إِلَٰهُكُمْ إِلَٰهٌ وَٰحِدٌ فَٱلَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ قُلُوبُهُم مُّنكِرَةٌ وَهُم مُّسْتَكْبِرُونَ · لَا جَرَمَ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ مَا يُسِرُّونَ وَمَا يُعْلِنُونَ إِنَّهُۥ لَا يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُسْتَكْبِرِينَ
Ilāhukum ilāhun wāḥid, fa'lladhīna lā yuʾminūna bi'l-ākhirati qulūbuhum munkiratun wa hum mustakbirūn · Lā jarama anna'llāha yaʿlamu mā yusirrūna wa mā yuʿlinūn, innahū lā yuḥibbu'l-mustakbirīn
"Your god is one god. As for those who do not believe in the hereafter, their hearts are in denial and they make themselves great. · Beyond doubt God knows what they conceal and what they make known. He does not love those who make themselves great."
| Expression | Where | What |
|---|---|---|
| Qulūbuhum munkira | Within | A heart that does not accept |
| Wa hum mustakbirūn | Without | The conduct of self-magnifying |
And the order of the two clauses must be recorded: first the heart, then the conduct. The verse ranks conduct as an outcome of the heart.
I give this as an observation, and its ground is the order of the clauses: the verse does not name denial as a want of knowledge. Both diagnoses have to do not with knowledge but with disposition.
Lā jarama occurs in five places in the Qurʾān, and the lexicographers differ over the origin of the form.
| View | How lā jarama is built |
|---|---|
| 1 | The negative lā + jarama (to cut) — "certain, unavoidable" |
| 2 | A frozen formula of oath or emphasis — "beyond doubt, assuredly" |
| 3 | A statement of necessity, like lā budda |
And this construction will occur twice in the sūra: here and in the sixty-second verse (lā jarama anna lahumu'l-nār). This is a repetition verifiable within the sūra.
It must be recorded: the sentence yaʿlamu mā tusirrūna wa mā tuʿlinūn occurred in the nineteenth verse. In the twenty-third it returns in almost the same words — the only difference being the change of person:
| Verse | Expression | Person |
|---|---|---|
| 19 | Mā tusirrūna wa mā tuʿlinūn | Second person — you |
| 23 | Mā yusirrūna wa mā yuʿlinūn | Third person — they |
This is a repetition that can be verified from the text. And I record this as my own reading: the same sentence is said first to the general addressee, then to a particular group. The ruling is laid down first for everyone, then applied to those who hold a certain stance.