قَالَ يَٰٓـَٔادَمُ أَنۢبِئْهُم بِأَسْمَآئِهِمْ فَلَمَّآ أَنۢبَأَهُم بِأَسْمَآئِهِمْ قَالَ أَلَمْ أَقُل لَّكُمْ إِنِّىٓ أَعْلَمُ غَيْبَ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَأَعْلَمُ مَا تُبْدُونَ وَمَا كُنتُمْ تَكْتُمُونَ
“He said: O Adam! Inform them of their names, and when he had informed them of their names, He said: Did I not tell you that I know the secret of the heavens and the earth? And I know that which ye disclose and which ye hide.” — M. M. Pickthall
Taberî9-10. c.✓ Citation verified
According to Taberî, Allah's statement 'I know what you have hidden' points to something that the angels concealed within themselves; the reports on this matter differ. According to a report from Ibn Abbas, this was the arrogance and pride that Iblis concealed within himself. According to another report, when the angels saw the creation of Adam, they whispered among themselves and said 'Whatever Allah creates, we are superior to it' and kept this hidden.
يقول: ما تظهرون يقول: أعلم السر كما أعلم العلانية، يعني ما كتم إبليس في نفسه من الكبر والاغترار
Zemahşerî12. c.✓ Citation verified
Since the given raw text is very brief and does not contain an independent commentary, no meaningful view can be drawn from this passage regarding what Zemahşerî said about the verse. The text consists only of a connective expression meaning 'that is, his word', with preceding or following explanation missing.
يعني قوله
Fahreddin er-Râzî12-13. c.✓ Citation verified
According to this text, the angels' knowledge of 'yufsiduun fiha wa yasfiquun al-dima' (they cause corruption therein and shed blood) either came to them through revelation or through inference/conjecture. The possibility of revelation was considered remote, because if that were the case, there would be no benefit in Allah repeating this statement; therefore, it was concluded that the angels stated this through conjecture and inference. Furthermore, the verse emphasizes that only Allah's knowledge of the unseen is exclusive to Him, and the angels are deprived of this knowledge.
والأول بعيد لأنه إذا أوحى الله تعالى ذلك إليهم لم يكن لإعادة ذلك الكلام فائدة فثبت أنهم قالوه عن الاستنباط والظن
Kurtubî13. c.✓ Citation verified
In this section, Kurtubî states that what the angels concealed was the arrogance and rebellion in Iblis (citing from Ibn Abbas, Ibn Masud, and Said b. Jubayr), and that Allah's teaching Adam knowledge was to demonstrate his virtue and the exaltation of his honor. He also explains that the angels' humility toward the learned stems from a courtesy that Allah imposed upon them in the story of Adam. In this context, he emphasizes the virtue of knowledge and the learned, and addresses the dispute over superiority between angels and humans.
قال أبن عباس وأبن مسعود وسعيد بن جبير : المراد ما كتمه إبليس في نفسه من الكبر والمعصية قال أبن عطية : وجاء تكتمون للجماعة والكاتم واحد في هذا القول على تجوز العرب وأتساعها
İbn Kesîr14. c.✓ Citation verified
Ibn Kesîr conveys that besides what the angels openly expressed in the form of 'Will You place therein one who causes corruption therein and sheds blood', there was also something they concealed, which was the arrogance and pride that Iblis concealed within his soul. He also narrates from some exegetes the view that what the angels concealed was the statement 'Our Lord, You have not created anything more knowledgeable or superior than us.' He points out that the verse which conveys that Allah knows both what is openly stated and what is hidden encompasses these two aspects.
يعني ما كتم إبليس في نفسه من الكبر والإغترار
Beydâvî13. c.✓ Citation verified
According to Beydâvî, Allah's statement 'Did I not say to you that I know the unseen of the heavens and the earth' contains evidence against the angels regarding their hidden and manifest conditions, and implicit reproach. Furthermore, these verses demonstrate the honor of humans, that knowledge is superior to worship, that trusteeship is a condition, that languages are divinely established, and that Adam is more virtuous because he is more knowledgeable than the angels.
وفيه تعريض بمعاتبتهم على ترك الأولى
Comparison
Common ground
Taberî, Kurtubî, and Ibn Kesîr converge on the point that the expression 'I know what you have hidden' refers to a thought that the angels concealed within themselves, and they convey that this is based on reports from early Muslim scholars such as Ibn Abbas, Ibn Masud, and Said b. Jubayr; the common content of these reports is either Iblis's arrogance and pride or the angels seeing themselves as superior to Adam (or the being to be created). Râzî and Beydâvî, by focusing on the rational and theological deductions of the verse rather than the chain of narration, emphasize that Allah's attribute of knowing the unseen is distinguished from the angels, and that this constitutes evidence regarding the superiority of humans/knowledge—and at this point they intersect with Kurtubî and Beydâvî.
Differences
While Taberî, as the earliest representative, follows a method of conveying chains of reports and making preferences among them, later exegetes like Râzî and Beydâvî (in the rational-heavy Ash'arî-Maturidi tradition of theology and linguistics) place rational inference and linguistic derivation before narration. Exegetes like Kurtubî and Ibn Kesîr in the later period preserved Taberî's legacy of narration while adding juridical and theological evaluations (Kurtubî) or systematic synthesis of multiple reports (Ibn Kesîr). Zemahşerî's text is insufficiently detailed to contribute a comparable view to the comparison. This demonstrates that the tradition of exegesis evolved over time from mere narration to a synthesis of narration and independent reasoning (intellect, language, theology); however, fundamental reports such as the report of Iblis's arrogance remained constant across all periods.
Historical context
The earliest representative Taberî primarily conveyed chains of narration and made preferences among them, while later exegetes such as Râzî and Beydâvî (in the rational and linguistic-heavy Ash'arî-Maturidi theological tradition) brought rational inference and linguistic derivation to the forefront over narration. Later-period exegetes like Kurtubî and Ibn Kesîr preserved Taberî's legacy of narration while expanding it by adding juridical and theological evaluations (Kurtubî) or systematic synthesis of multiple narrations (Ibn Kesîr). This demonstrates that the exegetical tradition evolved over time from pure narration toward a synthesis of narration plus independent reasoning (intellect, language, theology); however, fundamental reports such as the narrative of Iblis's arrogance remained constant throughout all periods.
Modern connection
This verse carries a timeless warning that the possession of knowledge can turn into hidden arrogance within a person; in modern times as well, possessing knowledge or position can imperceptibly lead one to belittle others. The exegetes' different approaches to the balance between reason and revelation remind us that knowledge and humility must be pursued together, which can inspire a tolerant and constructive attitude in every sphere from family relationships to educational settings. Ultimately, the verse calls for sincere self-examination with the awareness that what is concealed in the heart is also subject to reckoning.
AI analysis — not a fatwa or ruling, not yet reviewed by a scholar