Tafsir of Ta-Ha 20:7

"And if you speak aloud with the word..." It means: He knows what you have whispered to others, and what is more hidden than that—which is what you have brought to your mind—or what you have kept secret within yourself.

"And what is more hidden" It refers to what you will keep secret within yourself. Some have said that akhfa (more hidden) is a verb, meaning that He knows the secrets of His servants and hides from them what He knows. This is like His saying: "He knows what is before them and what is behind them, but they do not encompass it in knowledge" (Taha: 110). However, this is not the preferred view.

If you ask: How does the consequence (apodosis) correspond to the condition (protasis)? I say: Its meaning is: If you speak aloud in the remembrance of Allah—whether through supplication or otherwise—then know that He is independent of your speaking aloud. This is either a prohibition against speaking aloud, as in His saying: "And remember your Lord within yourself, in humility and fear, and without speaking aloud" (Al-A'raf: 205), or it is an instruction to the servants that speaking aloud is not for the sake of making Allah hear, but for another purpose.

"The Most Beautiful" (al-husna) This is the feminine form of al-ahsan (the most beautiful). It is used to describe the Names because they follow the rule of the feminine, just as you would say al-jama'ah al-husna (the best group). Similar examples are: "other uses" (ma'arib ukhra) (Taha: 18), and "Our greatest signs" (min ayatina al-kubra) (Taha: 23).

The way in which His Names are superior in beauty to all other names is through their indication of the meanings of sanctification, glorification, exaltation, Lordship, and actions that are the ultimate in beauty.

7. "And has the story of Moses reached you? When he saw a fire and said to his family, 'Stay here; indeed, I have perceived a fire; perhaps I can bring you a torch from it or find at the fire some guidance.'"