Surah Yunus, Ayah 61
Quran 10:61 · Jonah · Makki · Para 11 · Page 215
وَمَا تَكُوْنُ فِیْ شَاْنٍ وَّمَا تَتْلُوْا مِنْهُ مِنْ قُرْاٰنٍ وَّلَا تَعْمَلُوْنَ مِنْ عَمَلٍ اِلَّا كُنَّا عَلَیْكُمْ شُهُوْدًا اِذْ تُفِیْضُوْنَ فِیْهِ ؕ وَمَا یَعْزُبُ عَنْ رَّبِّكَ مِنْ مِّثْقَالِ ذَرَّةٍ فِی الْاَرْضِ وَلَا فِی السَّمَآءِ وَلَاۤ اَصْغَرَ مِنْ ذٰلِكَ وَلَاۤ اَكْبَرَ اِلَّا فِیْ كِتٰبٍ مُّبِیْنٍ ۟
Transliteration
Wama takoonu fee sha/nin wamatatloo minhu min qur-anin wala taAAmaloona minAAamalin illa kunna AAalaykum shuhoodan ithtufeedoona feehi wama yaAAzubu AAan rabbika minmithqali tharratin fee al-ardi walafee assama-i wala asghara min thalikawala akbara illa fee kitabin mubeen
Saheeh International
And, [O Muḥammad], you are not [engaged] in any matter and do not recite any of the Qur’ān and you [people] do not do any deed except that We are witness over you when you are involved in it. And not absent from your Lord is any [part] of an atom's weight within the earth or within the heaven or [anything] smaller than that or greater but that it is in a clear register.
Al-Mukhtasar fi Tafsir
You, O Messenger, do not get involved in any matter, nor do you recite any portion of the Qur’ān, nor do you, O believers, do any action, except that I see you. I know about you when you act, and I hear you. The weight of an atom, in the sky or on earth, is not hidden from the knowledge of your Lord. Nor is there anything lesser or more in weight, except that it is recorded in a clear book that does not omit anything, no matter how small or big it may be.
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (abridged)
Neither you do any deed nor recite any portion of the Qur'an, nor you do any deed, but We are Witness thereof when you are doing it. And nothing is hidden from your Lord (so much as) the weight of a speck of dust on the earth or in the heaven. Not what is less than that or what is greater than that but is (written) in a Clear Record (61)
Everything Small or Large is within the Knowledge of Allah
Allah informed His Prophet ﷺ that He knows and is well acquainted with all of the affairs and conditions of him and his Ummah and all of creation and its creatures at all times – during every hour and second. Nothing slips or escapes from His knowledge and observation, not even anything the weight of a speck of dust within the heavens or earth, or anything that is smaller or larger than that. Everything is in a manifest Book, as Allah said:
وَعِندَهُ مَفَاتِحُ الْغَيْبِ لَا يَعْلَمُهَا إِلَّا هُوَ ۚ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا فِي الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ ۚ وَمَا تَسْقُطُ مِن وَرَقَةٍ إِلَّا يَعْلَمُهَا وَلَا حَبَّةٍ فِي ظُلُمَاتِ الْأَرْضِ وَلَا رَطْبٍ وَلَا يَابِسٍ إِلَّا فِي كِتَابٍ مُّبِينٍ
(And with Him are the keys of the Ghayb (all that is hidden and unseen), none knows them but He. And He knows whatever there is in the land and in the sea; not a leaf falls, but He knows it. There is not a grain in the darkness of the earth nor anything fresh or dry, but is written in a Clear Record.)(6:59) He stated that He is Well-Aware of the movement of the trees and other inanimate objects. He is also Well-Aware of all grazing beasts. He said:
وَمَا مِن دَابَّةٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَا طَائِرٍ يَطِيرُ بِجَنَاحَيْهِ إِلَّا أُمَمٌ أَمْثَالُكُم
(There is not a moving creature on earth, nor a bird that flies with its two wings, but are communities like you.)(6:38) He also said:
وَمَا مِن دَابَّةٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ إِلَّا عَلَى اللَّهِ رِزْقُهَا
(And no moving creature is there on earth but its provision is due from Allah.)(11:6) If this is His knowledge of the movement of these things, then what about His knowledge of the movement of the creatures that are commanded to worship Him? Allah said:
وَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى الْعَزِيزِ الرَّحِيمِ - الَّذِي يَرَاكَ حِينَ تَقُومُ - وَتَقَلُّبَكَ فِي السَّاجِدِينَ
(And put your trust in the Almighty, the Most Merciful, Who sees you when you stand up, and your movements among those who fall prostrate.)(26:217-219) That is why Allah said:
وَمَا تَكُونُ فِي شَأْنٍ وَمَا تَتْلُو مِنْهُ مِن قُرْآنٍ وَلَا تَعْمَلُونَ مِنْ عَمَلٍ إِلَّا كُنَّا عَلَيْكُمْ شُهُودًا إِذْ تُفِيضُونَ فِيهِ
(Neither you do any deed nor recite any portion of the Qur'an, nor you do any deed, but We are Witness thereof when you are doing it.) meaning, 'We are watching and hearing you when you engage in that thing.' When Jibril asked the Prophet ﷺ about Ihsan, he said:
أَنْ تَعْبُدَ اللهَ كَأَنَّكَ تَرَاهُ، فَإِنْ لَمْ تَكُنْ تَرَاهُ فَإِنَّهُ يَرَاكَ
(It is that you worship Allah as if you are seeing Him. But since you do not see Him, be certain that He is watching you.)