Do they not know that God knows what they keep secret and what they announce? This is the speech of the Lord who is worshiped by the tawḤīd-voicers, responds to those who call, knows the state of the servants, is aware of the apparent and hidden, and calls back those who have turned away. One He calls with explicit expressions, presenting Himself as the Nurturer. He says, “Be penitent toward your Lord!” [39:54]. Another He calls with His exalted allusions and turns the face of his heart away from others to Himself. He presents His lordhood and kingship to him and says, “Do they not know that God knows what they keep secret and what they announce?” For the recognizers, this is sufficient allusion. When the Lord of the Worlds says that He knows the secret cores and is aware of the hidden things, they sweep the dust of the others from their secret cores and give scatteredness no way into their hearts. When He says that He knows the apparent, they bring truthfulness to bear in their outward interaction with God's creatures. This is why the folk of allusion have said that He knows what they keep secret is a command to watchfulness between servant and Lord, and what they announce is a command to truthfulness in interactions and settling accounts with the creatures. In one of God's books has come, “If you do not know that I see you, that is a defect in your faith. If you do know that I see you, why do you make Me the lowliest of gazers upon you?” Equivalent to this verse is what the Exalted Lord says: “He knows the treachery of the eyes and what the breasts conceal” [40:19]. There are diverse treacheries in the eyes of the lookers, because the travelers are diverse. The treachery of the eyes of the worshipers is that in the dark night, when it is time for whis- pering to God, they fall asleep and the intimacy of seclusion is lost to them. The prophet David received the revelation, “O David, he who claims to love Me is a liar if night comes, and he goes to sleep on Me. Does not every lover love to be secluded with his beloved?” God praised Abraham for this attribute when He said, “When night darkened over him” [6:76].
