I know what you do not know
أَعْلَمُ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
aʿlamu mā lā taʿlamūn — I know what you do not know
In a single verse the root ʿ-l-m appears twice, once in the first person and once in the second person plural, setting the speaker's knowledge directly against the addressees' lack of knowledge as a reply to their question.
In (2:30) the verb root ʿ-l-m occurs twice within one clause. The speaker says أَعْلَمُ, a form-I imperfect first-person singular, "I know," and the same root returns as تَعْلَمُونَ, a form-I imperfect second-person masculine plural, "you know," negated by لَا. The clause is introduced by مَا, "what," so the object of the first verb is precisely the thing the second verb, negated, does not reach. The structure is a mirror: one root, two persons, the action (knowing) held by the speaker and withheld from the addressees. The verse places this clause as a direct answer. The addressees have just asked أَتَجْعَلُ فِيهَا مَن يُفْسِدُ فِيهَا وَيَسْفِكُ ٱلدِّمَآءَ, "Will You place in it one who causes ruin in it and pours out the blood," while describing their own actions: نُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِكَ وَنُقَدِّسُ لَكَ, "we exalt [You] with Your praise and declare holiness for You." The reply does not answer with a reason drawn from those stated actions; it answers by asserting a difference of knowledge itself. The pronouns mark the parties: the speaker's أَعْلَمُ is singular against the plural تَعْلَمُونَ, matching the plural speakers of the question (قَالُوا۟, "they said"). The verse thus uses the mirrored verb to close the exchange without conceding or rebutting the addressees' description of what the placed one will do.
Where it occurs
- 2:30 The clause closes the dialogue: the speaker answers the angels' question by asserting knowledge they lack, using the root ʿ-l-m in both persons.
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