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الادب المفرد
Adab al-Mufrad
كتاب الأقوالBook of Sayings
بَابُ لَا يَقُولُ لِشَيْءٍ لا يَعْلَمُهُ: اللَّهُ يَعْلَمُهُChapter: Do Not Say "Allah Knows" for What You Do Not Know
Hadith 764
اُردوEn
حَدَّثَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللهِ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ قَالَ: قَالَ عَمْرٌو: عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ: لاَ يَقُولَنَّ أَحَدُكُمْ لِشَيْءٍ لاَ يَعْلَمُهُ: اللَّهُ يَعْلَمُهُ ؛ وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ غَيْرَ ذَلِكَ، فَيُعَلِّمَ اللَّهَ مَا لاَ يَعْلَمُ، فَذَاكَ عِنْدَ اللهِ عَظِيمٌ.
It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) that he said: None of you should say about something he does not know, "Allah knows it." Allah knows more than that, but then that person includes in Allah's knowledge something the reality of which he himself does not know. This is a very great sin in the sight of Allah.
Explanation & Benefits
Shaykh Maulana Usman Muneeb
Benefits and Issues:
The point is that if a person does not have knowledge of something, he should say that he does not know about it. If he does have knowledge, then he should not withhold it out of miserliness; rather, he should inform about the actual situation. If a person does not know something and says, “Allah knows that it is such-and-such,” while in reality it is not so, then he has attributed to Allah something He did not say, and this is a major sin (kabirah). The statement of the noble Companions (radi Allahu anhum), “Allah knows best,” was not based on any sense of shame that they did not know, nor did the later generations consider the negation of knowledge about themselves to be blameworthy. Therefore, they would say this not to mislead the questioner.
The point is that if a person does not have knowledge of something, he should say that he does not know about it. If he does have knowledge, then he should not withhold it out of miserliness; rather, he should inform about the actual situation. If a person does not know something and says, “Allah knows that it is such-and-such,” while in reality it is not so, then he has attributed to Allah something He did not say, and this is a major sin (kabirah). The statement of the noble Companions (radi Allahu anhum), “Allah knows best,” was not based on any sense of shame that they did not know, nor did the later generations consider the negation of knowledge about themselves to be blameworthy. Therefore, they would say this not to mislead the questioner.
Source: Fadlullah al-Ahad: Urdu Commentary on al-Adab al-Mufrad, Page: 764
