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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Al-mizan an Exegesis of the Qur'an (volume Four) Volume 4: Surah Baqarah, Verse 284 Whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth is Allah’s, and whether you manifest what is in your souls or hide it, Allah will call you to account for it; then He will forgive whom He pleases and chastise whom He pleases; and Allah is powerful over all things (284).

**COMMENTARY ** QUR’AN: Whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth is Allah’s: Allah is the Owner of all creation, whether it is in the heavens or in the earth. This declaration paves the way for the next sentence, “and whether you manifest what is in your souls or hide it, Allah will call you to account for it”. To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and in the earth; and among those things are you as well as your actions, and all that your souls have earned.

Therefore, Allah encompasses you and preserve your deeds; it makes no difference to Him whether your actions are manifest or hidden, He will call you to account for them. It has been said that the heavens have an affinity with the mind’s faculties, psychological traits and spiritual characteristics. What is in our souls or minds is a part of what is in the heavens, and it belongs to Allah.

When the hidden traits and characteristics manifest themselves through the actions of the body,, they become a part of what is in the earth, and that also belongs to Allah. Thus, whatever is found in our minds, whether it is manifested or remains hidden, belongs to Allah, and He will decide about it after calling us to account for it.

QUR’AN: and whether You manifest what is in your souls or hide it, Allah will call you to account for it: “al-Ibda’ (to manifest) is opposite of “al- ikhfa’" (to hide). “What is in your souls” means “what is settled in your minds”; it is the meaning that is understood by scholars of the language as well as the general public. It refers to traits and characteristics, whether good or bad, like belief and disbelief, love and hate, strength or weakness of the will, and so on.

These traits may be manifest or hidden. They are manifested through the actions of body, which may be perceived by others and which prove the existence of those traits in the doer. One knows that but for those particular traits, for example, love or hate, belief or disbelief, inclination or repulsion, those deeds could not be done.