Rather, the entire affair belongs to Allah alone, for no one can repel what He wills and intends.

“ They conceal within themselves ”: meaning, denial and rejection.

“ What they do not disclose to you ”: that is, other than the faith and request for guidance they outwardly display to you.

The rest of the vocabulary was explained earlier in the chapter “Concerning the Words: ‘If only…’ ”.

Overall meaning of the verse: Allah informs us of what the hypocrites did on the Day of ʿUhud: they entertained a false notion about Allah, thinking that He would not grant victory to His Messenger, that his cause would fade away, and that, had the decision been theirs—and the Messenger ﷺ and his Companions had followed their counsel—none of them would have been killed and victory would have belonged to them. Allah, Exalted is He, declared their assumption false and made clear that nothing occurs except what His prior decree and predestination have determined and what His eternal Record has written, and that no one can overturn His judgment.

Lessons derived from the verse:

1. Whoever believes that Allah will grant falsehood a permanent upper hand over truth—so that truth is utterly obliterated and can never rise again—has presumed about Allah something improper, the presumption of the Age of Ignorance.
2. The verse affirms the divine wisdom behind Allah’s allowing falsehood to appear dominant at times.
3. It exposes the inner vileness of the hypocrites and shows that in times of hardship their hypocrisy becomes manifest.
4. It establishes the reality of divine decree and predestination.
5. It obligates declaring Allah exalted above everything unbefitting of Him.
6. It obligates maintaining a good opinion of Allah, the Exalted.