4 Preface قالَ رَبّي يَعلَمُ القَولَ فِي السَّماءِ وَالأَرضِ ۖ وَهُوَ السَّميعُ العَليمُYusuf AliSay:1 “My Lord knoweth (every) word (spoken)2 in the heavens and on earth: He is the One that heareth and knoweth (all things).”Notice that in the usual Arabic texts (that is, according to the Qira'ah of Hafs) the word qala is here and in 21:112 below, as well as in 23:112, spelt differently from the usual spelling of the word in other places (e.g., in 20:125-126). Qul is the reading of the Basrah Qim'ah, meaning, “Say thou” in the imperative. If we construe “he says”, the pronoun refers to “this (one)” in the preceding verse, viz.: the Prophet. But more than one Commentator understands the meaning in the imperative, and I agree with them. The point is merely one of verbal construction. The meaning is the same in either case. See n. 2948 to 23:112. (R).Every word, whether whispered in secret (as in 21:3 above) or spoken openly, is known to God. Let not the wrongdoers imagine that their secret plots are secret to the Knower of all things.