Does the shaytaan know the thoughts and intentions of man to corrupt it?

Sources

• ✓ 96:14 · Al-Alaq

  96:14 · Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall

  أَلَمْ يَعْلَم بِأَنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَرَىٰ

  Is he then unaware that Allah seeth?

• ✓ 9:78 · At-Tawba

  9:78 · Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall

  أَلَمْ يَعْلَمُوٓا۟ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ سِرَّهُمْ وَنَجْوَىٰهُمْ وَأَنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلَّٰمُ ٱلْغُيُوبِ

  Know they not that Allah knoweth both their secret and the thought that they confide, and that Allah is the Knower of Things Hidden?

• ✓ Tafsir Ibn Kathir on 9:78

  Sunni

  Tafsir Ibn Kathir · 9:78

  Allah says here: "Among the hypocrites are those who made a covenant with Allah and gave Him their pledge, saying, 'If He enriches us by His bounty, we will surely give charity from it and surely be among the righteous.'" This means they promised Allah that if He granted them wealth, they would spend generously in charity and act righteously. However, Ibn Kathir explains that such people did not fulfill their promise nor tell the truth in what they claimed. Instead, Allah allowed their hypocrisy to settle deeply in their hearts until the Day they meet their Lord, a state of affairs from which He seeks refuge. Many scholars, including Ibn Abbas and Al-Hasan Al-Basri, reported that the reason for the revelation of this verse was connected to "Thalaba ibn Hatib Al-Ansari." Ibn Kathir recounts a narration transmitted by Ibn Jarir and Ibn Abi Hatim from Mu'an ibn Rifaa, from Ali ibn Yazid, from Abu Abd ar-Rahman Al-Qasim ibn Abd ar-Rahman (a freedman of Abd ar-Rahman ibn Yazid ibn Muawiyah), from Abu Umamah Al-Bahili, who said that Thalaba ibn Hatib once asked the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to pray that Allah grant him wealth. The Prophet ﷺ responded, "Woe to you, Thalaba! A little wealth given in gratitude is better than a lot which you cannot manage." Thalaba asked again, and the Prophet ﷺ said, "Would you not want to be like the Prophet of Allah? By the One holding my soul, if you wished, mountains could follow you, bearing gold and silver." Thalaba vowed that if Allah granted him wealth, he would give everyone their due. The Prophet ﷺ prayed for him, saying, "O Allah, grant Thalaba wealth." Thalaba then acquired sheep, which multiplied quickly, so much that they overran Medina. He then moved away from the city and settled in a valley outside it. Gradually, he lessened his prayers in congregation, at first omitting all but Zuhr and Asr, then eventually refusing all but Friday prayer, and finally neglecting even Friday prayer. One Friday, he began questioning caravans about news, and the Prophet ﷺ asked about him. The people told him of Thalaba's sheep overrunning Medina. The Prophet ﷺ lamented, saying, "Woe to Thalaba, woe to Thalaba, woe to Thalaba." At this time, Allah revealed the verse [at-Tawbah 9:103]: "Take from their wealth a charity by which you purify them and cause them increase." Thalaba was commanded to pay obligatory charity (zakat). The Prophet ﷺ sent two men, one from Juhaina and one from Sulaym, with instructions on how to collect charity from Muslims, ordering them to collect from Thalaba and another man from Banu Sulaym. When they asked Thalaba for his charity, he called it just a jizyah tax, saying, "I don't know what this is. Let us go and return after I've thought it over." He went and heard of this from the man of Sulaym, who took some of his best camels and offered them as charity. When the collectors returned, Thalaba called it "the sister of jizyah" and delayed making a decision. Finally, when the collectors reported to the Prophet ﷺ, he said, "Woe to Thalaba," before they even spoke, and prayed for the Sulaymi man. Upon hearing about Thalaba's actions, the Prophet ﷺ referred again to the verse about those who break their promise to Allah and lie. One of Thalaba's relatives heard this and warned him, saying Allah had revealed against him for what he did. Thalaba sought to give his charity to the Prophet ﷺ but was refused, and the Prophet ﷺ told him that Allah had prevented him from accepting it. Thalaba was so distressed he threw dust on his head. The Prophet ﷺ said, "This is the result of your actions; I commanded you but you did not obey." Thalaba then approached the first caliph Abu Bakr, who also refused it, then Umar, who likewise refused, and then Uthman, who was willing to accept charity from others but also refused Thalaba's. Thalaba died during Uthman's caliphate. Regarding the phrase "because they broke their promise to Allah and lied," Ibn Kathir explains that their hypocrisy settled firmly in their hearts because they failed to fulfill their pledge and lied, which is confirmed by the authentic hadith of the Prophet ﷺ: "The signs of a hypocrite are three: whenever he speaks, he lies; whenever he makes a promise, he breaks it; and whenever he is trusted, he betrays." Finally, Allah tells them: "Do they not know that Allah knows their secret counsels and their private conversations, and that Allah is the Knower of the unseen?" This indicates that Allah is fully aware of even the deepest secrets and inner intentions, and nothing escapes His knowledge, whether hidden or apparent, private or public. Even if they show outward signs of charity and gratitude when granted wealth, Allah knows their real state better than they know themselves, for He is the All-Knower of all things hidden and manifest.