الْخَبِيرُ
One of the Most Beautiful Names of Allah
Al-Khabeer
The All-Aware
Al-Khabeer is the One who knows the truth of things. Its verse is 6:18, where the Name closes a description of Allah over His servants, and it is mentioned 45 times in the Quran. When a secret of the Prophet's ﷺ house got out, his answer was: the All-Knowing, All-Aware informed me (66:3).
Key verse
﴿وَهُوَ ٱلْقَاهِرُ فَوْقَ عِبَادِهِۦ ۚ وَهُوَ ٱلْحَكِيمُ ٱلْخَبِيرُ﴾He reigns supreme over His creation. And He is the All-Wise, All-Aware.
The scholar's text
The One who knows the truth of things.
(وَهُوَ الْقَاهِرُ فَوْقَ عِبَادِهِ ۚ وَهُوَ الْحَكِيمُ الْخَبِيرُ) الأنعام 6: 18
(He reigns supreme over His creation. And He is the All-Wise, All-Aware.) Al-An’am 6:18
It is mentioned 45 times in the Holy Quran
الذي يعلم حقائق الأشياء.
(وَهُوَ ٱلْقَاهِرُ فَوْقَ عِبَادِهِۦ ۚ وَهُوَ ٱلْحَكِيمُ ٱلْخَبِيرُ) الأنعام 6: 18
ورد في القرآن الكريم 45 مرة.
Over His Servants, Aware of Their Deeds
Its verse puts the Name at the end of a short portrait: He reigns supreme over His creation, and He is the All-Wise, All-Aware. Al-Qurtubi reads the two Names as Wise in His command and All-Aware of His servants' deeds. Then he draws the conclusion: whoever has these attributes must have no partner set beside Him. The definition above widens it from deeds to everything: He knows the truth of things.
Arabic: وهو الحكيم الخبير
تختم آيته بالاسم وصفا قصيرا: ﴿وَهُوَ ٱلْقَاهِرُ فَوْقَ عِبَادِهِۦ﴾، قال القرطبي: «وهو الحكيم في أمره الخبير بأعمال عباده، أي: من اتصف بهذه الصفات يجب ألا يشرك به». والتعريف السابق أوسع من الأعمال: يعلم حقائق الأشياء.
Who Told You This?
﴿وَإِذْ أَسَرَّ ٱلنَّبِىُّ إِلَىٰ بَعْضِ أَزْوَٰجِهِۦ حَدِيثًا فَلَمَّا نَبَّأَتْ بِهِۦ وَأَظْهَرَهُ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ عَرَّفَ بَعْضَهُۥ وَأَعْرَضَ عَنۢ بَعْضٍ ۖ فَلَمَّا نَبَّأَهَا بِهِۦ قَالَتْ مَنْ أَنۢبَأَكَ هَـٰذَا ۖ قَالَ نَبَّأَنِىَ ٱلْعَلِيمُ ٱلْخَبِيرُ﴾˹Remember˺ when the Prophet had ˹once˺ confided something to one of his wives, then when she disclosed it ˹to another wife˺ and Allah made it known to him, he presented ˹to her˺ part of what was disclosed and overlooked a part. So when he informed her of it, she exclaimed, “Who told you this?” He replied, “I was informed by the All-Knowing, All-Aware.”
66:3 tells of a secret. The Prophet ﷺ confided something to one of his wives and she passed it on; Allah made it known to him, and he mentioned part of it to her and let the rest go. Many commentators, al-Sa'di notes, say she was Hafsa and that she told Aisha, and he passed over part out of generosity and forbearance. She asked who had told him. His answer names the Name: I was informed by the All-Knowing, All-Aware, the One from whom, in al-Sa'di's words, nothing is hidden, who knows the secret and what is more hidden still. On another night it was Aisha's own secret: “Tell me or the Subtle and the Aware would inform me” (Sahih Muslim 974).
Arabic: نبأني العليم الخبير
تحكي آية التحريم سرا أذيع: ﴿وَإِذْ أَسَرَّ ٱلنَّبِىُّ إِلَىٰ بَعْضِ أَزْوَٰجِهِۦ حَدِيثًا﴾، قال السعدي: «قال كثير من المفسرين: هي حفصة أم المؤمنين رضي الله عنها، أسر لها النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم حديثًا، وأمر أن لا تخبر به أحدًا، فحدثت به عائشة رضي الله عنهما، وأخبره الله بذلك الخبر الذي أذاعته، فعرفها صلى الله عليه وسلم، ببعض ما قالت، وأعرض عن بعضه، كرمًا منه صلى الله عليه وسلم، وحلمًا». فسألته: ﴿مَنْ أَنۢبَأَكَ هَـٰذَا﴾، فقال: ﴿نَبَّأَنِىَ ٱلْعَلِيمُ ٱلْخَبِيرُ﴾، «الذي لا تخفى عليه خافية، يعلم السر وأخفى». وفي ليلة أخرى قال لعائشة: «لَتُخْبِرِينِي أَوْ لَيُخْبِرَنِّي اللَّطِيفُ الْخَبِيرُ» (صحيح مسلم 974).
No One Informs Like Him
﴿إِن تَدْعُوهُمْ لَا يَسْمَعُوا۟ دُعَآءَكُمْ وَلَوْ سَمِعُوا۟ مَا ٱسْتَجَابُوا۟ لَكُمْ ۖ وَيَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ يَكْفُرُونَ بِشِرْكِكُمْ ۚ وَلَا يُنَبِّئُكَ مِثْلُ خَبِيرٍ﴾If you call upon them, they cannot hear your calls. And if they were to hear, they could not respond to you. On the Day of Judgment they will disown your worship ˹of them˺. And no one can inform you ˹O Prophet˺ like the All-Knowledgeable.
