Quran 3:29 — Surah Aal-i-Imraan Ayah 29 | Arabic, Translation & Tafsir

لَّا يَتَّخِذِ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ ٱلْكَٰفِرِينَ أَوْلِ...

3:29

Aal-i-Imraan

يَوْمَ تَجِدُ كُلُّ نَفْسٍۢ مَّا عَمِلَتْ مِنْ خَي...

قُلْ إِن تُخْفُوا۟ مَا فِى صُدُورِكُمْ أَوْ تُبْدُوهُ يَعْلَمْهُ ٱللَّهُ ۗ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَمَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍۢ قَدِيرٌۭ

Qul in tukhfoo maa fee sudoorikum aw tubdoohu ya'lamhul laah; wa ya'lamu maa fis samaawaati wa maa fil ard; wallaahu 'alaa kulli shai'in Qadeer

Say, "Whether you conceal what is in your breasts or reveal it, Allah knows it. And He knows that which is in the heavens and that which is on the earth. And Allah is over all things competent.

Related Tafsir

Ibn Kathir

Allah Knows What the Hearts Conceal

Allah tells His servants that He knows the secrets and apparent matters and that nothing concerning them escapes His observation. Rather, His knowledge encompasses them in all conditions, time frames, days and instances. His knowledge encompasses all that is in heaven and earth, and nothing not even the weight of an atom, or what is smaller than that in the earth, seas and mountains, escapes His observation. Indeed,

وَاللَّهُ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ

(And Allah is able to do all things.) and His ability encompasses everything. This Ayah alerts Allah's servants that they should fear Him enough to not commit what He prohibits and dislikes, for He has perfect knowledge in all they do and is able to punish them promptly. And He gives respite to some of them, then He punishes them, and He is Swift and Mighty in taking account. This is why Allah said afterwards,

يَوْمَ تَجِدُ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَّا عَمِلَتْ مِنْ خَيْرٍ مُّحْضَرًا

(On the Day when every person will be confronted with all the good he has done,) meaning, on the Day of Resurrection, Allah brings the good and evil deeds before the servant, just as He said,

يُنَبَّأُ الإِنسَـنُ يَوْمَئِذِ بِمَا قَدَّمَ وَأَخَّرَ

(On that Day man will be informed of what he sent forward, and what he left behind.) 75:13.

When the servant sees his good deeds, he becomes happy and delighted. When he sees the evil deeds he committed, he becomes sad and angry. Then he will wish that he could disown his evil work and that a long distance separated it from him. He will also say to the devil who used to accompany him in this life, and who used to encourage him to do evil;

يلَيْتَ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَكَ بُعْدَ الْمَشْرِقَيْنِ فَبِئْسَ الْقَرِينُ

("Would that between me and you were the distance of the two easts ـ a horrible companion (indeed)!) 43:38.

Allah then said, while threatening and warning,

وَيُحَذِّرُكُمُ اللَّهُ نَفْسَهُ

(And Allah warns you against Himself) meaning, He warns you against His punishment. Allah then said, while bringing hope to His servants, so that they do not despair from His mercy or feel hopeless of His kindness,

وَاللَّهُ رَءُوفٌ بِالْعِبَادِ

(And Allah is full of kindness with the servants)

Al-Hasan Al-Basri said, "Allah is so kind with them that He warns them against Himself." Others commented, "He is merciful with His creation and likes for them to remain on His straight path and chosen religion, and to follow His honorable Messenger."

View Full Tafsir: Allah Knows What the Hearts ConcealAyahs 29–30

that she asked 'Aishah about the saying of Allah, blessed and Most High: And whether you disclose what is in yourselves or conceal it, Allah will call you to account for it (2:284). And about His saying: And whoever does evil, he will be recompensed for it (4:123). She said: "No one has asked me about it since I asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), he said: 'This is Allah's admonition for His slave regarding whatever he is stricken with, of fever and problems, even the item that he has in the pocket of his shirt which he loses and worries about, until the slave's sins are removed, just as the red ore is removed from the bellows.'"

Sahih Muslim #6381This hadith has been transmitted on the authority of Abu Huraira with some addition (and it is this):

" Verily Allah does not look to your bodies nor to your faces but He looks to your hearts," and he pointed towards the heart with his fingers.

Sahih al-Bukhari #4340Narrated Ibn `Umar:

This Verse:--"Whether you show what is in your minds or conceal it.." (2.284) was abrogated.

Sunan Abu Dawud #5112Narrated Abdullah ibn Abbas:

AbuZumayl said: I asked Ibn Abbas, saying: What is that I find in my breast? He asked: What is it? I replied: I swear by Allah, I cannot speak about it. He asked me: Is it something doubtful? and he laughed. He then said: No one could escape that, until Allah, the exalted, revealed: "If thou went in doubt as to what we have revealed unto thee, and ask those who have been reading the Book from before thee." He said: If you find something in your heart, say: He is the first and the Last, the Evident and the Immanent, and He has full knowledge of all things.

Sahih al-Bukhari #4341Narrated Marwan Al-Asghar:

A man from the companions of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) who I think, was Ibn `Umar said, "The Verse:-- "Whether you show what is in your minds or conceal it...." was abrogated by the Verse following it."