Surah 40

Surah 40:19

"He knows the treachery of the eyes and what the hearts hide."
Tafsir Ibn Kathir Verses 40:18-20
Show Full Scripture Context (40:18-20) — 3 Verses
Verse 18

وَأَنذِرۡهُمۡ يَوۡمَ ٱلۡأٓزِفَةِ إِذِ ٱلۡقُلُوبُ لَدَى ٱلۡحَنَاجِرِ كَٰظِمِينَۚ مَا لِلظَّـٰلِمِينَ مِنۡ حَمِيمٖ وَلَا شَفِيعٖ يُطَاعُ

Warn them of the Day of the Impending, when (their) hearts will be in (their) throats, choking (them). The evildoers will not have any loyal friend or intercessor (who) will be obeyed.

Verse 19

يَعۡلَمُ خَآئِنَةَ ٱلۡأَعۡيُنِ وَمَا تُخۡفِي ٱلصُّدُورُ

He knows the treachery of the eyes and what the hearts hide.

Verse 20

وَٱللَّهُ يَقۡضِي بِٱلۡحَقِّۖ وَٱلَّذِينَ يَدۡعُونَ مِن دُونِهِۦ لَا يَقۡضُونَ بِشَيۡءٍۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ هُوَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلۡبَصِيرُ

God will decide in truth, while those they call on instead of Him will not decide at all. Surely God – He is the Hearing, the Seeing.

Allah warns His servants of the Day of Resurrection and the things that will happen then. It is called Azifah because it is near, as Allah says: {The Day of Resurrection draws near. None besides Allah can avert it.} (53:57-58), {The Event ordained by Allah will come to pass, so seek not to hasten it.} (16:1), {The Hour has drawn near, and the moon has been cleft asunder.} (54:1). {when the hearts will be choking the throats, and they can neither return them (hearts) to their chests nor can they throw them out.} This was the view of Qatadah. {and they can neither return them (hearts) to their chests nor can they throw them out.} “This means that their hearts will be stuck in their throats and will not come out or go back to their places.” This was also the view of 'Ikrimah, As-Suddi and others. {Kazimin} means silent, for no one will speak without His permission: {The Day that Ar-Ruh (Jibril) and the angels will stand forth in rows, they will not speak except him whom the Most Gracious allows, and he will speak what is right.} (78:38). Ibn Jurayj said: {Kazimin} “It means weeping.” {There will be no friend, nor an intercessor for the wrongdoers, who could be given heed to.} means, those who wronged themselves by associating others in worship with Allah, will have no relative to help them and no intercessor who can plead on their behalf; all means of good will be cut off from them. {Allah knows the fraud of the eyes, and all that the breasts conceal.} Allah tells us about His complete knowledge which encompasses all things, great and small, major and minor, so that people will take note that He knows about them and they will have the proper sense of shyness before Allah. They will pay attention to the fact that He can see them, for He knows the fraud of the eyes, even if the eyes look innocent, and He knows what the hearts conceal. Ad-Dahhak said: {the fraud of the eyes,} “A wink and a man saying that he has seen something when he has not seen it, or saying that he has not seen it when he did see it.” Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “Allah knows when the eye looks at something, whether it wants to commit an act of betrayal or not.” This was also the view of Mujahid and Qatadah. Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, commented on the Ayah: {and all that the breasts conceal.} “He knows, if you were able to, whether you would commit Zina with a woman or not.” As-Suddi said: {and all that the breasts conceal.} meaning, of insinuating whispers. {And Allah judges with truth,} means, He judges with justice. Al-A'mash narrated from Sa'id bin Jubayr from Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, that this Ayah means: “He is able to reward those who do good with good and those who do evil with evil.” {Certainly, Allah! He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer.} This is how it was interpreted by Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him. This is like the Ayah: {that He may requite those who do evil with that which they have done, and reward those who do good, with what is best} (53:31). {while those to whom they invoke besides Him,} means, the idols and false gods, {cannot judge anything.} means, they do not possess anything and they cannot judge anything. {Certainly, Allah! He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer.} means, He hears all that His creatures say and He knows all about them, so He guides whomsoever He wills and sends astray whomsoever He wills. And He judges with perfect justice in all of that.

— from Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Page 459-461)

About this Source & Scholarly Authority (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

Universal Sunni Consensus: Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim by Hafiz Ibn Kathir (701–774 AH / 1301–1373 AD) is universally regarded across all major schools of Sunni Islam (traditional, Salafi, Ash'ari) as the most authoritative classical exegesis. It is prized because it relies on Tafsir bil-Ma'thur—interpreting the Quran using the Quran itself, authentic Hadiths of Prophet Muhammad, and recorded statements of the early Companions (Sahabah).

Standard English Edition: This text is from the standard 10-volume English abridgment published by Dar-us-Salam Publications (supervised by Shaykh Safiur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri), which is the official, most widely distributed English Quranic commentary in mosques and Islamic libraries worldwide today.