Surah Al-Baqarah 2:42
سُورَةُ البَقَرَةِ · Medinan · Verse 42 of 286
وَلَا تَلْبِسُوا۟ ٱلْحَقَّ بِٱلْبَٰطِلِ وَتَكْتُمُوا۟ ٱلْحَقَّ وَأَنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ
Translation
Do not mix truth with falsehood, or hide the truth when you know it.
English translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem.
Meaning and reflection
'And do not mix the truth with falsehood, nor conceal the truth while you know it.' Ibn Ashur and al-Saadi note the two corruptions of truth, diluting it by blending in falsehood, and hiding it while fully aware, both done 'while you know', with knowledge, deliberately. Ask yourself: the more sophisticated betrayal of truth is not the outright lie but the mix, the accurate thing shaded with a false spin, the honest report with the crucial part omitted. And concealment, staying silent about a truth I know others need, is named as its own sin. It presses me on my handling of truth: do I ever blend just enough falsehood into my account to serve myself? Do I stay silent about what I know to be true because speaking it is costly? The verse forbids not just lying, but adulterating and withholding the truth I possess.
Grounded in classical tafsir: Ibn Ashur, al-Saadi, Ibn Kathir.
Topics that discuss this verse
Surah Al-Baqarah 2:42 is discussed in 5 study guides on Maani. Each guide gathers the key verses, Arabic words and lessons of one Quranic topic.
Reflect on this verse
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