Al Naḥl

لاَ جَرَمَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ مَا يُسِرُّونَ وَمَا يُعْلِنُونَ إِنَّهُ لاَ يُحِبُّ الْمُسْتَكْبِرِينَ

23. “Undoubtedly Allah does know that which they conceal and that which they reveal. Verily He does not love the arrogant.”

The Arabic word /jarama/ means ‘picking of and cutting fruits from the trees’. The term /l ajarama/ signifies that the issue in question is not to be ‘cut’, ‘taken away’ or such that one can be skeptic about. Conversely, it is something certain and decisive. This verse serves two functions: It threatens the pagans warning them all as to the awareness of Allah of their performances, and, at the same time, it carries the good news unto the believers about the fact that Allah is aware of the situation of their enemies and can punish them as well.

This noble verse also stresses once again on Allah’s knowledge of the invisible and His intuition of what is open and hidden, saying that Allah is definitely aware of what they make manifest as well as what they hide away. This sentence is in fact a threat against the pagans and the foes of the Truth about which Allah is never unaware. The verse says:

“Undoubtedly Allah does know that which they conceal and that which they reveal…”

They are arrogant and Allah does not love the arrogant, for arrogance, when facing the Truth, is considered as the first sign of one’s alienation from Allah. The verse says:

“…Verily He does not love the arrogant.”