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 )  

"I was hiding beneath the covering of the Ka'bah, and three men came along - a man from the Quraish, and two of his brothers-in-law from Thaqif, or a man from Thaqif and two of his brothers-in-law from Quraish. Their bellies were fat, and they did not have much understanding. They said something that I could not understand, then one of them said: 'Do you think that Allah can hear what we are talking about?' Another said: 'If we raise our voices, He will hear it, but if we do not raise our voices, He will not hear it.' The other one said: 'If He can hear something from us, then He can hear all of it.'" 'Abdullah said: "I mentioned that to the Prophet ﷺ, so Allah revealed: 'And you have not been hiding yourselves, lest your ears and your eyes and your skin should testify against you...' up to His saying: '...and you have become of those utterly lost! (42:22 & 23)" (Using translation from Tirmidhī 3249)   

فَجَاءَ ثَلَاثَةُ نَفَرٍ كَثِيرٌ شَحْمُ بُطُونِهِمْ قَلِيلٌ فِقْهُ قُلُوبِهِمْ قُرَشِيٌّ وَخَتَنَاهُ ثَقَفِيَّانِ أَوْ ثَقَفِيٌّ وَخَتَنَاهُ قُرَشِيَّانِ فَتَكَلَّمُوا بِكَلَامٍ لَمْ أَفْهَمْهُ فَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ أَتَرَوْنَ أَنَّ اللهَ ﷻ يَسْمَعُ كَلَامَنَا هَذَا؟ فَقَالَ الْآخَرُ أُرَانَا إِذَا رَفَعْنَا أَصْوَاتَنَا سَمِعَهُ وَإِذَا لَمْ نَرْفَعْ أَصْوَاتَنَا لَمْ يَسْمَعْهُقَالَ وَقَالَ الْآخَرُ إِنْ سَمِعَ مِنْهُ شَيْئًا سَمِعَهُ كُلَّهُ قَالَ فَذَكَرْتُ ذَلِكَ لِلنَّبِيِّ ﷺ قَالَ فَأَنْزَلَ اللهُ ﷻ {وَمَا كُنْتُمْ تَسْتَتِرُونَ أَنْ يَشْهَدَ عَلَيْكُمْ سَمْعُكُمْ وَلَا أَبْصَارُكُمْ} [فصلت 22] إِلَى قَوْلِهِ {وَذَلِكُمْ ظَنُّكُمُ الَّذِي ظَنَنْتُمْ بِرَبِّكُمْ أَرْدَاكُمْ فَأَصْبَحْتُمْ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ} [فصلت 23]  

"I was hiding beneath the covering of the Ka'bah, and three men came along - a man from the Quraish, and two of his brothers-in-law from Thaqif, or a man from Thaqif and two of his brothers-in-law from Quraish. Their bellies were fat, and they did not have much understanding. They said something that I could not understand, then one of them said: 'Do you think that Allah can hear what we are talking about?' Another said: 'If we raise our voices, He will hear it, but if we do not raise our voices, He will not hear it.' The other one said: 'If He can hear something from us, then He can hear all of it.'" 'Abdullah said: "I mentioned that to the Prophet ﷺ, so Allah revealed: 'And you have not been hiding yourselves, lest your ears and your eyes and your skin should testify against you...' up to His saying: '...and you have become of those utterly lost! (42:22 & 23)" (Using translation from Tirmidhī 3249)   

