(5) “Indeed, they turn their chests away, seeking to hide from Him. Surely, even when they cover themselves with their garments, He knows what they conceal and what they reveal. Indeed, He knows all that is hidden in the hearts.”

Allah Most High tells of the polytheists’ ignorance and profound misguidance: “They turn their chests away”; that is, they incline them “seeking to hide” from Allah, imagining that their chests could ⦗377⦘ prevent Allah from knowing their circumstances and seeing their condition.

Allah Most High says, explaining the error of this assumption: “Surely, even when they cover themselves with their garments”—that is, when they conceal themselves beneath them—He knows them in that state, although it is among the most concealed of states.

Indeed, “He knows what they conceal” of their words and deeds “and what they reveal” of them. More than that, “He knows all that is hidden in the hearts”; that is, the desires, whisperings, and thoughts within them, which they have not voiced either privately or publicly. How then could your condition be hidden from Him when you turn your chests away to hide from Him?

The meaning may also be that Allah is describing how those who deny the Messenger and remain heedless of his call turn away from him. Because of the severity of their aversion, they turn their chests away—that is, they hunch over when they see the Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), lest he see them, make them hear his call, and admonish them with that which would benefit them. Could there be any greater aversion than this?

He then warns them that Allah Most High knows all their circumstances, that they cannot hide from Him, and that He will requite them for what they have done.