يَوْمَ يَجْمَعُ ٱللَّهُ ٱلرُّسُلَ فَيَقُولُ مَاذَآ أُجِبْتُمْ قَالُوا۟ لَا عِلْمَ لَنَآ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ عَلَّٰمُ ٱلْغُيُوبِ
Quran glossary · accepted
غُيُوب، غَائِب، غَيَابَة، ٱغْتَابَ
conceal
The derived غيب forms retain the accepted core conceal: concealed matters, concealed participants, a concealing recess, a concealed thing, and speech against someone while concealed from them.
Lexical scope
Scope: curated segment set · Occurrences: 11
Roots: غيب
Lemmas: غيوب · غائب · غيابت · غائبة · يغتب
Forms: غُيُوبِ · غَآئِبِينَ · غَيَٰبَتِ · غَآئِبَةٍ · يَغْتَب
Occurrence examples (10 of 11)
Scoped occurrences shown: the first 10 of 11 in Quran order. They are included as a compact, position-based preview and are not ranked as stronger evidence than the omitted occurrence count of 1.
وَإِذْ قَالَ ٱللَّهُ يَٰعِيسَى ٱبْنَ مَرْيَمَ ءَأَنتَ قُلْتَ لِلنَّاسِ ٱتَّخِذُونِى وَأُمِّىَ إِلَٰهَيْنِ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ قَالَ سُبْحَٰنَكَ مَا يَكُونُ لِىٓ أَنْ أَقُولَ مَا لَيْسَ لِى بِحَقٍّ إِن كُنتُ قُلْتُهُۥ فَقَدْ عَلِمْتَهُۥ تَعْلَمُ مَا فِى نَفْسِى وَلَآ أَعْلَمُ مَا فِى نَفْسِكَ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ عَلَّٰمُ ٱلْغُيُوبِ
فَلَنَقُصَّنَّ عَلَيْهِم بِعِلْمٍ وَمَا كُنَّا غَآئِبِينَ
أَلَمْ يَعْلَمُوٓا۟ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ سِرَّهُمْ وَنَجْوَىٰهُمْ وَأَنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلَّٰمُ ٱلْغُيُوبِ
قَالَ قَآئِلٌ مِّنْهُمْ لَا تَقْتُلُوا۟ يُوسُفَ وَأَلْقُوهُ فِى غَيَٰبَتِ ٱلْجُبِّ يَلْتَقِطْهُ بَعْضُ ٱلسَّيَّارَةِ إِن كُنتُمْ فَٰعِلِينَ
فَلَمَّا ذَهَبُوا۟ بِهِۦ وَأَجْمَعُوٓا۟ أَن يَجْعَلُوهُ فِى غَيَٰبَتِ ٱلْجُبِّ وَأَوْحَيْنَآ إِلَيْهِ لَتُنَبِّئَنَّهُم بِأَمْرِهِمْ هَٰذَا وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ
وَتَفَقَّدَ ٱلطَّيْرَ فَقَالَ مَا لِىَ لَآ أَرَى ٱلْهُدْهُدَ أَمْ كَانَ مِنَ ٱلْغَآئِبِينَ
وَمَا مِنْ غَآئِبَةٍ فِى ٱلسَّمَآءِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ إِلَّا فِى كِتَٰبٍ مُّبِينٍ
قُلْ إِنَّ رَبِّى يَقْذِفُ بِٱلْحَقِّ عَلَّٰمُ ٱلْغُيُوبِ
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱجْتَنِبُوا۟ كَثِيرًا مِّنَ ٱلظَّنِّ إِنَّ بَعْضَ ٱلظَّنِّ إِثْمٌ وَلَا تَجَسَّسُوا۟ وَلَا يَغْتَب بَّعْضُكُم بَعْضًا أَيُحِبُّ أَحَدُكُمْ أَن يَأْكُلَ لَحْمَ أَخِيهِ مَيْتًا فَكَرِهْتُمُوهُ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ تَوَّابٌ رَّحِيمٌ
Where other meanings fail
unknown
5:109
يَوْمَ يَجْمَعُ ٱللَّهُ ٱلرُّسُلَ فَيَقُولُ مَاذَآ أُجِبْتُمْ قَالُوا۟ لَا عِلْمَ لَنَآ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ عَلَّٰمُ ٱلْغُيُوبِ
Alternative: Indeed, You are the Knower of the unknown matters.
Research rendering: Indeed, You are the Knower of concealed matters.
Calling the matters universally unknown conflicts with the clause's explicit assertion that God knows them. Concealed is relational, not outside all knowledge.
absent
27:20
وَتَفَقَّدَ ٱلطَّيْرَ فَقَالَ مَا لِىَ لَآ أَرَى ٱلْهُدْهُدَ أَمْ كَانَ مِنَ ٱلْغَآئِبِينَ
Alternative: Why do I not see the hoopoe, or is it among the absent?
Research rendering: Why do I not see the hoopoe, or is it among the concealed?
Absent closes the question at ordinary non-presence. Concealed preserves the غيب family operation and leaves the avian behavior open to Quran-internal investigation.
unseen
49:12
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱجْتَنِبُوا۟ كَثِيرًا مِّنَ ٱلظَّنِّ إِنَّ بَعْضَ ٱلظَّنِّ إِثْمٌ وَلَا تَجَسَّسُوا۟ وَلَا يَغْتَب بَّعْضُكُم بَعْضًا أَيُحِبُّ أَحَدُكُمْ أَن يَأْكُلَ لَحْمَ أَخِيهِ مَيْتًا فَكَرِهْتُمُوهُ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ تَوَّابٌ رَّحِيمٌ
Alternative: Let none of you speak against another unseen.
Research rendering: Let none of you speak against another while concealed from them.
The speech is concealed from the person targeted; the construction is relational, not merely visual invisibility.
secret
82:16
وَمَا هُمْ عَنْهَا بِغَآئِبِينَ
Alternative: And they will not be secret from it.
Research rendering: And they will not be concealed from it.
The clause denies their being concealed from the Fire. No intention of keeping a secret is present.
Why this meaning was chosen
All 60 Quranic family occurrences support one operation: conceal. غَيْب renders as the concealed; غُيُوب as concealed matters; غَائِب as concealed; غَيَابَة as a concealing recess; غَائِبَة as a concealed thing; and يَغْتَب as speaking against someone while concealed from them. Unwitnessed fails on historically witnessed events, absence fails on God's possessed concealed matters, and ordinary absence in 27:20 prematurely closes a question the lexical core should leave open.