Surah An-Naml (27) — Ayah 65

(Ayah 65) ➊ The source of { قُلْ لَّا يَعْلَمُ مَنْ فِي السَّمٰوٰتِ وَ الْاَرْضِ … : ’’ الْغَيْبَ ‘‘ ’’غَابَ يَغِيْبُ‘‘} is often used in the meaning of the unseen, referring to those things which cannot be known by the five senses nor can the intellect comprehend them. The beginning of worshipping any deity besides Allah, seeking help from it, and considering it a remover of difficulties or fulfiller of needs, starts from the belief that it is the knower of the unseen. Otherwise, if one believes that no one except my Lord is aware of all my conditions, then why would he call upon anyone else? Therefore, Allah has explicitly commanded to announce that whether someone is in the heavens or on the earth, no one knows the unseen except Allah.

➋ Allah informs His prophets of some matters of the unseen, but this does not make them the knower of the unseen, because they only know as much as Allah informs them, as He said: «{ عٰلِمُ الْغَيْبِ فَلَا يُظْهِرُ عَلٰى غَيْبِهٖۤ اَحَدًا (26) اِلَّا مَنِ ارْتَضٰى مِنْ رَّسُوْلٍ فَاِنَّهٗ يَسْلُكُ مِنْۢ بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَ مِنْ خَلْفِهٖ رَصَدًا (27) لِّيَعْلَمَ اَنْ قَدْ اَبْلَغُوْا رِسٰلٰتِ رَبِّهِمْ وَ اَحَاطَ بِمَا لَدَيْهِمْ وَ اَحْصٰى كُلَّ شَيْءٍ عَدَدًا }» [ الجن : ۲۶ تا ۲۸ ] “(He is) the Knower of the unseen, so He does not disclose His unseen to anyone, except a messenger whom He has chosen, and then He appoints guards before him and behind him, so that He may know that they have truly conveyed the messages of their Lord, and He encompasses all that is with them and has counted everything in number.” This is why when the shirt of Yusuf (Joseph) was dispatched from Egypt, Yaqub (Jacob) immediately sensed his scent, but when Yusuf was in the well just a few miles away, he did not know, and his eyes turned white from weeping for years, but knowledge came only when Allah willed. Allah made our Prophet (peace be upon him) ascend to the heavens, but he only learned about the impurity on his shoes when Jibril (Gabriel) informed him during prayer. If knowing some things makes someone the knower of the unseen, then each of us would be the knower of the unseen, because we also know many matters of the unseen from what the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) has told us.

➌ The attributes of Allah mentioned earlier were stated in the form of questions, because even the polytheists acknowledged that creation, sending down rain, providing sustenance, and other attributes belong only to Allah. Regarding knowledge, however, the polytheists did not accept this; rather, they called upon others besides Allah because they believed those beings were aware of their conditions and heard their pleas, whereas acknowledging Allah alone as the Creator means that He alone has complete knowledge of His creation. He said: «{ اَلَا يَعْلَمُ مَنْ خَلَقَ وَ هُوَ اللَّطِيْفُ الْخَبِيْرُ }» [ الملک : ۱۴ ] “Does He not know who created, and He is the Subtle, the All-Aware?” How can one who did not create have knowledge of all the conditions of Allah’s creation? Yet even today, some who recite the kalimah call upon prophets, saints, and spiritual leaders with the belief that they know everything, even openly saying, “What is there that is hidden from them?” and have fabricated countless stories for this. Therefore, Allah commanded to state clearly, not in a questioning manner, that no one knows the unseen except Allah.

➍ If prophets and saints do not know the unseen, then how can soothsayers, fortune-tellers, geomancers, astrologers, those who claim to tell the future through fake istikhara, and those who reveal thefts be the knower of the unseen? All these people are liars and deceivers. If any statement heard from the heavens turns out to be true, they use it to promote their falsehood.

