Transliteration:( Yastakhfoona minannaasi wa laa yastakh foona minal laahi wa huwa ma'ahum iz yubaiyitoona maa laa yardaa minal qawl; wa kaanal laahu bimaa ya'maloona muheetaa )
“They seek to hide from men, but they cannot hide from Allah [339]. And Allah is with them [340] when they design in their hearts that thing which is disliked by Allah [341]. And surely Allah has encompassed their doings [342].”
This verse forms the foundation of taqwa (piety) and inner purity.
If a person remains conscious that nothing is hidden from Allah Almighty, he would never have the boldness to commit a sin, even if he can hide it from others.
Allah Almighty, by His Supreme Knowledge and Power, is always with them—even in their most secret plots. This should evoke a sense of shame and modesty in one’s conduct.
From this, we learn:
If one truly believes that Allah is always present, he will restrain himself from wrongdoing.
Likewise, if one accepts that the Holy Prophet ﷺ is aware and spiritually present, he will not have the courage to sin.
The wording of the verse subtly includes the Holy Prophet ﷺ within divine awareness. Allah says, “they hide from people”, not “they hide from the Prophet”, and then says “they cannot hide from Allah”—hinting at the spiritual presence and knowledge of the Prophet ﷺ.
As confirmed in Surah Al-Ahzab (33:45):
“O Prophet, the Communicator of the unseen news! No doubt, We have sent you as the present beholder.”
Allah is:
With the believers out of kindness.
With the Prophets and saints through grace and benevolence.
With disbelievers by His wrath.
And with all creation by His Knowledge and Power.
The phrase “they design in their hearts” refers to the companions and supporters of Tam‘a, who secretly plotted to prove him innocent and shift blame elsewhere, in order to protect their tribe from disgrace.
Their intention to manipulate truth was deeply disliked by Allah.
This means that Allah’s knowledge and power has completely surrounded them.
It should be noted that this refers to His attributes, not to His essence, for Allah is beyond all spatial limitations.
He is neither contained by space, nor does He occupy space, and thus, His power encompasses all, while He remains transcendent.
The tafsir of Surah Nisa verse 108 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Nisa ayat 105 which provides the complete commentary from verse 105 through 109.
(4:108) They can hide (their deeds) from men but they cannot hide (them) from Allah for He is with them even when they hold nightly counsels that are unpleasing to Allah. Allah encompasses all their doings.
There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.
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