Al-Hashr 59:22
The Exile · Medinan · Juz 28 · Page 548
The Seen and the Unseen
هُوَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِي لَآ إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَۖ عَٰلِمُ ٱلۡغَيۡبِ وَٱلشَّهَٰدَةِۖ هُوَ ٱلرَّحۡمَٰنُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ ٢٢
He is Allah, than Whom there is no other Allah, the Knower of the Invisible and the Visible. He is the Beneficent, Merciful.
Translation: Marmaduke Pickthall
Meaning
He is Allah, besides whom there is no god. He knows the unseen and the seen. He is the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Insight
Elmalılı speaks of two kinds of ‘unseen’ (ghayb): the absolute unseen, which no created being can know, and the relative unseen, hidden only from some. The unseen in this verse is absolute. The One who knows all that is unknown certainly knows what is known.
Reflect
How does it feel to think that He knows what is hidden from you?
This short note is based on Elmalılı Hamdi Yazır’s Turkish commentary and has not yet been reviewed by a scholar.
Elmalılı’s commentary
An English translation of Elmalılı’s full commentary is coming soon. Read the original Turkish ›