Quran Universe
6:120

وَذَرُواْ ظَٰهِرَ ٱلۡإِثۡمِ وَبَاطِنَهُۥٓۚ إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يَكۡسِبُونَ ٱلۡإِثۡمَ سَيُجۡزَوۡنَ بِمَا كَانُواْ يَقۡتَرِفُونَ

Watharoo thahira alithmi wabatinahu inna allatheena yaksiboona alithma sayujzawna bima kanoo yaqtarifoona

And leave what is apparent of sin and what is concealed thereof. Indeed, those who earn [blame for] sin will be recompensed for that which they used to commit.

Word by word
  1. وَذَرُواْForsake
  2. ظَٰهِرَopen
  3. ٱلۡإِثۡمِ[the] sins
  4. وَبَاطِنَهُۥٓۚand the secret
  5. إِنَّIndeed
  6. ٱلَّذِينَthose who
  7. يَكۡسِبُونَearn
  8. ٱلۡإِثۡمَ[the] sin
  9. سَيُجۡزَوۡنَthey will be recompensed
  10. بِمَاfor what
  11. كَانُواْthey used to
  12. يَقۡتَرِفُونَcommit
Al-An'am · 6:120Makkah

Leave sin on the outside and sin on the inside.

Public wrongs and hidden ones are both left behind

Two kinds of sin
openwhat people can see
hiddenwhat only you know
both
leave themevery one is recompensed
The inner alarm
no one saw itso it is fine
it bothers your chestyou would hate it known

Mujahid and Qatadah said this covers all sins, public and secret, few or many. Ibn Kathir cites the hadith of An-Nawwas: sin is what wavers in your chest and you hate for people to find out. Every sin, seen or unseen, will be recompensed.

In public you are polite and careful. In your private browser history, or in the resentment you nurse quietly, it is a different story. The test is simple: would you be okay if this were seen?

As long as my public life is clean, the rest is between me and nobody.

Allah asks me to leave the sins people see and the ones they never will.

Try this

Pick one hidden habit that makes your chest uneasy. Cut it back for just today.

Related7:33
Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir

Leave sin, open and secret. Verily, those who commit sin will get due recompense for that which they used to commit.) Mujahid said tha (120)

وَذَرُوا ظَاهِرَ الْإِثْمِ وَبَاطِنَهُ

(Leave evil, open and secret...) refers to all kinds of sins committed in public and secret. Qatadah said that,

وَذَرُوا ظَاهِرَ الْإِثْمِ وَبَاطِنَهُ

(Leave sin, open and secret...) encompasses sins committed in public and secret, whether few or many. In another statement, Allah said,

قُلْ إِنَّمَا حَرَّمَ رَبِّيَ الْفَوَاحِشَ مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا وَمَا بَطَنَ

(Say: "(But) the things that my Lord has indeed forbidden are 'Al-Fawāḥish' (evil sins) whether committed openly or secretly.)[7:33] This is why Allah said,

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَكْسِبُونَ الْإِثْمَ سَيُجْزَوْنَ بِمَا كَانُوا يَقْتَرِفُونَ

(Verily, those who commit sin will get due recompense for that which they used to commit.)

Whether the sins they committed were public or secret, Allah will compensate them for these sins. Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that An-Nawwas bin Sam'an said, "I asked Allah's Messenger ﷺ about 'Al-Ithm'. He said,

الْإِثمُ مَا حَاكَ فِي صَدْرِكَ وَكَرِهْتَ أَنْ يَطَّلِعَ النَّاسُ عَلَيْهِ

(The sin is that which you find in your heart and you dislike that people become aware of it.)