➎ If anyone besides Allah were the knower of the unseen, the most deserving would be our Noble Prophet (peace be upon him). Some people say that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was given knowledge of the unseen as a gift, and Allah granted him knowledge of {’’مَا كَانَ وَ مَا يَكُوْنُ‘‘}, the only difference being between inherent and granted knowledge. Firstly, it is impossible for Allah to make anyone an equal partner in any of His attributes. See the commentary of Surah Rum (28) and Surah Nahl (71). Secondly, for the claim that Allah gave the Prophet (peace be upon him) all knowledge of {’’مَا كَانَ وَمَا يَكُوْنُ‘‘} (what has happened and what will happen), it must be clarified when Allah granted him this knowledge. If it is said that he was given this knowledge before prophethood or at some time before his death, then the coming of Jibril and the process of revelation becomes pointless. And if it is said that he was not the knower of the unseen before his death but became so at the time of death, then those hadiths refute this in which the angels say to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him): [ إِنَّكَ لَا تَدْرِيْ مَا أَحْدَثُوْا بَعْدَكَ ] [ بخاري : ۴۶۲۵ ] “You do not know what new things they did after you.” And in which it is mentioned that during intercession, while prostrating under the Throne, Allah will teach the Prophet (peace be upon him) those praises which he did not know before. (See Bukhari: 7510)

➏ In short, this is a fundamental belief of Islam that no one is the knower of the unseen except Allah. Allah may inform any of His servants of some matter of the unseen, but the complete knowledge of {’’مَا كَانَ وَمَا يَكُوْنُ‘‘} is only with Allah. Thus, He said: «{ وَ عِنْدَهٗ مَفَاتِحُ الْغَيْبِ لَا يَعْلَمُهَاۤ اِلَّا هُوَ }» [ الأنعام : ۵۹] “And with Him are the keys of the unseen; none knows them except Him.” And He said: «{ اِنَّ اللّٰهَ عِنْدَهٗ عِلْمُ السَّاعَةِ وَ يُنَزِّلُ الْغَيْثَ وَ يَعْلَمُ مَا فِي الْاَرْحَامِ وَ مَا تَدْرِيْ نَفْسٌ مَّا ذَا تَكْسِبُ غَدًا وَ مَا تَدْرِيْ نَفْسٌۢ بِاَيِّ اَرْضٍ تَمُوْتُ }» [ لقمان : ۳۴ ] “Indeed, Allah—only with Him is the knowledge of the Hour, and He sends down the rain, and He knows what is in the wombs. And no soul knows what it will earn tomorrow, and no soul knows in which land it will die.” And He said: «{ يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ اَيْدِيْهِمْ وَ مَا خَلْفَهُمْ وَ لَا يُحِيْطُوْنَ بِشَيْءٍ مِّنْ عِلْمِهٖۤ اِلَّا بِمَا شَآءَ }» [ البقرۃ : ۲۵۵ ] “He knows what is before them and what is behind them, and they do not encompass anything of His knowledge except what He wills.”

The Qur’an has not only negated the knowledge of the unseen from anyone besides Allah in absolute and general terms, but has also clearly stated regarding the prophets and even the Noble Prophet (peace be upon him) himself that they are not the knower of the unseen; they were given only as much knowledge of the unseen as was necessary for their prophethood. Regarding previous prophets, see the story of Adam: [ طٰہٰ : ۱۲۰ تا ۱۲۲ ], the story of Nuh: [ ھود : ۳۱ تا ۳۶ اور ۴۵ تا ۴۷ ], the story of Ibrahim: [ الشعراء : ۶۹ تا ۸۶ ], the story of Lut: [ ھود : ۷۷ تا ۸۳ ], the story of Yaqub: [ یوسف : ۸۳، ۸۴], the story of Sulaiman: [ النمل : ۲۰ تا ۲۸], the story of Musa: [ الأعراف : ۱۴۳۔ طٰہٰ : ۲۱ اور ۶۴ تا ۶۸ اور ۸۳ تا ۸۶۔ النمل : ۱۰۔ القصص : ۲۰], the story of Zakariya: [ مریم : ۲ تا ۱۰۔ آل عمران : ۳۷ تا ۴۷ ], the story of Dawud: [ صٓ : ۲۲ تا ۲۵ ], even the angels do not know the unseen: [ البقرۃ : ۳۱ تا ۳۳ ], nor do the jinn: [ سبا : ۱۲ تا ۱۴ ]. The life of our Noble Prophet (peace be upon him) has three periods: before prophethood, during prophethood, and after his passing. Regarding the period before prophethood, the Qur’an has clearly stated that he did not know these matters. See Surah Shura (52), Qasas (44–46, 48), and Hud (49).

