Tafsir al-Baghawi - Al-Baghawi - (5/264)

Tafsir al-BaghawiAl-Baghawi

“If you speak aloud, He surely knows what is secret and what is even more hidden. Allah—there is no deity worthy of worship except Him. To Him belong the Most Beautiful Names. Has the account of Moses reached you?”

“If you speak aloud”—that is, if you make it public (1)—“He surely knows what is secret and what is even more hidden.” Al-Hasan said: “The secret” is what a person confides to another, while “what is even more hidden” is what he conceals within himself.

Ibn ‘Abbas and Sa‘id ibn Jubayr said: “The secret” is what you conceal within yourself, while “what is even more hidden” than the secret is what Allah, Exalted is He, will later place in your heart—something which you do not know you will speak to yourself about. For you know what you conceal today, but you do not know what you will conceal tomorrow; whereas Allah knows what you concealed today and what you will conceal tomorrow.

‘Ali ibn Abi Talhah narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas: “The secret” is what the son of Adam conceals within himself, while “what is even more hidden” is that which remains hidden from him regarding what he will do before he himself comes to know it.

Mujahid said: “The secret” is the deed that you conceal from people, and “what is even more hidden” is the whispering of the soul.

It was also said: “The secret” is firm resolve, while “what is even more hidden” is what passes through the heart but has not been resolved upon.

Zayd ibn Aslam said: “He knows the secret (2) and what is even more hidden”—that is, He knows the secrets of His servants, as well as His own secret, which He has concealed from His servants, so that no one knows it (3). He then declared His own oneness, saying: “Allah—there is no deity worthy of worship except Him. To Him belong the Most Beautiful Names.”

His words, Exalted is He, “Has the account of Moses reached you?” mean: It has indeed reached you. This is a rhetorical question intended as an affirmation.

(1) Omitted from manuscript A. (2) Omitted from manuscript A. (3) See these views in al-Tabari, 16:139-141; Zad al-Masir, 5:271. Al-Tabari said: “The correct view is that it means: ‘He knows the secret and what is more hidden than the secret,’ for this is the apparent meaning of the wording. Had it meant what Ibn Zayd interpreted, the wording would have been: ‘And Allah concealed His secret,’ since akhfa would then be a transitive verb, in the sense understood by Ibn Zayd. Its occurring without an object - which it would govern if it were a verb in that sense - is clear evidence that it means ‘more hidden.’ Thus, the meaning is: ‘He knows the secret and what is more hidden than it.’ Accordingly, the correct explanation of ‘more hidden than the secret’ is that it refers to what Allah knows but has concealed from His servants: matters that will occur but have not yet occurred. For what has appeared and occurred is no longer secret; what will neither occur nor come to be is nothing; and what has not yet occurred but will occur is more hidden than a secret, for none knows it except Allah and those of His servants whom He informs.”

﴿وَإِنْ تَجْهَرْ بِالْقَوْلِ فَإِنَّهُ يَعْلَمُ السِّرَّ وَأَخْفَى (٧) اللَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ لَهُ الْأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَى (٨) وَهَلْ أَتَاكَ حَدِيثُ مُوسَى (٩) ﴾ ﴿وَإِنْ تَجْهَرْ بِالْقَوْلِ﴾ [أَيْ: تُعْلِنْ بِهِ] (١) ﴿فَإِنَّهُ يَعْلَمُ السِّرَّ وَأَخْفَى﴾ قَالَ الْحَسَنُ: "السِّرُّ": مَا أَسَرَّ الرَّجُلُ إِلَى غَيْرِهِ، "وَأَخْفَى" مِنْ ذَلِكَ: مَا أَسَرَّ مِنْ نَفْسِهِ. وَعَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ، وَسَعِيدِ بْنِ جُبَيْرٍ: "السِّرُّ" مَا تُسِرُّ فِي نَفْسِكَ "وَأَخْفَى" مِنَ السِّرِّ: مَا يُلْقِيهِ اللَّهُ ﷿ فِي قَلْبِكَ مِنْ بَعْدُ، وَلَا تَعْلَمُ أَنَّكَ سَتُحَدِّثُ بِهِ نَفْسَكَ، لِأَنَّكَ تَعْلَمُ مَا تُسِرُّ بِهِ الْيَوْمَ وَلَا تَعْلَمُ مَا تُسِرُّ بِهِ غَدًا، وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا أَسْرَرْتَ الْيَوْمَ وَمَا تُسِرُّ بِهِ غَدًا. وَقَالَ عَلِيُّ بْنُ أَبِي طَلْحَةَ عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ: "السِّرُّ": مَا أَسَرَّ ابْنُ آدَمَ فِي نَفْسِهِ، "وَأَخْفَى" مَا خَفِيَ عَلَيْهِ مِمَّا هُوَ فَاعِلُهُ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَعْلَمَهُ. وَقَالَ مُجَاهِدٌ: "السِّرُّ" الْعَمَلُ الَّذِي تَسِرُّونَ مِنَ النَّاسِ، "وَأَخْفَى": الْوَسْوَسَةُ. وَقِيلَ: "السِّرُّ": هُوَ الْعَزِيمَةُ ["وَأَخْفَى": مَا يَخْطُرُ عَلَى الْقَلْبِ وَلَمْ يَعْزِمْ عَلَيْهِ. وَقَالَ زَيْدُ بْنُ أَسْلَمَ: "يَعْلَمُ السِّرَّ] (٢) وَأَخْفَى": أَيْ يَعْلَمُ أَسْرَارَ الْعِبَادِ، وَأَخْفَى سِرَّهُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ، فَلَا يَعْلَمُهُ أَحَدٌ (٣) . ثُمَّ وَحَّدَ نَفْسَهَ، فَقَالَ:. ﴿اللَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ لَهُ الْأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَى﴾ قَوْلُهُ ﷿: ﴿وَهَلْ أَتَاكَ حَدِيثُ مُوسَى﴾ أَيْ: قَدْ أَتَاكَ، اسْتِفْهَامٌ بِمَعْنَى التَّقْرِيرِ.

(١) ساقط من "أ". (٢) ساقط من "أ". (٣) انظر هذه الأقوال في: الطبري: ١٦ / ١٣٩ - ١٤١، زاد المسير: ٥ / ٢٧١. قال الطبري: والصواب من القول في ذلك قول من قال: معناه يعلم السر وأخفى من السر، لأن ذلك هو الظاهر من الكلام، ولو كان معنى ذلك ما تأوله ابن زيد لكان الكلام: وأخفى الله سره، لأن أخفى فعل واقع متعد؛ إذ كان بمعنى "فعل" - على ما تأوله ابن زيد - وفي انفراد "أخفى" من مفعوله - والذي يعمل فيه لو كان بمعنى فعل - الدليل الواضح على أنه بمعنى "أفعل"، وأن تأويل الكلام: فإنه يعلم السر وأخفى منه، فإذا كان ذلك تأويله فالصواب من القول في معنى أخفى من السر، أن يقال: هو ما علم الله مما أخفى عن العباد ولم يعلموه، مما هو كائن ولما يكن، لأن ما ظهر وكان فغير سر، وأن ما لم يكن وهو غير كائن، فلا شيء، وأن لم يكن وهو كائن: فهو أخفى من السر، لأن ذلك لا يعلمه إلا الله ثم من أعلمه ذلك من عباده.