Tafseer of The Prophets · Al-Anbiyaa · 21:4
The Prophet said, "My Lord knows whatever is said throughout the heaven and earth, and He is the Hearing, the Knowing."
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The Qurʾān reciters differed over the reading of the words قُلْ رَبِّي ("Say: my Lord"). Most of the reciters of the people of Medina and Basra, and some of the Kūfans, read it as قُلْ رَبِّي — in the imperative mood. Some of the reciters of Mecca and most of the reciters of Kūfa read it as قَالَ رَبِّي — in the narrative mode.
Those who read it in the imperative mood apparently intended the following interpretation: "Say, O Muḥammad, to those who said أَفَتَأْتُونَ السِّحْرَ وَأَنْتُمْ تُبْصِرُونَ : My Lord knows the word of every speaker in the heaven and on the earth; nothing of that is hidden from Him. He is the All-Hearing of all this — including what they say of lies — the All-Knowing concerning my truthfulness and the reality to which I invite you, and concerning the falsehood of what they say, and all other things."
Those who read it in the narrative mode قَالَ apparently intended: Muḥammad said: "My Lord knows the word" — as a report from Allah about the answer that His Prophet gave them.
The position on this matter is that both readings are well-known readings in the recitation of the cities, and the scholars of the reciters have read each of the two. Both are transmitted in the muṣḥaf copies of the Muslims with the same meaning, for when Allah commanded Muḥammad to say this, he said it; and when he said it, he did so by the command of Allah. Therefore, whoever reads either of the two readings has adhered to the correct reading.