From becoming a prophet until his passing, Allah granted the Prophet (peace be upon him) knowledge of countless past and future events, but his knowledge is in no way comparable to Allah’s knowledge, as Khidr explained to Musa (peace be upon them) by giving the example of the ocean and the drop on the beak of a bird. [ دیکھیے بخاري : ۴۷۲۵ ] Umm al-Mu’minin Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: [ مَنْ حَدَّثَكَ أَنَّهُ يَعْلَمُ الْغَيْبَ فَقَدْ كَذَبَ ] [ بخاري، التوحید، باب قول اللہ تعالٰی : « عالم الغیب فلا یظھر علی غیبہ أحدا » … : ۷۳۸۰، ۴۸۵۵ ] “Whoever tells you that the Messenger (peace be upon him) knew the unseen has lied.” Now, let us briefly look at some incidents from the life of the Prophet (peace be upon him) which negate his being the knower of the unseen: (1) The incident of Ifk regarding Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her). See Surah Nur (16–26) and the hadith of Ifk in Sahih Bukhari (4141). (2) The incident of making honey unlawful. See Surah Tahrim (1–4) and Sahih Bukhari (4912). (3) Allah informed him of the condition of some prophets, but not all. See Surah Nisa (164). (4) He did not know the time of the Hour. See Surah Ahzab (63), Shura (17), A’raf (187), Ta-Ha (15), Naml (65), Luqman (34), Ha Mim Sajdah (47), Zukhruf (85), and Mulk (25, 26). (5) No one knows the armies of Allah except Him. See Mudathir (31). (6) The incident of Abdullah bin Umm Maktum, the blind companion. See Surah Abasa (1–12). (7) Allah said that there are some hypocrites in and around Madinah who persist in hypocrisy; you do not know them, We know them. See Surah Tawbah (101). (8) The Prophet’s (peace be upon him) ascension to the heavens and repeatedly asking Jibril, “Who are these people?” Then his saying that Sidrat al-Muntaha was covered by such colors that “I do not know what they were.” [ دیکھیے بخاري، الصلاۃ، باب کیف فرضت الصلاۃ في الإسراء : ۳۴۹ ] (9) On the occasion of the conquest of Makkah, the Prophet (peace be upon him) was bathing behind a curtain when Umm Hani (may Allah be pleased with her) arrived and greeted him. He asked, “Who is it?” She replied, “Umm Hani.” [ دیکھیے بخاري، الغسل، باب التستر فی الغسل عند الناس : ۲۸۰ ] (10) On a journey, Aisha’s (may Allah be pleased with her) necklace was lost, and the Prophet (peace be upon him) and others stayed to search for it. Later, when the camel on which Aisha was sleeping was made to stand, the necklace was found underneath it. [ دیکھیے بخاري، التیمم، باب : ۳۳۴ ]

