Knowing (ʿ-l-m) and the Unseen (gh-y-b)
عَٰلِمِ ٱلْغَيْبِ وَٱلشَّهَٰدَةِ
ʿālimi l-ghaybi wa-l-shahādah — Knower of the hidden and the witnessed
In the verses given, the root ʿ-l-m (to know) is repeatedly set against the root gh-y-b (the hidden/unseen): knowing the ghayb is claimed for God, denied of the speakers, and in several verses paired with the witnessed as the two domains of divine knowledge.
The verses given place the two roots in a fixed relationship. In one cluster, knowledge of the ghayb is asserted of God: God says of himself 'I am the One who knows the hidden (realities) of the heavens and the earth' (2:33), and the title ʿallām al-ghuyūb, 'All-Knower of the hidden realities', recurs (5:109; 9:78; 34:48). A second cluster pairs the two domains explicitly: ʿālim al-ghayb wa-l-shahādah, 'Knower of the hidden and the witnessed' (23:92; 32:6; 39:46; 62:8), where the active participle from ʿ-l-m governs both the unseen and the witnessed as its objects. A third cluster denies the same knowledge of the speaker: 'nor do I know the hidden' (6:50; 11:31), where the 1S imperfect أَعْلَمُ takes الْغَيْبَ as its accusative object, and the speaker limits himself to what is revealed (6:50). The remaining verses show looser couplings of the two roots: 'Then We will most surely recount it to them with [full] knowledge, and We had never been absent' (7:7), where the active participle غَآئِبِينَ from gh-y-b is negated; 'so that he may know that I did not betray him in what was hidden' (12:52); 'a casting of stones at the unseen' against 'My Lord is most knowing regarding their number' (18:22); and 'so that Allah may make known who supports Him and His messengers in the unseen' (57:25). Read together, the sample shows the pair functioning as a boundary marker: the ghayb is what is hidden, and knowing it marks the difference between God and those who do not possess it.
Where it occurs
- 2:33 God declares himself the one who knows the ghayb of the heavens and the earth, alongside what is open and what is concealed.
- 5:109 The messengers disclaim knowledge (lā ʿilma lanā) and address God as ʿallām al-ghuyūb.
- 6:50 The speaker denies knowing the ghayb and limits himself to what is revealed to him.
- 7:7 God recounts with knowledge and negates being ghāʾib (absent) — the two roots set in parallel clauses.
- 9:78 God is said to know the hidden matter and confidential talk, and is named ʿallām al-ghuyūb.
- 11:31 The speaker denies knowing the ghayb, while God is 'most knowing' of what is within people's selves.
- 12:52 Knowing (li-yaʿlama) is set against acting bil-ghayb, 'in what was hidden' — betrayal done unseen.
- 18:22 Speakers give differing counts — 'a casting of stones at the unseen' — while the Lord is 'most knowing' of their number.
- 23:92 God is ʿālim al-ghayb wa-l-shahādah, knower of both the hidden and the witnessed.
- 32:6 God is named the Knower of the hidden and the witnessed, the Mighty, the Merciful.
- 34:48 God is ʿallām al-ghuyūb, the All-Knower of the unseen.
- 39:46 God is addressed as Originator and Knower of the hidden and the witnessed, who judges between servants.
- 57:25 God may 'make known' (li-yaʿlama) who supports Him and His messengers bil-ghayb, in the unseen.
- 62:8 People are returned to the Knower of the hidden and the witnessed, who will inform them of their deeds.
All Qur'anic expressions