Quran Universe
69:39

وَمَا لَا تُبۡصِرُونَ

Wama la tubsiroona

And what you do not see

Word by word
  1. وَمَاAnd what
  2. لَاnot
  3. تُبۡصِرُونَyou see
Al-Haqqah · 69:39Makkah

And by everything you cannot see.

Most of reality is hidden from you

Two worlds
what you seea small part
and
what you do notthe hidden things
What is real
only what I see
the seen and unseenboth sworn by

Ibn Kathir says Allah then swears by the hidden things they cannot see. Both oaths together confirm one thing: the Quran is His Speech and revelation.

Wi-Fi, gravity, the air in your lungs. You cannot see any of it, and you rely on all of it. The unseen is not unreal. Angels, the soul, the Hereafter belong to it too.

If I cannot see it, I find it hard to believe.

Much of what is most real is unseen, and Allah swears by it.

Try this

Think of one unseen blessing you depend on today, and thank Allah for it.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (shared passage from 69:38)

So, I swear by whatsoever you see (38)And by whatsoever you see not (39)That this is verily the word of an honored Messenger (40)It is not the word of a poet, little is that you believe (41)Nor is it the word of a soothsayer, little is that you remember (42)This is the revelation sent down from the Lord of all that exists (43)

The Qur'an is the Speech of Allah

Allah swears by His creation, in which some of His signs can be seen in His creatures. These also indicate the perfection of His Names and Attributes. He then swears by the hidden things that they cannot see. This is an oath swearing that the Qur'an is His Speech, His inspiration and His revelation to His servant and Messenger, whom He chose to convey His Message, and the Messenger carried out this trust faithfully. So Allah says,

فَلَا أُقْسِمُ بِمَا تُبْصِرُونَ - وَمَا لَا تُبْصِرُونَ - إِنَّهُ لَقَوْلُ رَسُولٍ كَرِيمٍ

(So I swear by whatsoever you see, and by whatsoever you see not, that this is verily the word of an honored Messenger.) meaning, Muhammad ﷺ. Allah gave this description to him, a description which carries the meaning of conveying, because the duty of a messenger is to convey from the sender. Therefore, Allah gave this description to the angelic Messenger in Surat At-Takwir, where he said,

إِنَّهُ لَقَوْلُ رَسُولٍ كَرِيمٍ - ذِي قُوَّةٍ عِنْدَ ذِي الْعَرْشِ مَكِينٍ - مُطَاعٍ ثَمَّ أَمِينٍ

(Verily, this is the Word of (this Qur'an brought by) a most honorable messenger. Owner of power (and high rank) with Allah, the Lord of the Throne. Obeyed and trustworthy.)(81:19-21) And here, it refers to Jibril. Then Allah says,

وَمَا صَاحِبُكُمْ بِمَجْنُونٍ

(and your companion is not a madman.)(81:22) meaning, Muhammad ﷺ.

وَلَقَدْ رَآهُ بِالْأُفُقِ الْمُبِينِ

(And indeed he saw him in the clear horizon.)(81:23) meaning, Muhammad ﷺ saw Jibril in his true form in which Allah created him.

وَمَا هُوَ عَلَى الْغَيْبِ بِضَنِينٍ

(And he is not Danin with the Unseen.)(81:24) meaning, suspicious.

وَمَا هُوَ بِقَوْلِ شَيْطَانٍ رَجِيمٍ

(And it (the Qur'an) is not he word of the outcast Shaytan.)(81:25) This is similar to what is being said here.

وَمَا هُوَ بِقَوْلِ شَاعِرٍ ۚ قَلِيلًا مَا تُؤْمِنُونَ - وَلَا بِقَوْلِ كَاهِنٍ ۚ قَلِيلًا مَا تَذَكَّرُونَ

(It is not the word of a poet, little is that you believe! Nor is it the word of soothsayer, little is that you remember!) So in one instance Allah applies the term messenger to the angelic Messenger and in another instance He applies it to the human Messenger (Muhammad ﷺ). This is because both of them are conveying from Allah that which has been entrusted to them of Allah's revelation and Speech. Thus, Allah says,

تَنْزِيلٌ مِنْ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ 

(This is the revelation sent down from the Lord of all that exists.)