سنن ابي داود
Abu Dawud
كتاب الفتن والملاحمTrials and Fierce Battles (Kitab Al-Fitan Wa Al-Malahim)
باب ذِكْرِ الْفِتَنِ وَدَلاَئِلِهَاChapter: Mention Of Tribulations And Their Signs.
Hadith 4243
اُردوEn
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ يَحْيَى بْنِ فَارِسٍ ، حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ أَبِي مَرْيَمَ ، أَخْبَرَنَا ابْنُ فَرُّوخَ ، أَخْبَرَنِي أُسَامَةُ بْنُ زَيْدٍ ، أَخْبَرَنِي ابْنٌ لِقَبِيصَةَ بْنِ ذُؤَيْبٍ ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ ، قَالَ : قَالَ حُذَيْفَةُ بْنُ الْيَمَانِ " وَاللَّهِ مَا أَدْرِي أَنَسِيَ أَصْحَابِي أَمْ تَنَاسَوْا وَاللَّهِ مَا تَرَكَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مِنْ قَائِدِ فِتْنَةٍ إِلَى أَنْ تَنْقَضِيَ الدُّنْيَا يَبْلُغُ مَنْ مَعَهُ ثَلَاثَ مِائَةٍ فَصَاعِدًا إِلَّا قَدْ سَمَّاهُ لَنَا بِاسْمِهِ وَاسْمِ أَبِيهِ وَاسْمِ قَبِيلَتِهِ " .
Narrated Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman: I swear by Allah, I do not know whether my companions have forgotten or have pretended to forgot. I swear by Allah that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not omit a leader of a wrong belief (fitnah)--up to the end of the world--whose followers reach the number of three hundred and upwards but he mentioned to us his name, his father's name and the name of his tribe.
Explanation & Benefits
Shaykh Umar Farooq Saeedi
Benefits and Issues:
From this hadith, the people of innovation (Ahl al-Bid‘ah) have tried to argue that the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was ‘Alim al-Ghayb (knower of the unseen). Their claim is evidence of their ignorance. The knowledge of the unseen (‘ilm al-ghayb) is an exclusive attribute of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic. Whatever news of the unseen the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) conveyed was all revelation (wahy) from Allah, the Mighty and Majestic.
It is stated in the Noble Qur’an: (He is the Knower of the unseen, and He does not disclose His unseen to anyone except a messenger whom He is pleased with...) (al-Jinn: 26, 27) Mulla ‘Ali al-Qari (rahimahullah) writes in Sharh Fiqh al-Akbar: The noble prophets do not know anything of the unseen except that which Allah, the Exalted, informs them of.
And the scholars of the Hanafis have explicitly stated that whoever holds the belief that the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) is ‘Alim al-Ghayb is a disbeliever (kafir), because this is contrary to the statement of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic: Say, “None in the heavens and the earth knows the unseen except Allah.” (al-Naml: 65) And some have explicitly stated that rejecting falsehood is among the necessary matters of the religion.
Thus, the knowledge of the unseen is exclusively and solely for Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, and many texts clarify this reality, for example: And with Allah are the keys of the unseen; none knows them except Him. And He knows what is on the land and in the sea... (al-An‘am: 59).
Without doubt, with Allah alone is the knowledge of the Hour. He sends down the rain, and He knows what is in the wombs. No soul knows what it will earn tomorrow, and no soul knows in which land it will die. Indeed, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware. (Luqman: 34).
In summary, it is not permissible in any way for anyone other than Allah to be described as possessing knowledge of the unseen. And this is the reason that when those verses were recited before the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) in which it was stated that among us is a Prophet who knows what will happen tomorrow..., he (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) immediately stopped them and said: Leave this and say what you were saying before.
In short, it is not permissible in any way to call anyone other than Allah, the Exalted, ‘Alim al-Ghayb. All the news of the unseen that the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) gave was given by the information of Allah, the Exalted. There is no means of being informed of the unseen except through revelation (wahy) and inspiration (ilham).
Furthermore, in Bahr al-Ra’iq it is stated that if someone, during the marriage contract (nikah), says: “This marriage is with the testimony of Allah and His Messenger (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam),” then the marriage will not be valid. Rather, such a person will be a disbeliever (kafir), because he has held the belief that the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) is ‘Alim al-Ghayb.
From this hadith, the people of innovation (Ahl al-Bid‘ah) have tried to argue that the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was ‘Alim al-Ghayb (knower of the unseen). Their claim is evidence of their ignorance. The knowledge of the unseen (‘ilm al-ghayb) is an exclusive attribute of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic. Whatever news of the unseen the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) conveyed was all revelation (wahy) from Allah, the Mighty and Majestic.
It is stated in the Noble Qur’an: (He is the Knower of the unseen, and He does not disclose His unseen to anyone except a messenger whom He is pleased with...) (al-Jinn: 26, 27) Mulla ‘Ali al-Qari (rahimahullah) writes in Sharh Fiqh al-Akbar: The noble prophets do not know anything of the unseen except that which Allah, the Exalted, informs them of.
And the scholars of the Hanafis have explicitly stated that whoever holds the belief that the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) is ‘Alim al-Ghayb is a disbeliever (kafir), because this is contrary to the statement of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic: Say, “None in the heavens and the earth knows the unseen except Allah.” (al-Naml: 65) And some have explicitly stated that rejecting falsehood is among the necessary matters of the religion.
Thus, the knowledge of the unseen is exclusively and solely for Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, and many texts clarify this reality, for example: And with Allah are the keys of the unseen; none knows them except Him. And He knows what is on the land and in the sea... (al-An‘am: 59).
Without doubt, with Allah alone is the knowledge of the Hour. He sends down the rain, and He knows what is in the wombs. No soul knows what it will earn tomorrow, and no soul knows in which land it will die. Indeed, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware. (Luqman: 34).
In summary, it is not permissible in any way for anyone other than Allah to be described as possessing knowledge of the unseen. And this is the reason that when those verses were recited before the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) in which it was stated that among us is a Prophet who knows what will happen tomorrow..., he (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) immediately stopped them and said: Leave this and say what you were saying before.
In short, it is not permissible in any way to call anyone other than Allah, the Exalted, ‘Alim al-Ghayb. All the news of the unseen that the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) gave was given by the information of Allah, the Exalted. There is no means of being informed of the unseen except through revelation (wahy) and inspiration (ilham).
Furthermore, in Bahr al-Ra’iq it is stated that if someone, during the marriage contract (nikah), says: “This marriage is with the testimony of Allah and His Messenger (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam),” then the marriage will not be valid. Rather, such a person will be a disbeliever (kafir), because he has held the belief that the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) is ‘Alim al-Ghayb.
Source: Sunan Abu Dawood – Commentary by Shaykh Umar Farooq Saeedi, Page: 4243
