Al-Bāṭin
The Hidden, The Inward
Root ب ط ن (b-ṭ-n). Lane describes the word baṭana as meaning ‘it was, or became, unapparent, hidden, concealed’, referring to inwardness, the opposite of ẓahara. Baṭn is used for the belly or interior and appears in Qur'an 16:69. Bāṭina means inward, as in Qur'an 31:20. Biṭāna, referring to lining or intimates, is mentioned in Qur'an 55:54 and 3:118. In 57:3 Sahih International renders Al-Bāṭin ‘the Intimate’: ‘He is the First and the Last, the Ascendant and the Intimate’.
The root
ب ط نb-ṭ-n
Inwardness. Baṭn is the belly or interior; Lane gives baṭana as 'it was, or became, unapparent, hidden, concealed', the contrary of ẓahara.
- بَطْنbaṭnbelly, interior (16:69)
- بَاطِنَةbāṭinainward (31:20)
- بِطَانَةbiṭānalining; intimates (55:54; 3:118)
Pronunciation
الْبَاطِنُ
al-BAA-tin
In the Qur'an
هُوَ الْأَوَّلُ وَالْآخِرُ وَالظَّاهِرُ وَالْبَاطِنُ ۖ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ
He is the First and the Last, the Ascendant and the Intimate, and He is, of all things, Knowing.
57:3 · Sahih International