God is most knowing of what…
وَٱللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا
wa-llāhu aʿlamu bi-mā — and God is most knowing of what…
In the ten verses given, this fixed frame attaches God's superior knowledge to a changing slot: what is inside people (selves, chests, hearts), what they say, do, conceal, store up, what she delivered, what He Himself sends down, or how long they stayed. The frame repeatedly closes scenes of disputed or hidden knowledge by assigning it to God.
The frame consists of the noun ٱللَّهُ in the nominative, the adjective أَعْلَمُ (elative, masculine singular, nominative) and the preposition بِمَا, whose relative مَا opens a slot filled differently in each occurrence. In the verses given the fillers fall into several groups. One group locates hidden interior content: فِىٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ "within their selves" (11:31), فِى صُدُورِ ٱلْعَٰلَمِينَ "within the chests of all beings" (29:10), and مَا يَكْتُمُونَ "what they conceal" (3:167) and كَانُوا۟ يَكْتُمُونَ "what they have been concealing" (5:61) and يُوعُونَ "what they store up" (84:23), where 3:167 explicitly contrasts speech with what is not in the heart, and 5:61 contrasts their words with their state of denial. A second group takes speech or description: تَصِفُونَ "you describe" (12:77). A third takes action: تَعْمَلُونَ "you do" (22:68). Two fillers are distinctive: يُنَزِّلُ "He sends down" (16:101), where the object of God's knowledge is His own act, and لَبِثُوا۟ "how long they stayed" (18:26), a duration. The frame functions rhetorically in context: in 11:31 it caps a speaker's refusal to claim knowledge of the hidden; in 12:77 and 22:68 it answers an accusation or dispute; in 3:36 it follows a statement about what was delivered. In 29:10 the frame is embedded in a rhetorical question, أَوَلَيْسَ ٱللَّهُ بِأَعْلَمَ, with أَعْلَمَ in the genitive after بِ, so the wording differs there from the other nine occurrences.
Where it occurs
- 11:31 Assigns to God knowledge of what is within the selves of those the speaker declines to judge.
- 12:77 Answers an accusation about theft with God's knowledge of what the speakers describe.
- 16:101 Asserts God's knowledge of what He Himself sends down, in the matter of exchanging a sign.
- 18:26 Assigns to God knowledge of how long they stayed, followed by the statement that the hidden of the heavens and earth belongs to Him.
- 22:68 A commanded reply to those who argue: God is most knowing of what you do.
- 29:10 Poses the frame as a rhetorical question about God's knowledge of what is within the chests of all beings, exposing the claim "we were with you".
- 3:167 Follows the statement that they say with their mouths what is not in their hearts; God is most knowing of what they conceal.
- 3:36 Follows the announcement of delivering a female; God is more knowing of what she delivered.
- 5:61 Follows their saying "We have believed" while in denial; God is most knowing of what they have been concealing.
- 84:23 Stands as a complete statement: God is most knowing of what they store up.
All Qur'anic expressions