كُنْتُ مُسْتَتِرًا بِأَسْتَارِ الْكَعْبَةِ فَجَاءَ ثَلَاثَةُ نَفَرٍ قُرَشِيٌّ وَخَتَنَاهُ ثَقَفِيَّانِ أَوْ ثَقَفِيٌّ وَخَتَنَاهُ قُرَشِيَّانِ كَثِيرٌ شَحْمُ بُطُونِهِمْ قَلِيلٌ فِقْهُ قُلُوبِهِمْ فَتَكَلَّمُوا بِكَلَامٍ لَمْ أَسْمَعْهُ فَقَالَ أَحَدُهُمْ أَتَرَوْنَ اللهَ يَسْمَعُ كَلَامَنَا هَذَا؟ فَقَالَ الْآخَرُ أُرَانَا إِذَا رَفَعْنَا أَصْوَاتَنَا سَمِعَهُ وَإِذَا لَمْ نَرْفَعْهَا لَمْ يَسْمَعْهُ فَقَالَ الْآخَرُ إِنْ سَمِعَ مِنْهُ شَيْئًا سَمِعَهُ كُلَّهُ قَالَ فَذَكَرْتُ ذَلِكَ لِلنَّبِيِّ ﷺ فَأَنْزَلَ اللهُ ﷻ {وَمَا كُنْتُمْ تَسْتَتِرُونَ أَنْ يَشْهَدَ عَلَيْكُمْ سَمْعُكُمْ وَلَا أَبْصَارُكُمْ وَلَا جُلُودُكُمْ} [فصلت 22] إِلَى قَوْلِهِ {ذَلِكُمْ ظَنُّكُمُ الَّذِي ظَنَنْتُمْ بِرَبِّكُمْ أَرْدَاكُمْ فَأَصْبَحْتُمْ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ} [فصلت 23]  

[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 curtains of the Kaaba when three men from Thaqif tribe came and circumcised them. They were two Quraysh men with much fat in their bellies and little understanding in their hearts. They then started conversing among themselves. One of them said, "Do you think that Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, hears what we say?" The other replied, "He hears what we raise and lower, but He does not hear everything." The third one said, "If He hears anything, He hears everything." I then mentioned this to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and then the verse was revealed: "And you were not concealing yourselves, [i.e. hiding] that your testimony should be witness against you" [Surah Fussilat 22], until His saying, "So they will not be asked to enter their accounts" [Surah Fussilat 24]. Mansour narrated to me from Mujahid, from Abu Ma'mar, from Abdullah, something similar to that.  

كُنْتُ مُسْتَتِرًا بِأَسْتَارِ الْكَعْبَةِ فَجَاءَ ثَلَاثَةُ نَفَرٍ ثَقَفِيٌّ وَخَتَنَاهُ قُرَشِيَّانِ كَثِيرٌ شُحُومُ بُطُونِهِمْ قَلِيلٌ فِقْهُ قُلُوبِهِمْ قَالَ فَتَحَدَّثُوا بَيْنَهُمْ بِحَدِيثٍ قَالَ فَقَالَ أَحَدُهُمْ أَتُرَى اللهَ ﷻ يَسْمَعُ مَا نَقُولُ؟ قَالَ الْآخَرُ يَسْمَعُ مَا رَفَعْنَا وَمَا خَفَضْنَا لَا يَسْمَعُ قَالَ الْآخَرُ إِنْ كَانَ يَسْمَعُ شَيْئًا فَهُوَ يَسْمَعُهُكُلَّهُ قَالَ فَذَكَرْتُ ذَلِكَ لِرَسُولِ اللهِ ﷺ قَالَ فَنَزَلَتْ {وَمَا كُنْتُمْ تَسْتَتِرُونَ أَنْ يَشْهَدَ عَلَيْكُمْ} [فصلت 22] إِلَى قَوْلِهِ {فَمَا هُمْ مِنَ الْمُعْتَبِينَ} [فصلت 24] قَالَ وَحَدَّثَنِي مَنْصُورٌ عَنْ مُجَاهِدٍ عَنْ أَبِي مَعْمَرٍ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللهِ نَحْوَ ذَلِكَ  

[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  

[Machine] I was hidden behind the curtains of the Kaaba when three individuals arrived: Thaqafi and two Qurayshi men, who were extremely fat but lacked knowledge. They engaged in conversation, and one of them said, "Do you think Allah hears what we say?" The other replied, "If we raise our voices, He hears us, but if we lower them, He does not." The third said, "If He hears us when we raise our voices, then He surely hears us when we lower them." I then went to the Prophet ﷺ and informed him of this. Allah 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} until [the phrase] {from the losers}. This narration is reported by Sufyan al-Thawri, while Abu Muawiya and the companions of al-A'mash disagree with him.  

