Two person of Bani Thaqif and one from Quarish (or two persons from Quraish and one from Bani Thaqif) who had fat bellies but little wisdom, met near the Kaʿba. One of them said, "Did you see that Allah hears what we say? " The other said, "He hears us if we speak aloud, but He does not hear if we speak in stealthy quietness (softly)." The third fellow said, "If He hears when we speak aloud, then He surely hears us if we speak in stealthy quietness (softly)." So Allah revealed the Verse:-- 'And you have not been screening against yourselves, lest your ears, and your eyes and your skins should testify against you..." (41.22)  

اجْتَمَعَ عِنْدَ الْبَيْتِ ثَقَفِيَّانِ وَقُرَشِيٌّ أَوْ قُرَشِيَّانِ وَثَقَفِيٌّ كَثِيرَةٌ شَحْمُ بُطُونِهِمْ قَلِيلَةٌ فِقْهُ قُلُوبِهِمْ فَقَالَ أَحَدُهُمْ أَتَرَوْنَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَسْمَعُ مَا نَقُولُ قَالَ الآخَرُ يَسْمَعُ إِنْ جَهَرْنَا وَلاَ يَسْمَعُ إِنْ أَخْفَيْنَا وَقَالَ الآخَرُ إِنْ كَانَ يَسْمَعُ إِذَا جَهَرْنَا فَإِنَّهُ يَسْمَعُ إِذَا أَخْفَيْنَا فَأَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى {وَمَا كُنْتُمْ تَسْتَتِرُونَ أَنْ يَشْهَدَ عَلَيْكُمْ سَمْعُكُمْ وَلاَ أَبْصَارُكُمْ وَلاَ جُلُودُكُمْ} الآيَةَ  

Do you think that Allah hears as we speak? The other one said: He does hear when we speak loudly and He does not hear when we speak in undertones, and still the other one said: If He listens when we speak loudly, He also listens when we speak in undertones. It was on this occasion that this verse was revealed:" You did not conceal yourselves lest your ears, your eyes and your skins would stand witness against you" (xli. 22).  

اجْتَمَعَ عِنْدَ الْبَيْتِ ثَلاَثَةُ نَفَرٍ قُرَشِيَّانِ وَثَقَفِيٌّ أَوْ ثَقَفِيَّانِ وَقُرَشِيٌّ قَلِيلٌ فِقْهُ قُلُوبِهِمْ كَثِيرٌ شَحْمُ بُطُونِهِمْ فَقَالَ أَحَدُهُمْ أَتَرَوْنَ اللَّهَ يَسْمَعُ مَا نَقُولُ وَقَالَ الآخَرُ يَسْمَعُ إِنْ جَهَرْنَا وَلاَ يَسْمَعُ إِنْ أَخْفَيْنَا وَقَالَ الآخَرُ إِنْ كَانَ يَسْمَعُ إِذَا جَهَرْنَا فَهُوَ يَسْمَعُ إِذَا أَخْفَيْنَا فَأَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ ﷻ { وَمَا كُنْتُمْ تَسْتَتِرُونَ أَنْ يَشْهَدَ عَلَيْكُمْ سَمْعُكُمْ وَلاَ أَبْصَارُكُمْ وَلاَ جُلُودُكُمْ} الآيَةَ  

"Three men whose bellies were fat, but whose hearts had little understanding, were arguing at the House. Two of them were from Quraish and one was from Thaqif - or two from Thaqif, and one from Quraish. One of them said: 'Do you think that Allah can hear what we are saying?' Another said: 'He can hear if we are loud, but He can not hear when we are quiet.' Another said: 'If He can hear when we are loud then He can hear when we are quiet.' So Allah, the Mighty and Sublime revealed: And you have not been hiding yourselves, lest your ears and your eyes and your skins should testify against you (41:22)."  

