God Knows Best

ABSTRACT The Arabic phrase Allāhu a‘lam —“God knows best”—is used frequently in everyday Muslim speech and to conclude seemingly assertive statements or fatwas. At its heart lies the recognition that God is the All‐Knowing, whereas humans know next to nothing. Reflecting on this recognition, this essay discusses Sufi refusals of the ethnographic project and describes practices connected to the idea that only God truly knows. The latter range from the istikhāra prayer (turning to God for advice) to dhikr (remembrance of God). Finally, I ask what it might mean to let the Allāhu a‘lam inflect the ethnographic project. What if, instead of seeking to pile up more and more knowledge, we were to embrace the fundamental human condition of not knowing?