ʿAlīm Khabīr as a verse closing
عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌۢ
ʿalīm khabīr — All-Knowing, All-Aware
In (31:34) the pair closes a list of matters placed with Allah, two of which no self knows; in (49:13) it closes the declaration that honor with Allah rests on wary mindfulness rather than clan identity.
In both verses given, the pair ʿalīm khabīr stands at the end of the verse, introduced by the particle inna and following the name Allah: inna llāha ʿalīmun khabīrun. Both occurrences are identical in Arabic wording, with the same two adjectives in the masculine singular indefinite nominative, and both function as a closing seal on what precedes. In (31:34) the verse lists five things placed with Allah: the knowledge of the Hour, the sending down of rain, what is in the wombs, what a self will earn tomorrow, and in which land a self will die. Two of these — what a self will earn tomorrow and in which land it will die — are framed as what no self knows, while the Hour and what is in the wombs are framed as what Allah knows and the rain as what He sends down; the closing pair asserts that Allah knows and is aware. The verse's own verb yaʿlamu ("He knows") in the body of the verse shares its root (ع ل م) with ʿalīm, so the closing adjective echoes the verse's central claim of knowledge. In (49:13) the verse addresses all people, states that they were created from a male and a female and made into communities and clans so that they may come to recognize one another, and declares that the most honored in Allah's presence is the one most guarded. The closing pair then grounds this declaration: the one who judges honor is the one who knows and is aware. In (31:34) the pair follows matters the verse places with Allah or declares unknown to any self; in (49:13) it follows a declaration that honor with Allah rests on wary mindfulness, a quality the verse distinguishes from the clan identity by which people recognize one another.
Where it occurs
- 31:34 Closes a list of five matters — the knowledge of the Hour (with Allah), the rain He sends down, what is in the wombs (which He knows), and two things no self knows — asserting that Allah knows and is aware.
- 49:13 Closes the declaration that honor with Allah belongs to the most guarded, grounding that judgment in Allah's knowledge and awareness.
All Qur'anic expressions