(11) During his final illness, when his illness intensified, he would repeatedly lose and regain consciousness and ask, “Have the people prayed?” He was told, “No,” and this happened three times. [ دیکھیے بخاري، الأذان، باب أن جعل الإمام لیؤتم بہ : ۶۸۷ ] (12) Seventy companions were sent to a group of polytheists, who martyred them, and the Prophet (peace be upon him) was deeply grieved. [ دیکھیے بخاري، الوتر، باب القنوت قبل الرکوع و بعدہ : ۱۰۰۲ ] (13) The Messenger (peace be upon him), Abu Bakr and Umar (may Allah be pleased with them), and other companions slept, and the sun rose fully, so the morning prayer was performed later. [ دیکھیے مسلم، المساجد، باب قضاء الصلاۃ الفائتۃ… : ۶۸۰ ] (14) A woman who used to sweep the mosque died and was buried after her funeral. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Why did you not inform me?” Then he said, “Show me her grave.” [دیکھیے بخاري، الصلاۃ، باب کنس المسجد : ۴۵۸ ] (15) The Messenger (peace be upon him) said, “I go to my house and find a date on my bed. I pick it up to eat, but then I fear it might be a date of charity, so I throw it away.” [ دیکھیے بخاري، اللقطۃ، باب إذا وجد تمرۃ … : ۲۴۳۱ ]

(16) He said, “Laylat al-Qadr was shown to me, then I was made to forget it.” [ دیکھیے بخاري، فضل لیلۃ القدر، باب التماس لیلۃ القدر… : ۲۰۱۶ ] (17) The incident of the people of Banu ‘Ukl and ‘Uraina, whom the Prophet (peace be upon him) instructed to drink the milk and urine of camels, and when they recovered, they killed the shepherd and drove away the camels. [ دیکھیے بخاري، الجہاد والسیر، باب إذا حرق المشرک… : ۳۰۱۸، ۲۳۳ ] (18) The incident of the Jewish woman poisoning the meat of a goat. [ دیکھیے بخاري، الھبۃ و فضلھا، باب قبول الھدیۃ من المشرکین : ۲۶۱۷ ] (19) The Messenger (peace be upon him) sent ten men as spies, appointing Asim bin Thabit al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) as their leader. Seven were martyred, three survived and prayed, “O Allah! Convey our news to our Prophet (peace be upon him).” Later, the remaining two were also martyred, and Khubaib (may Allah be pleased with him) was taken captive and then martyred. [ دیکھیے بخاري، الجھاد والسیر، باب ھل یستأسر الرجل؟… : ۳۰۴۵ ] For more incidents, see the book “Talash-e-Haq” by the respected Irshadullah Man, in which he has mentioned seventy-eight (78) such incidents.

