الْبَاطِنُ
One of the Most Beautiful Names of Allah
Al-Baatin
The Hidden
Al-Baatin is the Hidden, the Inner One, the Knower of Hidden Things: Allah is hidden, yet He knows everything in the world inside and out. Its verse is 57:3, where the Name closes the four, and it is mentioned once in the Quran. The Prophet ﷺ explained it: nothing is beneath Him.
Key verse
﴿هُوَ ٱلْأَوَّلُ وَٱلْـَٔاخِرُ وَٱلظَّـٰهِرُ وَٱلْبَاطِنُ ۖ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عَلِيمٌ﴾He is the First and the Last, the Most High and Most Near, and He has ˹perfect˺ knowledge of all things.
The scholar's text
The Hidden, The Secret One, The Inner One, The Knower of Hidden Things
Allah is the hidden one, but knows every in and out of everything in the world.
(هُوَ الْأَوَّلُ وَالْآخِرُ وَالظَّاهِرُ وَالْبَاطِنُ ۖ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ) الحديد 57: 3
(He is the First and the Last, the Most High and Most Near, and He has ˹perfect˺ knowledge of all things.) Al-Hadid 57:3
It is mentioned 1 time in the Holy Quran
الخفي، السر، الباطن، العالم بالخفايا.
الله خفي، لكنه يعلم كل شيء في العالم ظاهره وباطنه.
(هُوَ ٱلْأَوَّلُ وَٱلْـَٔاخِرُ وَٱلظَّـٰهِرُ وَٱلْبَاطِنُ ۖ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عَلِيمٌ) الحديد 57: 3
ورد في القرآن الكريم مرة واحدة.
Nothing Beneath Him
57:3 gives four Names, and al-Baatin comes last. The Prophet ﷺ gave its meaning in a du'a for the night: “Thou art Innermost and there is nothing beyond Thee” (Sahih Muslim 2713, narrated by Abu Huraira). Al-Sa'di keeps to those words. For al-Tabari the Name is nearness: He is within all things, and nothing is nearer to anything than He is, as 50:16 says. Ibn Abbas, in al-Baghawi, gave it as the One who knows everything. The verse ends on the same point: He has perfect knowledge of all things, which al-Sa'di says takes in the outward and the inward, the secret and the concealed.
Arabic: وأنت الباطن فليس دونك شيء
تذكر آية الحديد أربعة أسماء، آخرها الباطن، وفسره النبي ﷺ في دعاء النوم: «وَأَنْتَ الْبَاطِنُ فَلَيْسَ دُونَكَ شَىْءٌ» (صحيح مسلم 2713، عن أبي هريرة). وقال السعدي: «الذي ليس دونه شيء». وقال الطبري: «وهو الباطن جميع الأشياء، فلا شيء أقرب إلى شيء منه»، واستشهد بآية ق: ﴿وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ حَبْلِ ٱلْوَرِيدِ﴾. وقال البغوي في قول ابن عباس: «و الباطن العالم بكل شيء». وفي ختام الآية: ﴿وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عَلِيمٌ﴾ قال السعدي: «قد أحاط علمه بالظواهر والبواطن، والسرائر والخفايا، والأمور المتقدمة والمتأخرة».
What the Soul Whispers
﴿وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا ٱلْإِنسَـٰنَ وَنَعْلَمُ مَا تُوَسْوِسُ بِهِۦ نَفْسُهُۥ ۖ وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ حَبْلِ ٱلْوَرِيدِ﴾Indeed, ˹it is˺ We ˹Who˺ created humankind and ˹fully˺ know what their souls whisper to them, and We are closer to them than ˹their˺ jugular vein.
50:16 brings it close: We know what their souls whisper to them, and We are closer to them than their jugular vein. Al-Sa'di draws the practical point. This calls a person to watch his Creator, who sees his conscience and what is inside him and is near him in every state, and to be ashamed for Him to see him where He forbade him, or miss him where He commanded him. And the whispers themselves are treated gently: “Allah has accepted my invocation to forgive what whispers in the hearts of my followers, unless they put it to action or utter it.” (Sahih al-Bukhari 2528, narrated by Abu Huraira).
