سُوْرَةُ النَّمْلِ
Surah An-Naml (27) — Ayah 65
قُل لَّا يَعْلَمُ مَن فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ٱلْغَيْبَ إِلَّا ٱللَّهُ ۚ وَمَا يَشْعُرُونَ أَيَّانَ يُبْعَثُونَ ﴿65﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
Say: "None in the heavens and the earth knows the Ghaib (Unseen) except Allâh, nor can they perceive when they shall be resurrected."
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
قُل
qul
Say
لَّا
lā
No (one)
يَعْلَمُ
yaʿlamu
knows
مَن
man
whoever
فِى
fī
(is) in
ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ
l-samāwāti
the heavens
وَٱلْأَرْضِ
wal-arḍi
and the earth
ٱلْغَيْبَ
l-ghayba
(of) the unseen
إِلَّا
illā
except
ٱللَّهُ ۚ
l-lahu
Allah
وَمَا
wamā
and not
يَشْعُرُونَ
yashʿurūna
they perceive
أَيَّانَ
ayyāna
when
يُبْعَثُونَ
yub'ʿathūna
they will be resurrected
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran — Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran (Facilitation of the Quran) is a comprehensive Quran commentary by Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. Known for his eloquent and accessible writing style, Kilani authored this tafsir with a focus on clarity — making Quranic meanings understandable to the common reader. The tafsir provides detailed historical context for verses related to battles and expeditions, and firmly refutes modernist ideologies using strong scriptural evidence. It is widely regarded as an invaluable resource for understanding the Quran and countering deviant interpretations. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
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.
[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.