اخْتَصَمَ عِنْدَ الْبَيْتِ ثَلاَثَةُ نَفَرٍ قُرَشِيَّانِ وَثَقَفِيٌّ أَوْ ثَقَفِيَّانِ وَقُرَشِيٌّ قَلِيلاً فِقْهُ قُلُوبِهِمْ كَثِيرًا شَحْمُ بُطُونِهِمْ فَقَالَ أَحَدُهُمْ أَتَرَوْنَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَسْمَعُ مَا نَقُولُ فَقَالَ الآخَرُ يَسْمَعُ إِذَا جَهَرْنَا وَلاَ يَسْمَعُ إِذَا أَخْفَيْنَا وَقَالَ الآخَرُ إِنْ كَانَ يَسْمَعُ إِذَا جَهَرْنَا فَإِنَّهُ يَسْمَعُ إِذَا أَخْفَيْنَا فَأَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ ( ومَا كُنْتُمْ تَسْتَتِرُونَ أَنْ يَشْهَدَ عَلَيْكُمْ سَمْعُكُمْ وَلاَ أَبْصَارُكُمْ وَلاَ جُلُودُكُمْ )  

[Machine] I was covered with the coverings of the Kaaba, when three confident men, two Quraishites, who were very fat with little understanding in their hearts, came and talked amongst themselves. One of them said, "Do you think that Allah, the Almighty, hears what we say?" The other replied, "I see that He hears when we speak out loud, but He does not hear when we lower our voices." The third said, "If He hears anything from us, then He hears everything." I mentioned this to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ , and Allah, the Almighty, revealed the verse, "And you were not covering yourselves lest your hearing testify against you" (Quran 41:22) until "the losers" (Quran 41:23).  

إِنِّي لَمُسْتَتِرٌ بِأَسْتَارِ الْكَعْبَةِ إِذْ جَاءَ ثَلَاثَةُ نَفَرٍ ثَقَفِيٌّ وَخَتْنَاهُ قُرَشِيَّانِ كَثِيرٌ شَحْمُ بُطُونِهِمْ قَلِيلٌ فِقْهُ قُلُوبِهِمْ فَتَحَدَّثُوا بَيْنَهُمْ بِحَدِيثٍ قَالَ فَقَالَ أَحَدُهُمْ تُرَى أَنَّ اللهَ ﷻ يَسْمَعُ مَا قُلْنَا؟ قَالَ الْآخَرُ أُرَاهُ يَسْمَعُ إِذَا رَفَعْنَا وَلَا يَسْمَعُ إِذَا خَفَضْنَا قَالَ الْآخَرُ إِنْ كَانَ يَسْمَعُ شَيْئًا مِنْهُ إِنَّهُ لَيَسْمَعُهُ كُلَّهُ قَالَ فَذَكَرْتُ ذَلِكَ لِرَسُولِ اللهِ ﷺ قَالَ فَأَنْزَلَ اللهُ ﷻ {وَمَا كُنْتُمْ تَسْتَتِرُونَ أَنْ يَشْهَدَ عَلَيْكُمْ سَمْعُكُمْ} [فصلت 22] حَتَّى {الْخَاسِرِينَ} [فصلت 23]  

[Machine] "I was hidden behind the curtains of the Kaaba when two men entered, one of them being from the Quraysh and the other from the Thaqif. Both of them were circumcised, but the Qurayshi had excessive belly fat while the Thaqafi had less. Their understanding was limited, and they started conversing among themselves. One of them asked his companion, 'Do you think Allah, the Almighty, hears what we say?' The other replied, 'I believe He hears us when we raise our voices but not when we speak softly.' The first one said, 'If He hears anything from us, He hears it all.' So, I went to the Prophet ﷺ and informed him about this. Then Allah, the Almighty, revealed the verse: 'And you were not covering yourselves lest your hearing testify against you or your sight or your skins, but you assumed that Allah does not know much of what you do.' (Surah Fussilat, 41: 22)"

Note: The Arabic phrase "ﷺ" is a respectful way to refer to the Prophet Muhammad. It stands for "Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam," which means "Peace be upon him."  

إِنِّي لَمُسْتَتِرٌ بِأَسْتَارِ الْكَعْبَةِ إِذْ دَخَلَ رَجُلَانِ ثَقَفِيَّانِ وَخَتَنُهُمَا قُرَشِيٌّ أَوْ قُرَشِيَّانِ وَخَتَنُهُمَا ثَقَفِيٌّ كَثِيرَةٌ شُحُومُ بُطُونِهِمْ قَلِيلٌ فِقْهُ قُلُوبِهِمْ فَتَحَدَّثُوا بِحَدِيثٍ فِيمَا بَيْنَهُمْ فَقَالَ أَحَدُهُمْ لِصَاحِبِهِ أَتُرَى اللهَ ﷻ يَسْمَعُ مَا نَقُولُ؟ قَالَ الْآخَرُ أُرَاهُ يَسْمَعُ إِذَا رَفَعْنَا أَصْوَاتَنَا وَلَا يَسْمَعُ إِذَا خَافَتْنَا قَالَ الْآخَرُ لَئِنْ كَانَ يَسْمَعُ مِنْهُ شَيْئًا إِنَّهُ لَيَسْمَعُهُ كُلَّهُ فَأَتَيْتُ النَّبِيَّ ﷺ فَذَكَرْتُ ذَلِكَ لَهُ فَأَنْزَلَ اللهُ ﷻ {وَمَا كُنْتُمْ تَسْتَتِرُونَ أَنْ يَشْهَدَ عَلَيْكُمْ سَمْعُكُمْ وَلَا أَبْصَارُكُمْ} الْآيَةَ [فصلت 22]  

