Transliteration:( Wa law nashaaa'u la-arainaakahum fala 'araftahum bi seemaahum; wa lata'rifan nahum fee lahnil qawl; wallaahu ya'lamu a'maalakum )
"And if We will, We could show them to you, so that you should recognise them by their faces [73], and you shall certainly [74] recognise them by the tone [75] of their speech. And Allah knows your deeds."
This refers to the ability of the Holy Prophet ﷺ to recognise the hypocrites. Just as the disbelievers will be disgraced on the Day of Judgement with darkened faces and blue bodies, Allah could expose them even in this world. However, due to the Prophet's mercy, such open humiliation was generally withheld.
This does not negate the Prophet’s knowledge, but rather emphasizes his graceful restraint in not exposing hypocrites unless commanded by Allah.
The Prophet ﷺ had the divinely-gifted ability to identify hypocrisy through speech—even when the hypocrites spoke in flattering or deceptive tones, he could detect the falsehood behind their words.
The verse “You know them not, We know them” (Surah 59:101) is either abrogated or interpreted as emphatic expression, highlighting that Allah’s knowledge encompasses all, while the Prophet ﷺ was given insight as per divine will.
This verse confirms that the Holy Prophet ﷺ was granted unique insight, not only into external expressions but also into the internal states of people—he could distinguish between truth and hypocrisy, even by facial expression or lip movement.
According to Khazainul Irfaan and Roohul Ma‘ani, even awliya (saints) of Allah possess a share in this light of discernment, being able to identify sincere disciples from a distance—a spiritual reflection of the Prophet’s gift.
The tafsir of Surah Muhammad verse 30 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Muhammad ayat 29 which provides the complete commentary from verse 29 through 31.
(47:30) If We were to so will, We could have shown them to you so that you would recognise them by their faces, and you would certainly know them by the manner of their speech. Allah knows all your deeds.
There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.
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