As for the period after the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) passing, it is proven from many hadiths that even on the Day of Resurrection, he will not be the knower of the unseen. Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: [ يَأَيُّهَا النَّاسُ! إِنَّكُمْ مَحْشُوْرُوْنَ إِلَی اللّٰهِ حُفَاهً عُرَاةً غُرْلًا، ثُمَّ قَالَ : «{ كَمَا بَدَاْنَاۤ اَوَّلَ خَلْقٍ نُّعِيْدُهٗ وَعْدًا عَلَيْنَا اِنَّا كُنَّا فٰعِلِيْنَ }» إِلٰی آخِرِ الْآيَةِ ثُمَّ قَالَ : أَلَا وَإِنَّ أَوَّلَ الْخَلَائِقِ يُكْسٰی يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ إِبْرَاهِيْمُ، أَلَا وَإِنَّهُ يُجَاءُ بِرِجَالٍ مِنْ أُمَّتِيْ فَيُؤْخَذُ بِهِمْ ذَاتَ الشِّمَالِ فَأَقُوْلُ يَا رَبِّ ! أُصَيْحَابِيْ، فَيُقَالُ، إِنَّكَ لَا تَدْرِيْ مَا أَحْدَثُوْا بَعْدَكَ، فَأَقُوْلُ كَمَا قَالَ الْعَبْدُ الصَّالِحُ : «{ وَ كُنْتُ عَلَيْهِمْ شَهِيْدًا مَّا دُمْتُ فِيْهِمْ فَلَمَّا تَوَفَّيْتَنِيْ كُنْتَ اَنْتَ الرَّقِيْبَ عَلَيْهِمْ }» فَيُقَالُ : إِنَّ هٰؤُلَاءِ لَمْ يَزَالُوْا مُرْتَدِّيْنَ عَلٰی أَعْقَابِهِمْ مُنْذُ فَارَقْتَهُمْ ] [بخاري، التفسیر، باب : «و کنت علیہم شھیدا ما دمت فیھم…» : ۴۶۲۵ ] “O people! You will be gathered before Allah barefoot, naked, and uncircumcised.” Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) recited this verse: «{ كَمَا بَدَاْنَاۤ اَوَّلَ خَلْقٍ نُّعِيْدُهٗ وَعْدًا عَلَيْنَا اِنَّا كُنَّا فٰعِلِيْنَ }» [ الأنبیاء : ۱۰۴ ] “As We began the first creation, We shall repeat it. (It is) a promise binding upon Us. Indeed, We will do it.” Then he said, “Listen! The first to be clothed on the Day of Resurrection will be Ibrahim (Abraham). Listen! Some people from my Ummah will be brought, and the angels will take them to the left side (i.e., among the people of Hell). I will say, ‘O Lord! These are my followers.’ It will be said, ‘You do not know what they did after you.’ At that time, I will say what Allah’s righteous servant Isa (Jesus) said: «{ وَ كُنْتُ عَلَيْهِمْ شَهِيْدًا مَّا دُمْتُ فِيْهِمْ فَلَمَّا تَوَفَّيْتَنِيْ كُنْتَ اَنْتَ الرَّقِيْبَ عَلَيْهِمْ }» [المائدۃ : ۱۱۷ ] ‘And I was a witness over them while I was among them, but when You took me up, You were the Watcher over them.’ It will be said, ‘These people kept turning back on their heels from Islam after you left them.’ And the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: [ فَأَسْتَأْذِنُ عَلٰی رَبِّيْ فَيُؤْذَنُ لِيْ فَأَقُوْمُ بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ فَأَحْمَدُهُ بِمَحَامِدَ لَا أَقْدِرُ عَلَيْهِ الْآنَ، يُلْهِمُنِيْهِ اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰی] [ مسلم، الإیمان، باب أدنٰی أھل الجنۃ منزلۃ فیھا : ۳۲۶ /۱۹۳ ] “(On the Day of Resurrection, when all people come to me) I will seek permission from my Lord, and I will be granted permission, then I will stand before my Lord and praise Him with such praises that I am not capable of today; at that time, Allah will inspire me with those praises.”

➐ { وَ مَا يَشْعُرُوْنَ اَيَّانَ يُبْعَثُوْنَ:} From this, it is understood that the negation of knowledge of the unseen is not being made from those who will not be raised on the Day of Resurrection, such as idols, stones, trees, the sun, the moon, or angels, but from those who will be raised on the Day of Resurrection, whether they are prophets, the truthful, martyrs, or the righteous. It is said, not only do they not know the unseen, they do not even have awareness of when they will be raised.

65-1 That is, just as in the aforementioned matters Allah Almighty is alone, He has no partner, similarly, in the knowledge of the unseen, He is unique. No one besides Him is the Knower of the unseen. Even the Prophets and Messengers have only as much knowledge as Allah Almighty informs them through revelation and inspiration, and the one who acquires knowledge through someone else's telling cannot be called the Knower of the unseen. Hazrat Aisha says that whoever assumes that the Prophet ﷺ knows the events that will occur tomorrow, he has fabricated a great slander against Allah, because He Himself says that in the heavens and the earth, only Allah has the knowledge of the unseen (Sahih Bukhari). Hazrat Qatadah says that Allah Almighty has created the stars for three purposes: the adornment of the sky, as a means of guidance, and to stone the devils. But people ignorant of Allah's commands have fabricated the pretense of acquiring the knowledge of the unseen (soothsaying) from them. For example, they say that whoever marries at such and such a star's time, such and such will happen; whoever travels at such and such a star's time, such and such will happen; whoever is born at such and such a star's time, such and such will happen, and so on. All these are pretenses. Often, the opposite of their conjectures happens. How can the knowledge of the unseen be acquired from stars, birds, and animals? While Allah's decision is that in the heavens and the earth, no one knows the unseen except Allah. (Ibn Kathir)

65. Say, "None in the heavens and the earth knows the unseen [71] except Allah; and they do not perceive when they will be resurrected [72]."

