who saw exactly what he spent and why.

A reflection

Seen by the wrong audience

At a dinner party, a man mentions a donation he made to a hospital appeal. By the second telling, the figure has grown. His wife, who made the bank transfer herself, says nothing and passes the rice.

One early commentator says this ayah answers exactly that. The man who boasted of his heaps of spending was lying about the amount. 'Does he think no one saw him?' Allah saw what he spent, and knew the real figure, whatever he claimed.

A classical writer notices a detail in the grammar. The ayah uses lam, which points to the past. It matches his boast, 'I destroyed', also in the past. Does he think that no one saw him at the time, when he was spending?

Another explanation takes it further. Allah was watching over him the whole time. He will ask him about it, and repay him for it.

Here is where the ego shrinks. The man arranged his whole life for an audience. He counted the eyes of the tribe, the guests at his feasts, the men he wanted to impress. He never counted the One eye that was always open. We do the same, in our own way. We check who noticed, who liked, who heard about it. Meanwhile the only Witness whose view decides anything has seen all of it, motive included.

Someone may ask whether God needs us to know He is watching. Does He want to be praised for it? He does not. Allah is free of all need (35:15). Our awareness of His sight adds nothing to Him. It changes us. It frees us from performing for crowds who will forget, and turns us towards the One who never forgets.

The man at the dinner party is not a villain. He wanted to be thought well of. So do we all. But the figure that counts was never the one he said aloud. It was the one already recorded, by the One who was there.

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.