[Machine] "I was covered with the covering of the Kaaba, and in the mosque, there was a man from Thaqeef, whom the Quraysh people circumcised. They said, 'Do you think that Allah hears our conversation?' One of them said, 'Indeed, He hears us when we raise our voices.' Another man said, 'If He hears us when we raise our voices, then He would also hear us if we lower our voices.' And the other man said, 'I can only see that Allah hears our conversation.' Ibn Mas'ud said, 'So I went to the Prophet of Allahﷺ and informed him of their statement. Then Allah revealed the verse, 'And you were not covering yourselves, lest your hearing testify against you or your sight or your skins' until the end of the verse.'"  

كُنْتُ مُسْتَتِرًا بِحِجَابِ الْكَعْبَةِ وَفِي الْمَسْجِدِ رَجُلٌ مِنْ ثَقِيفٍ وَخَتَنَاهُ قُرَشِيَّانِ فَقَالُوا تَرَوْنَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَسْمَعُ حَدِيثَنَا؟ فقَالَ أَحَدُهُمَا إِنَّهُ يَسْمَعُ إِذَا رَفَعْنَا فقَالَ رَجُلٌ لَئِنْ كَانَ يَسْمَعُ إِذَا رَفَعْنَا لَيَسْمَعَنَّ إِذَا أَخْفَيْنَا وَقَالَ الْآخَرُ مَا أَرَى إِلَّا أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَسْمَعُ حَدِيثَنَا قَالَ ابْنُ مَسْعُودٍ فَأَتَيْتُ نَبِيَّ اللَّهِ ﷺ فَأَخْبَرْتُهُ بِقَوْلِهِمْ فَأَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ {وَمَا كُنْتُمْ تَسْتَتِرُونَ أَنْ يَشْهَدَ عَلَيْكُمْ سَمْعُكُمْ وَلَا أَبْصَارُكُمْ} إِلَى آخِرِ الْآيَةِ  

[Machine] "I was hidden behind the cover of the Ka'aba when three Khath'ami people arrived, who were well-off but lacked knowledge. They began to engage in conversation among themselves. One of them said, 'Do you think Allah hears what we say?' Another said, 'When we raise our voices, He hears us, but when we lower our voices, He does not.' The third one said, 'If He hears us when we raise our voices, then He hears us when we lower them.' I then went to the Prophet ﷺ and informed him about this, so Allah revealed the verse, 'And you were not covering yourselves, lest your hearing testify against you or your sight or your skins.''"  

إِنِّي لَمُسْتَتِرٌ بِأَسْتَارِ الْكَعْبَةِ إِذْ جَاءَ ثَلَاثَةُ نَفَرٍ ثَقَفِيٌّ وَخَتَنَاهُ قُرَشِيَّانِ كَثِيرٌ شَحْمُ بُطُونِهِمْ قَلِيلٌ فِقْهُهُمْ فَتَحَدَّثُوا الْحَدِيثَ بَيْنَهُمْ فقَالَ أَحَدُهُمْ أَتَرَى اللَّهَ يَسْمَعُ مَا قُلْنَا؟ وَقَالَ الْآخَرُ إِذَا رَفَعْنَا سَمِعَ وَإِذَا خَفَضْنَا لَمْ يَسْمَعْ وَقَالَ الْآخَرُ إِنْ كَانَ يَسْمَعُ إِذَا رَفَعْنَا فَإِنَّهُ يَسْمَعُ إِذَا خَفَضْنَا فَأَتَيْتُ النَّبِيَّ ﷺ فَذَكَرْتُ ذَلِكَ لَهُ فَأَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ «{وَمَا كُنْتُمْ تَسْتَتِرُونَ أَنْ يَشْهَدَ عَلَيْكُمْ سَمْعُكُمْ وَلَا أَبْصَارُكُمْ وَلَا جُلُودُكُمْ}» الْآيَةَ