Az-Zukhruf (Ornaments of gold)

78. Verily, We have brought the truth to you, but most of you have a hatred for the truth.

79. Or have they plotted some plan? Then We too are planning.

80. Or do they think that We hear not their secrets and their private counsel? [Yes We do] and Our messengers are by them, to record [everything].

God Almighty is the Origin of Truth and angles are responsible for recording the recompense of acknowledging the Truth or failing to do so.

Divine recompense is consistent with our deeds and He will not chastise anyone without carrying out evil deeds or making decisions to commit them:

(“Or have they plotted some plan?”).

Disbelievers unknowingly imagine that God Almighty is unaware of their secret plans. The first two Verses confirm the preceding Verse to the effect that the Essence of Divine Unity addresses disbelievers and in reply to those of them who seek deliverance says that He clarified for them the Path of Truth in this world; in other words, He sent His Messengers to guide them but they disliked to follow the Straight Path.

They not only failed to acknowledge the Message imparted to them by prophets but also they persisted in their opposition to and denial of Divine Word and made attempts at their persecution; as a consequence of which God Almighty rendered their torment more severe and the same bears testimony to the fact that Divine Retribution is consistent with human deeds.

Verse 80 asks disbelievers whether they imagine that God Almighty is unaware of their secrets and inward hatred and opposition to the Message and what they whisper into the ears of each other. Then it provides the reply saying that it is not as they have imagined since if they hear the words of each other and they are unaware of what they entertain in their hearts, God Almighty hears their words and is aware of their secrets and see their deeds. He is well informed of their oppositions to Muslims and their secret counsels and the most noble of recorders (kiram al-katibin), i.e., the angels in charge of recording human words and deeds, are present at your side and listen and record whatever they say or they do.

The All-Hearing (sami’) and the All-Seeing (basir) are two of the Most Beautiful Divine Names. It is also said that the two Divine Names indicate His Pre-eternal Knowledge, i.e., His Omniscience embraces all intelligible phenomena.

As mentioned above, the two Divine Names may also allude to the fact that whatever you perceive through your senses of vision and hearing is known through Divine Immediate Knowledge (‘ilm huduri) since all contingent beings are embraced by His Omniscience:

(“Nothing is excluded from His Knowledge even if it be an iota in the heaven or on the earth”).