إِنِّي لَمُسْتَتِرٌ بِأَسْتَارِ الْكَعْبَةِ إِذْ جَاءَ ثَلَاثَةُ نَفَرٍ؛ ثَقَفِيٌّ وَخَتَنَاهُ قُرَشِيَّانِ كَثِيرٌ شَحْمُ بُطُونِهِمْ قَلِيلٌ فِقْهُهُمْ فَتَحَدَّثُوا الْحَدِيثَ بَيْنَهُمْ فَقَالَ أَحَدُهُمْ تَرَى اللهَ يَسْمَعُ مَا قُلْنَا؟ قَالَ الْآخَرُ إِذَا رَفَعْنَا يَسْمَعُ وَإِذَا خَفَضْنَا لَمْ يَسْمَعْ فَقَالَ الْآخَرُ إِنْ كَانَ يَسْمَعُ إِذَا رَفَعْنَا فَإِنَّهُ يَسْمَعُ إِذَا خَفَضْنَا فَأَتَيْتُ النَّبِيَّ ﷺ فَذَكَرْتُ ذَلِكَ لَهُ فَأَنْزَلَ اللهُ ﷻ {وَمَا كُنْتُمُ تَسْتَتِرُونَ أَنْ يَشْهَدَ عَلَيْكُمْ سَمْعُكُمْ وَلَا أَبْصَارُكُمْ وَلَا جُلُودُكُمْ وَلَكِنْ ظَنَنْتُمْ أَنَّ اللهَ لَا يَعْلَمُ كَثِيرًا مِمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ} إِلَى قَوْلِهِ {مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ} هَكَذَا رَوَاهُ سُفْيَانُ الثَّوْرِيُّ وَخَالَفَهُ أَبُو مُعَاوِيَةَ وَأَصْحَابُ الْأَعْمَشِ  

[Machine] Abdullah, I was hiding behind the curtains of the Kaaba when three individuals came, their bellies were full but their understanding was little. One was from the Quraysh, and the other two were from the Thaqif. They spoke in a language that I did not understand. One of them said, "Do you think Allah hears our conversation?" The other replied, "When we raise our voices, he hears them, but if we don't raise them, he won't hear." The third individual said, "If he hears anything from us, he hears everything." I mentioned this to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ , and then Allah revealed the verse, "And you were not hiding yourselves, lest your hearing testify against you or your sight or your skins" (Quran 41:22).  

عَبْدُ اللهِ كُنْتُ مُسْتَتِرًا بِأَسْتَارِ الْكَعْبَةِ فَجَاءَ ثَلَاثَةُ نَفَرٍ كَثِيرٌ شَحْمُ بُطُونِهِمْ قَلِيلٌ فِقْهُ قُلُوبِهِمْ قُرَشِيٌّ وَخَتَنَاهُ ثَقَفِيَّانِ أَوْ ثَقَفِيٌّ وَخَتَنَاهُ قُرَشِيَّانِ فَتَكَلَّمُوا بِكَلَامٍ لَمْ أَفْقَهْهُ فَقَالَ أَحَدُهُمْ تَرَى اللهَ يَسْمَعُ كَلَامَنَا وَقَالَ الْآخَرُ إِذَا رَفَعْنَا أَصْوَاتَنَا سَمِعَهَا فَإِذَا لَمْ نَرْفَعْ لَمْ يَسْمَعْهَا وَقَالَ الْآخَرُ إِنْ سَمِعَ مِنْهُ شَيْئًا سَمِعَهُ كُلَّهُ فَذَكَرْتُ ذَلِكَ لِرَسُولِ اللهِ ﷺ فَأَنْزَلَ اللهُ ﷻ {وَمَا كُنْتُمْ تَسْتَتِرُونَ أَنْ يَشْهَدَ عَلَيْكُمْ سَمْعُكُمْ وَلَا أَبْصَارُكُمْ} الْآيَةَ