Al-'Adiyat (The Chargers): (11) Indeed, your Lord, that Day, is with them [fully aware].

In this verse, there are several questions to consider:

The First Question: This verse might imply that Allah's knowledge of them on that Day is acquired through experience (testing/observation), which necessitates prior ignorance, and this is impossible for Allah.

The Answer (in two ways):

1. It is as if Allah is saying: For one who was not knowledgeable, knowledge is attained through testing. Since Allah has always been knowledgeable, it is even more fitting that He is intimately aware of your conditions.
2. The benefit of specifying that time in the verse, "That Day" (referring to the Day of Judgment), despite His eternal knowledge, is to emphasize that it is the time of recompense and the establishment of absolute sovereignty ("Whose is the dominion?"). It is as if He is saying: No ruler's judgment or scholar's ruling will be accepted that Day except His. How many scholars do not know the answer at the moment an event occurs, only to recall it later? Allah is not like that.

The Second Question: Why are the actions of the hearts specifically mentioned in the verse, "And what is in the breasts will be made manifest," while the actions of the limbs are omitted?

The Answer: Because the actions of the limbs are subordinate to the actions of the heart. If there were no impulses and intentions in the hearts, the actions of the limbs would not occur. This is why Allah made the heart the basis for condemnation, saying, "Indeed, [Allah] is All-Aware of what is in the breasts," and the basis for praise, saying, "whose hearts trembled."

The Third Question: Why did Allah say, "And what is in the sadur (breasts)" and not "what is in the qulub (hearts)"?

The Answer: Because the qalb (heart) is the vehicle of the spirit, and by nature, it loves knowledge of Allah and service to Him. The one who disputes in this matter is the nafs (self/ego), and its dwelling place is close to the sadr (breast). This is why He said, "who whispers into the breasts of mankind," and also, "Is he whom Allah has expanded his breast for Islam?"—thus making the sadr the location of Islam.

The Fourth Question: The pronoun in the statement, "Indeed, your Lord, that Day, is with them," refers to al-insan (mankind), which is singular, yet the pronoun "them" is plural.

The Answer: Al-insan (mankind) is used here in the sense of the plural, similar to His saying, "Indeed, mankind is in loss," followed by the exception, "Except those who believed." If it were not meant plurally, the subsequent exception would not be correct.

Know that two further issues remain concerning this verse:

Issue One: This verse serves as proof that Allah is knowledgeable of specific, temporal details (al-juz'iyyat al-zamaniyyah), because Allah explicitly stated that He is knowledgeable of the manner of their conditions on that Day. Therefore, denying this makes one an unbeliever.

Issue Two: It is narrated that Al-Hajjaj once uttered the phrase with the accusative case (Nassb), omitting the lam from the word lakhabir (so that the speech would not be grammatically flawed/uneloquent). Some scholars claimed this utterance was disbelief because he intended to alter the revealed text. It is also narrated that Abu Al-Samā’al recited it in this manner. And Allah, the Glorified and Exalted, knows best. May Allah send blessings upon our Master Muhammad, his family, and his companions.