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سُورَةُ طه · 20:7
MeccanRevelation order ٤٥Juzʾ ١٦Page ٣١٢

وَإِن تَجْهَرْ بِٱلْقَوْلِ فَإِنَّهُۥ يَعْلَمُ ٱلسِّرَّ وَأَخْفَى

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Saheeh International · EN

And if you speak aloud - then indeed, He knows the secret and what is [even] more hidden.

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Introduction

This is āyah 7 of Sūrat Taa-Haa (Ta-Ha), the 45th sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Meccan period and sits within Juzʾ 16. Meccan verses tend to address faith, the oneness of God, and the hereafter.

This introduction is a starting point — the community and Bilal will enrich it over time.

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Revelation & occasion

Asbāb al-Nuzūl
Period
Meccan
Order revealed
45 of 114
Surah
Taa-Haa (20)
Occasion of revelation · Al-Wahidi

Even if thou speakest aloud, yet surely He knows the secret and the most hidden. The soul is not informed of what is in the heart, the heart is not informed of the secrets of the spirit, and the spirit has no access to the realities of the secret. As for that which is most hidden, no one is aware of it but the Real. What does the soul know of what is placed in the treasure-house of the heart? What does the heart know of the subtleties inside the sanctuary of the spirit? What does the spirit know of the deposits in the pavilion of the secret core? What does the secret core know of the realities in the most hidden? The soul is the locus of the Trust, the heart the house of recognition, the spirit the target of contemplation, and the secret core the place where passion puts down its saddlebags. As for the most hidden, the Real knows what it is-people's imaginations and understandings are empty of knowing it.

Commentary

Tafsir

4 works

Hafiz Ibn Kathir

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. طه - مَآ أَنَزَلْنَا عَلَيْكَ الْقُرْءَانَ لِتَشْقَى - إِلاَّ تَذْكِرَةً لِّمَن يَخْشَى - تَنزِيلًا مِّمَّنْ خَلَقَ الْأَرْضَ وَالسَّمَاوَاتِ الْعُلَى - الرَّحْمَٰنُ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَىٰ - لَهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا وَمَا تَحْتَ الثَّرَىٰ - وَإِن تَجْهَرْ بِالْقَوْلِ فَإِنَّهُ يَعْلَمُ السِّرَّ وَأَخْفَى - اللَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ۖ لَهُ الْأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَىٰ (1. Ta Ha.)(2. We have not sent down the Qur'an unto you to cause you distress,)(3. But only as a Reminder to those who fear (Allah).)(4. A revelation from Him Who created the earth and high heavens.)(5. The Most Gracious Istawa the Throne.)(6. To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on the earth, and all that is between them, and all that is under the soil.)(7. …
Provenance

Chains of transmission

Oral — isnād

  1. ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation

    Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.

  2. 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation

    Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.

  3. TodayLiving chainsawaiting curation

    Continuous ijāzah chains link reciters today back to the Prophet ﷺ.

Verified isnād chains for this āyah will be added by curators.

Written — the manuscript record

  1. ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation

    The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).

  2. 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation

    Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.

  3. Modern printModern printawaiting curation

    The 1924 Cairo edition → today: the standard printed muṣḥaf used worldwide.

A curated chain of manuscript images for this exact āyah — roughly one per century — is coming. Help us source and verify them.

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And now — what do you think?

The text, its history and the classical commentary are laid out above. Share your own understanding, ask a question, or reason with others.

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Provenance

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