67. Al-Mulk (Dominion)

Mecca 77

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَخْشَوْنَ رَبَّهُم بِالْغَيْبِ ...

67: 12.  As for those who fear their Lord unseen,

C5569. See n. 3902 to 35:18.

Read "unseen" adverbially.

To fear the Lord is to love Him so intensely that you fear to do anything which is against His Will, and you do it because you realise Him intensely in your hearts, though you do not see Him with your bodily senses. Nor is it of any consequences whether other people see your love or the consequences that flow from your love, for your good deeds are for the love of Allah and not for show in the eyes of men. Such intensity of love obtains forgiveness for any past, and is indeed rewarded with Allah's love, which is immeasurably precious beyond any merits you may possess.

... لَهُم مَّغْفِرَةٌ وَأَجْرٌ كَبِيرٌ ﴿١٢﴾

for them is Forgiveness and a great Reward.

وَأَسِرُّوا قَوْلَكُمْ أَوِ اجْهَرُوا بِهِ إِنَّهُ عَلِيمٌ بِذَاتِ الصُّدُورِ ﴿١٣﴾

67: 13.  And whether ye hide your word or publish it, He certainly has (full) knowledge, of the secrets of (all) hearts.

أَلَا يَعْلَمُ مَنْ خَلَقَ ...

67: 14.  Should He not know -- He that created?

... وَهُوَ اللَّطِيفُ الْخَبِيرُ ﴿١٤﴾

And He is the One that understands the finest mysteries (and) is well-acquainted (with them).

C5570. He Who creates must necessarily know His own handiwork. But lest we should measure His knowledge by such imperfect knowledge as we possess. His knowledge is further characterized as understanding the finest mysteries and being well acquainted with them (Latif and Khabir):

See 22:63. n. 2844.

Asad’s version

67:12 [As against this,] behold, for those who stand in awe of God although He is beyond the reach of their perception,' there is forgiveness in store and a great reward.

67:13 AND [know, O men, that] whether you keep your beliefs 10 secret or state them openly, He has full knowledge indeed of all that is in [your] hearts."

(67: 14) How could it be that He who has created [all] should not know [all]? 12 Yea, He alone is unfathomable [in His wisdom], aware! 13

[[Asad’s notes - 10 While the primary significance of the noun qawl is "a saying" or "an utterance", it is often used tropically in the sense of "a statement'", i.e., of a belief, an opinion, a teaching, a doctrine, etc. In the present context it evidently relates to man's beliefs in general, be they affirmative or negative: hence the plural form in my rendering of this term.

1 1 I.e., He knows why one person believes in Him and another rejects this belief; hence, He takes man's innermost motivations, abilities and inabilities fully into account.

12 Lit., "Does He not know, [He] who has created?"

13 See surah 6, note 89. ]]