Arabic: ونعلم ما توسوس به نفسه
تقول آية ق: ﴿وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا ٱلْإِنسَـٰنَ وَنَعْلَمُ مَا تُوَسْوِسُ بِهِۦ نَفْسُهُۥ ۖ وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ حَبْلِ ٱلْوَرِيدِ﴾، قال السعدي: «وهذا مما يدعو الإنسان إلى مراقبة خالقه، المطلع على ضميره وباطنه، القريب منه في جميع أحواله، فيستحي منه أن يراه، حيث نهاه، أو يفقده، حيث أمره». ومع ذلك قال النبي ﷺ: «إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَجَاوَزَ لِي عَنْ أُمَّتِي مَا وَسْوَسَتْ بِهِ صُدُورُهَا، مَا لَمْ تَعْمَلْ أَوْ تَكَلَّمْ» (صحيح البخاري 2528، عن أبي هريرة).
Secret and Open
﴿وَأَسِرُّوا۟ قَوْلَكُمْ أَوِ ٱجْهَرُوا۟ بِهِۦٓ ۖ إِنَّهُۥ عَلِيمٌۢ بِذَاتِ ٱلصُّدُورِ﴾Whether you speak secretly or openly: He surely knows best what is ˹hidden˺ in the heart.
6:3: He knows whatever you conceal and whatever you reveal, and knows whatever you do. Al-Sa'di turns it into advice. Beware of disobeying Him, and want the deeds that bring you near to Him and to His mercy. 67:13 goes further in: whether you speak secretly or openly, He knows best what is hidden in the heart. That means, al-Sa'di says, the intentions and wishes inside it; so what of the words and deeds that are heard and seen?
Arabic: يعلم سركم وجهركم
تقول آية الأنعام: ﴿يَعْلَمُ سِرَّكُمْ وَجَهْرَكُمْ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا تَكْسِبُونَ﴾، قال السعدي: «وهو تعالى يعلم سركم وجهركم ويعلم ما تكسبون، فاحذروا معاصيه وارغبوا في الأعمال التي تقربكم منه، وتدنيكم من رحمته». وتقول آية الملك: ﴿وَأَسِرُّوا۟ قَوْلَكُمْ أَوِ ٱجْهَرُوا۟ بِهِۦٓ ۖ إِنَّهُۥ عَلِيمٌۢ بِذَاتِ ٱلصُّدُورِ﴾، قال السعدي: «أي: بما فيها من النيات، والإرادات، فكيف بالأقوال والأفعال، التي تسمع وترى؟!».
Hidden in His Covering
Al-Baghawi gathers what scholars said about the four Names of 57:3. Al-Suddi took al-Baatin as His covering: you disobeyed Him, and He covered it for you. Al-Junayd took it as His knowledge of what is unseen, and Yaman gave it a single word, the All-Knowing. The definition above holds both: the Hidden, the Secret One, and the Knower of Hidden Things.
Arabic: والباطن بستره
جمع البغوي أقوال العلماء في الأسماء الأربعة، ومنها في الباطن قول السدي: «والباطن بستره إذ عصيته فستر عليك»، وقول الجنيد: «والباطن بعلم الغيوب»، وقول يمان: «و الباطن العليم». وفي التعريف المعنيان: الخفي، السر، العالم بالخفايا.
From the Sunnah
Allah has accepted my invocation to forgive what whispers in the hearts of my followers, unless they put it to action or utter it.
إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَجَاوَزَ لِي عَنْ أُمَّتِي مَا وَسْوَسَتْ بِهِ صُدُورُهَا، مَا لَمْ تَعْمَلْ أَوْ تَكَلَّمْ
A du'a with this Name
وَأَنْتَ الظَّاهِرُ فَلَيْسَ فَوْقَكَ شَىْءٌ وَأَنْتَ الْبَاطِنُ فَلَيْسَ دُونَكَ شَىْءٌ اقْضِ عَنَّا الدَّيْنَ وَأَغْنِنَا مِنَ الْفَقْرِ
You are the Most High, and there is nothing above You, and You are the Most Near and there is nothing nearer than You. Settle our debts and make us free of want
Sunan Ibn Majah 3831, graded sahih by al-Albani: from what the Prophet ﷺ taught Fatimah when she asked him for a servant, as Abu Hurairah reported
Related Names
Questions about Al-Baatin
What does Al-Baatin mean?
Al-Baatin is the Hidden One who knows what is hidden; He is also the Secret One and the Inner One.
How many times is Al-Baatin in the Quran?
Al-Baatin is mentioned once in the Quran, in 57:3, after the First, the Last and the Most High.
How did the Prophet ﷺ explain Al-Baatin?
The Prophet ﷺ explained Al-Baatin in his du'a before sleep: “Thou art Innermost and there is nothing beyond Thee” (Sahih Muslim 2713).
Are passing thoughts held against a person?
No: Allah forgives what whispers in the hearts of the Prophet's followers unless they act on it or speak it, the Prophet ﷺ said (Sahih al-Bukhari 2528).