Hearing, Seeing as a verse closing
سَمِيعٌۢ بَصِيرٌ
samīʿun baṣīrun — Hearing, Seeing
The pair samīʿ baṣīr closes verses about Allah's actions in the world and toward individuals, asserting that what the verse has just described is fully perceived by Allah, and in 58:1 the closing follows verbs of hearing applied directly to a woman's complaint.
In these four verses the pair samīʿ baṣīr functions as a closing ground or seal on what precedes it. In 22:61 the closing follows a statement about Allah interweaving night into day and day into night; the pair presents the ongoing alternation as something Allah hears and sees. In 22:75 the pair closes a statement that Allah selects envoys from the angels and from the people; selection implies discernment, and Hearing, Seeing asserts that Allah perceives those He chooses. In 31:28 the pair closes the claim that the creation and raising-up of all humans are like those of a single self; the closing grounds the ease of the act in Allah's full perception of every self, however many there are. In 58:1 the pair is preceded by two verbs of hearing in the same verse: Allah has heard the woman's speech and is hearing the mutual exchange between her and the addressee (the verse's 'you'). Here the closing pair is not a free-standing assertion but a summary of what the verse has just narrated in verbal form, with the second element, Seeing, adding what the first verb alone did not state. Across the four verses the pair consistently closes a clause introduced by inna or a parallel structure, and each time it ties the divine act just described — interweaving, selecting, creating and raising, hearing a complaint — to the claim that Allah perceives it.
Where it occurs
- 22:61 Closes the statement about interweaving night and day, asserting that Allah hears and sees the alternation just described.
- 22:75 Closes the statement about selecting envoys from angels and people, grounding the selection in Allah's perception.
- 31:28 Closes the comparison of humanity's creation and raising-up to a single self, asserting Allah's perception of all selves.
- 58:1 Closes a verse in which Allah is twice said to hear, summarizing the narrated hearing and adding seeing to it.
All Qur'anic expressions