[71]
Different Aspects of the Unseen and the Seen:

By “unseen” (ghayb) is meant, firstly, those things which have not come into the knowledge or observation of a particular person. Then, when they come into his knowledge, or he himself observes them, they are no longer unseen for him. For example, a bus and a car had an accident on the road in which four people died. When he comes to know of it, or witnesses it himself, this incident is no longer unseen for him. Such news can be of the past, or of the present, which are known to some and remain unseen for others. However, news of the future is unseen for everyone. The second type is that all the sciences which man has discovered, or to the extent he has discovered them, are all for him “knowledge of the seen” (‘ilm al-shahadah), and those sciences to which man has not been able to reach, or can never reach, are for him “knowledge of the unseen” (‘ilm al-ghayb). The third type is the knowledge of those things to which man has never had access before, nor will he ever be able to in the future, and according to the explicit statements of the Book and Sunnah, these are five things:
(1) What will happen tomorrow, and what a particular person will do tomorrow.
(2) When and where death will come.
(3) How changes occur in the womb of the mother.
(4) When beneficial rain will fall.
(5) When the Day of Judgment will come. [31: 34]
The knowledge of these things is only with Allah.

Knowledge of the Unseen Belongs Only to Allah:

From these explanations, it is understood that knowledge of the unseen belongs only to Allah. However, from this knowledge, as much as He deems necessary for human guidance, He informs His prophets. Such as the Day of Judgment, resurrection after death, Paradise and Hell, and the conditions of the Day of Judgment, as well as the conditions of the past, which in the terminology of the Shari‘ah are called “reminders of the days of Allah.”

Conditions of the Prophets and Nations and Some Predictions and Glad Tidings About the Future:

Thus, Allah Almighty has repeatedly made the prophets announce that no one knows the unseen except Allah. In one place, He said: “O Prophet, say: If I had knowledge of the unseen, I would have accumulated much good, and no harm would have touched me.” [7: 188] And since, according to the explicit statements of authentic hadiths, the prophets go through periods of trial, it is clear from this that the prophets know only as much of the unseen as Allah informs them.

The Mutual Relationship Between Knowledge of the Unseen and Divinity:

To keep knowledge of the unseen exclusive to Allah Almighty is a fundamental belief of Islam, and the reason is that there is a deep connection between divinity and belief in knowledge of the unseen. From ancient times until today, whenever man has suspected any being of divinity, he has necessarily thought that everything is clear to that being and nothing remains hidden from it. You must have often read or heard in the accounts of the friends of Allah (awliya) that the spiritual guide (pir) is aware of the conditions of his disciples. Then, countless such incidents are also found in these accounts. All such stories are fabricated so that the attributes of divinity may be accepted in these spiritual guides, even if not acknowledged verbally. In other words, holding such a belief about anyone is the greatest foundation of shirk (associating partners with Allah). Whether a saint or spiritual guide is alive or has passed away, he can only hear someone’s plea, fulfill his need, or remove his difficulty if, first of all, he is aware of the conditions of his disciples, and then, after that, has some control over the affairs of the universe.

Knowledge of the Unseen is an Indivisible Attribute:

Just as some other attributes of Allah Almighty, such as creatorship and provision, are indivisible and cannot be analyzed, in the same way, knowledge of the unseen is also indivisible and cannot be analyzed. That is, it cannot be said that a certain saint is fully aware of the conditions of all his disciples, or of his area or city, and also knows their unseen matters, or that a certain being knows the buried treasures of this area’s land. All such things are included in shirk.

[72] From this phrase of the verse, it is understood that in this verse, the negation of knowing the unseen is intended for only those beings, upon whom the stage of resurrection after death is to come. Now, it is clear that by this are not meant idols, nor stones and trees, nor the sun and moon, nor angels. By this are meant only those revered figures in whom, in some way or another, an attribute of divinity, and especially knowledge of the unseen, is accepted.