A Discussion of the Narrations

God Almighty stated: “Did I not tell you that I know the unseen of the heavens and the earth, and I know what you reveal and what you have been concealing?”

Imām ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn (a.s.) said: The angels prostrated and thought to themselves during the prostration: “We never expected that God would create any being more honored than us. We are God’s treasurers, His neighbors, and the closest of His creation.” Upon raising their heads, God said: “I know what you reveal of your rejection of Me and what you conceal, thinking that God would not create any creature more honored to Him than us...”(312)

You conceal in what they revealed the matter of the sons of the jinn and concealed what was in themselves...(313)

From Ibn ʿAbbās: ... He said: “Indeed, I know what you do not know.” He is saying: “I have been informed from the heart of Iblīs about what you have not been informed of regarding his arrogance and conceit...”(314) His saying “and what you have been concealing” means what Iblīs kept secret within himself of arrogance.(315)

Regarding His saying “and I know what you reveal and what you have been concealing”, he said: What Iblīs kept secret of disbelief in prostration.(316)

Abū ʿAbdullāh (a.s.) narrated that when God created Ādam, He commanded the angels to prostrate before him. The angels thought: “We did not think that God created anyone more honored by Him than us. We are His neighbors and the closest to Him among His creation.” God responded by saying: “Did I not tell you that I know what you reveal and what you have been concealing?”(317)

From Ibn ʿAbbās... “and I know what you reveal”, he said: What you manifest. “And what you have been concealing”, He is saying: I know the secret just as I know what is public.(318)

Regarding His saying, “What you reveal,” it means their saying, “Will You place upon it one who causes corruption therein?” And “what you conceal” means some of them saying to others, “We are better than him and more knowledgeable.”(319)

From al-Ḥasan, addressing Ḥasan ibn Dīnār: “O Abū Saʿīd! What do you think of God’s saying to the angels, ‘And I know what you reveal and what you conceal’? What did the angels conceal?” He replied: “When God created Ādam, the angels witnessed a wondrous creation, and it stirred something within them. They then turned to one another and shared their thoughts in secret. Some said, ‘What concerns you about this creation? God does not create any being except that we are more honored by Him than it.’ That is what they concealed.”(320)

Comment: The concealment of the angels differed from that of Iblīs in several ways:

a) What the angels concealed was their belief in their own superiority over other creatures, which was due to their deficiency in knowledge. In contrast, what Iblīs concealed was his arrogance and opposition to the truth.

b) The concealment of the angels was due to their limited knowledge, as indicated. Meanwhile, Iblīs’ concealment stemmed from a practical shortcoming, namely hypocrisy.

c) The angels’ concealment was removed through divine instruction, while Iblīs’ concealment only intensified following God’s command to prostrate.

Comment: The angels’ deficiency in knowledge was evident in several aspects: firstly, regarding the status of the human being; secondly, in understanding their own status; and thirdly, concerning the downfall of Iblīs, his inner secret, and the difference between his outward appearance and inner reality.