35:14 is about the gods people call on. They cannot hear, and if they heard they could not answer, and on the Day of Judgment they will disown that worship. Then: no one can inform you like the All-Knowledgeable, The Clear Quran's word here for khabir. Nobody tells you more truly than Allah, al-Sa'di writes, so hold what He has told as certain, as if you had seen it with your own eyes, without doubt or hesitation.
Arabic: ولا ينبئك مثل خبير
تتحدث آية فاطر عمن يدعى من دون الله: لا يسمعون، ولو سمعوا ما استجابوا، ويوم القيامة يكفرون بشرككم. ثم: ﴿وَلَا يُنَبِّئُكَ مِثْلُ خَبِيرٍ﴾، وترجمت The Clear Quran الخبير هنا بـ All-Knowledgeable، قال السعدي: «أي: لا أحد ينبئك، أصدق من الله العليم الخبير، فاجزم بأن هذا الأمر، الذي نبأ به كأنه رَأْيُ عين، فلا تشك فيه ولا تمتر».
Look to What You Send Ahead
﴿يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَلْتَنظُرْ نَفْسٌ مَّا قَدَّمَتْ لِغَدٍ ۖ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ خَبِيرٌۢ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ﴾O believers! Be mindful of Allah and let every soul look to what ˹deeds˺ it has sent forth for tomorrow. And fear Allah, ˹for˺ certainly Allah is All-Aware of what you do.
59:18 asks every soul to look at what it has sent forth for tomorrow, and ends: certainly Allah is All-Aware of what you do. Knowing that, al-Sa'di says, is what makes people work hard. Their deeds are not hidden from Him, not lost with Him, not left aside. He calls the verse a foundation for a servant taking account of himself. Seeing a slip, he should put it right at once by stopping it and repenting sincerely.
Arabic: ولتنظر نفس ما قدمت لغد
تأمر آية الحشر كل نفس أن تنظر ما قدمت لغد، وتختم: ﴿إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ خَبِيرٌۢ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ﴾، قال السعدي: «وإذا علموا أيضا، أن الله خبير بما يعملون، لا تخفى عليه أعمالهم، ولا تضيع لديه ولا يهملها، أوجب لهم الجد والاجتهاد». وقال: «وهذه الآية الكريمة أصل في محاسبة العبد نفسه، وأنه ينبغي له أن يتفقدها، فإن رأى زللا تداركه بالإقلاع عنه، والتوبة النصوح».
On That Day
﴿إِنَّ رَبَّهُم بِهِمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ لَّخَبِيرٌۢ﴾surely their Lord is All-Aware of them on that Day.
Al-Adiyat ends on the graves emptied and the hearts laid bare: surely their Lord is All-Aware of them on that Day (100:11). He is aware of them every day, al-Sa'di points out; the Day is named because what is meant is the repayment that comes out of His knowledge. 63:11 joins the two at the moment of death. No soul is given more time when its term comes, and Allah is All-Aware of what you do, so He repays, al-Sa'di says, by what He knows of intentions and deeds.
Arabic: إن ربهم بهم يومئذ لخبير
تختم سورة العاديات، بعد بعثرة ما في القبور وتحصيل ما في الصدور: ﴿إِنَّ رَبَّهُم بِهِمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ لَّخَبِيرٌۢ﴾، قال السعدي: «وخص خبره بذلك اليوم، مع أنه خبير بهم في كل وقت، لأن المراد بذلك، الجزاء بالأعمال الناشئ عن علم الله واطلاعه». وتجمع آية المنافقون بين الأجل والخبر: ﴿وَلَن يُؤَخِّرَ ٱللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِذَا جَآءَ أَجَلُهَا ۚ وَٱللَّهُ خَبِيرٌۢ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ﴾، قال السعدي: «فيجازيكم على ما علمه منكم، من النيات والأعمال».
From the Sunnah
Tell me or the Subtle and the Aware would inform me
لَتُخْبِرِينِي أَوْ لَيُخْبِرَنِّي اللَّطِيفُ الْخَبِيرُ
A du'a with this Name
اللَّهُمَّ بِعِلْمِكَ الْغَيْبَ وَقُدْرَتِكَ عَلَى الْخَلْقِ أَحْيِنِي مَا عَلِمْتَ الْحَيَاةَ خَيْرًا لِي وَتَوَفَّنِي إِذَا عَلِمْتَ الْوَفَاةَ خَيْرًا لِي
O Allah, by Your knowledge of the unseen and Your power over creation, keep me alive so long as You know that living is good for me and cause me to die when You know that death is better for me
Sunan an-Nasa'i 1306, graded sahih by al-Albani: the opening of a du'a of the Prophet ﷺ, as Ammar ibn Yasir reported
Related Names
Questions about Al-Khabeer
What does Al-Khabeer mean?
Al-Khabeer is Allah who knows what things truly are.
How many times is Al-Khabeer in the Quran?
Al-Khabeer is mentioned 45 times in the Quran. Its verse is 6:18, where Al-Khabeer comes with All-Wise.
Why does Allah give some people more provision than others?
17:30 ends: He is All-Aware, All-Seeing of His servants. Al-Sa'di: He gives each what He knows is good for them, and runs their affairs with kindness.
How should a believer live with this Name?
Take account of yourself, al-Sa'di says on 59:18: when you notice a slip, give it up and repent sincerely.