Surah Fussilat (41) — Ayah 22

(Ayah 22) ➊ { وَ مَا كُنْتُمْ تَسْتَتِرُوْنَ اَنْ يَّشْهَدَ عَلَيْكُمْ … :} This is the answer to their reproach: that while committing sinful acts, you took great care to hide and conceal yourselves from people, but you had no fear that your ears, eyes, and skins themselves would testify against you regarding your evil deeds. If you had feared this, you could not have committed evil deeds, because it was with these very limbs that you were to disobey Allah.

➋ { وَ لٰكِنْ ظَنَنْتُمْ اَنَّ اللّٰهَ لَا يَعْلَمُ …:} That is, the matter was not just that you did not believe that the Resurrection could occur and that your limbs could testify against you, but the real issue was that you also denied the knowledge of Allah Almighty. You thought that Allah Almighty does not even know many of your deeds. Otherwise, if you had been certain that whatever you are doing, Allah Almighty is watching it, hearing your every word, and is aware of your every condition, then you would not have been so bold in sinning. Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) has mentioned this ignorance of the polytheists of Quraysh. He says: [ اِجْتَمَعَ عِنْدَ الْبَيْتِ قُرَشِيَّانِ وَثَقَفِيٌّ، أَوْ ثَقَفِيَّانِ وَ قُرَشِيٌّ، كَثِيْرَةٌ شَحْمُ بُطُوْنِهِمْ، قَلِيْلَةٌ فِقْهُ قُلُوْبِهِمْ، فَقَالَ أَحَدُهُمْ أَتُرَوْنَ أَنَّ اللّٰهَ يَسْمَعُ مَا نَقُوْلُ؟ قَالَ الْآخَرُ يَسْمَعُ إِنْ جَهَرْنَا وَلاَ يَسْمَعُ إِنْ أَخْفَيْنَا، وَ قَالَ الْآخَرُ إِنْ كَانَ يَسْمَعُ إِذَا جَهَرْنَا فَإِنَّهُ يَسْمَعُ إِذَا أَخْفَيْنَا، فَأَنْزَلَ اللّٰهُ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ : « وَ مَا كُنْتُمْ تَسْتَتِرُوْنَ اَنْ يَّشْهَدَ عَلَيْكُمْ سَمْعُكُمْ وَ لَاۤ اَبْصَارُكُمْ وَ لَا جُلُوْدُكُمْ وَ لٰكِنْ ظَنَنْتُمْ اَنَّ اللّٰهَ لَا يَعْلَمُ كَثِيْرًا مِّمَّا تَعْمَلُوْنَ » ] [ بخاري، التفسیر، سورۃ حٰمٓ السجدۃ، باب : { وذٰلکم ظنکم الذی… } : ۴۸۱۷ ] “Two Qurayshis and one Thaqafi, or two Thaqafis and one Qurayshi, gathered near the House of Allah, whose bellies were full of fat, (but) whose hearts had little understanding. So one of them said: ‘Do you think that Allah Almighty hears what we are saying?’ The second said: ‘If we speak loudly, He hears, and if we speak softly, He does not hear.’ Another said: ‘If He hears when we speak loudly, then surely He also hears when we speak softly.’ So Allah Almighty revealed this verse: ‘And you did not conceal yourselves lest your ears would testify against you, nor your eyes, nor your skins, but you assumed that Allah does not know much of what you do.’”

Remember that the meaning of saying that this verse was revealed on such and such an occasion is that this incident also happened during those days, or the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) recited this verse on that occasion, or that the verse also applies to that incident, as has been clarified in the principles of exegesis. Otherwise, it is clear that the context of the verses is about the Day of Resurrection.

22. 1. Its meaning is that while committing sinful acts, you tried to hide from people, but you had no fear that your own limbs would testify against you, from which you should have felt the need to hide. The reason for this was their denial of resurrection and lack of belief in it. 22. 1. Therefore, you were bold in breaking the limits set by Allah and disobeying Him.

22. And you did not hide yourselves (while committing sins) lest your ears, your eyes, and your skins should testify against you [26]. Rather, you assumed that Allah did not know much of what you were doing [27].

[26] That is, it could not even have crossed your mind that those who would testify against us could be our own limbs. Therefore, there is a need to beware of them as well. If you had thought of this, then it would have been impossible for you to commit sin. Because neither could you hide from your own limbs, nor could you hide the sin from them. Nor could you commit a sinful act without them.
[27]
The Result of Doubting Allah’s Attributes of Being All-Hearing and All-Seeing: Evil Deeds:

The matter was not only that you did not know that our limbs could testify against us. Rather, you also denied the knowledge of Allah Almighty. If you had believed with certainty that whatever we do, Allah is watching it, or He is hearing our words, or He is fully aware of our conditions, then even then it would not have been possible for you to commit sin. Your conviction regarding Allah was also extremely weak regarding the fact that He is fully aware of all your conditions. Thus, Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas’ud ؓ says that once, in the Haram of Ka’bah, three men were sitting and talking among themselves. Two of them were Qurayshi and one was their brother-in-law, who was Thaqafi. All three were quite stout, with protruding bellies, but were completely lacking in sense. One of them asked the other: What do you think, can Allah hear our conversations? The second replied: Yes! If we speak loudly, then He hears. But if we speak softly, in whispers, then He does not hear. The third said: If He can hear loud voices, then He can also hear soft voices. At that moment, this verse was revealed. [بخاری۔ کتاب التفسیر۔ تفسیر سورۃ حٰم السجدۃ]