Many who do not believe in God are always objecting to Him being unseen. But they do not know, being utterly naive, that true belief and faith that is instilled in a believer's heart, gives them a recognition of an Unseen God, a blessing that the former are devoid of. And how much proof does one wants after seeing the fathomless galaxies and unimaginable creations around us that we see each new day. We do not see air but when we breathe in, we can feel freshness of air inside our body. Likewise is the faith in an Unseen God. Once that faith takes place in one's heart, we see presence of God in everything around us. And it is for those who believe and fear the Unseen God, Allah promises forgiveness on the Day of Judgment and rewards that would beyond their comprehension. Here in 12th verse of Surah 67 Al Mulk (The Kingdom / Dominion):
اِنَّ الَّذِيۡنَ يَخۡشَوۡنَ رَبَّهُمۡ بِالۡغَيۡبِ لَهُمۡ مَّغۡفِرَةٌ وَّاَجۡرٌ كَبِيۡرٌ
(67:12) Surely forgiveness and a mighty reward await those who fear Allah without seeing Him.
That is, there are two inevitable results of fearing God unseen:
- That whatever errors and sins one will have committed because of human weaknesses, will be forgiven provided these were not committed because of fearlessness of God; and
- That whatever good acts a man performs on the basis of this belief, he will be rewarded richly for them.
The address is to all human beings, whether they are believers or unbelievers. For the believer it contains the admonition that while living his life in the world he should always remember that not only his open and hidden deeds but even his secret intentions and innermost thoughts are not hidden from Allah; and for the unbeliever the warning that he may do whatever he may please fearless of God, but nothing that he does can remain un-noticed and unseen by Him.
Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: (The Reward of those Who fear their Lord unseen)
Allah informs of he who fears standing before his Lord, being frightened about matters between himself and Allah when he is not in the presence of other people. So he refrains from disobedience and he performs acts of obedience when no one sees him except Allah. Allah mentions that this person will have forgiveness and a great reward. This means that his sins will be remitted and he will be rewarded abundantly.
This is similar to what has been confirmed in the Two Sahihs:
(There are seven people whom Allah the Exalted will shade in the shade of His Throne on the Day when there will be no shade except its shade.)
Then he mentioned that among those people are: (A man who is tempted by a beautiful woman of high social status, but he says: `Verily, I fear Allah.' Another person from among them is a man who gives charity and he conceals it so that his left hand does not know what his right hand spent.) Then He says, while informing that He is aware of the innermost conscience and secrets,
Yusuf Ali Explanation:
Bil-gaibi " بِالۡغَيۡبِ ": unseen in the adverbial sense. The man, who, though he does not see Allah, so realises Allah's Presence in himself as if he saw Him, is the man of genuine Faith, and for him Allah's Revelation comes through many channels and is always fruitful.
To fear the Lord is to love Him so intensely that you fear to do anything which is against His Will, and you do it because you realise Him intensely in your hearts, though you do not see Him with your bodily senses. Nor is it of any consequences whether other people see your love or the consequences that flow from your love, for your good deeds are for the love of Allah and not for show in the eyes of men. Such intensity of love obtains forgiveness for any past, and is indeed rewarded with Allah's love, which is immeasurably precious beyond any merits you may possess.
Javed Ahmad Ghamidi Explanation:
The implication is that these people comprehend their Lord through their vision and intellect and fear Him on this very basis. They do not insist on seeing Him and then believing in Him.
Imām Amīn Aḥsan Iṣlāḥī writes: … The real test of a person in this world is that by using his intellect and reasoning, he professes belief in what the Almighty has informed him through His prophets. He who succeeded in this test deserves every reward of God, and he who failed in it is like an animal or even worse even though he might be a great philosopher and a scientist. (Amīn Aḥsan Iṣlāḥī, Tadabbur-i Qur’ān, vol. 8, 495)
Qur'an Wiki:
The phrase ' beyond the reach of human perception' expresses the meaning of the Qur'anic word ghayb. In its use in this verse it includes their fear of God whom they have never seen, as well as their fear of Him when they are alone, unseen by any human eye. Both are fine qualities, reflecting a pure feeling and a profound understanding which together qualify a person to receive what the verse expresses in general terms as "forgiveness and a rich reward." To watch God when one is alone, unseen by any other human being is the gauge of a heart's sensitivity and the quality that keeps conscience alive.
May Allah help us understand Qur'ān and help us to act upon the commandments of Allah contained therein. Aameen.
For more Selected Verses, please refer to our reference page: Selected Verses from the Qur'an. You may also refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Qur'ān.
An effort has been made to gather explanation / exegesis of the surahs of the Qur'ān from authentic sources and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. In that the exegesis of the chapters of the Quran is mainly based on the "Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Qur'an" by one of the most enlightened scholars of the Muslim World Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi.
In order to augment and add more explanation as already provided, additional input has been interjected from following sources:
- Towards Understanding the Quran
- Tafsir Ibn Khatir
- Muhammad Asad Translation
- Javed Ahmad Ghamidi / Al Mawrid
- Al-Quran, Yusuf Ali Translation
- Verse by Verse Qur'an Study Circle
In addition the references of other sources which have been explored have also been given above. Those desirous of detailed explanations and tafsir (exegesis), may refer to these sites.
Please share this page to your friends and family members through Facebook, WhatsApp or any means on Social Media so that they can also be benefited by it and better understand Islam and the Qur'ān - Insha Allah (Allah Willing) you shall be blessed with the best of both worlds.
.jpg)
