سُوْرَةُ الْاَعْرَافِ
Surah Al-A'raaf (7) — Ayah 188
قُل لَّآ أَمْلِكُ لِنَفْسِى نَفْعًا وَلَا ضَرًّا إِلَّا مَا شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ ۚ وَلَوْ كُنتُ أَعْلَمُ ٱلْغَيْبَ لَٱسْتَكْثَرْتُ مِنَ ٱلْخَيْرِ وَمَا مَسَّنِىَ ٱلسُّوٓءُ ۚ إِنْ أَنَا۠ إِلَّا نَذِيرٌ وَبَشِيرٌ لِّقَوْمٍ يُؤْمِنُونَ ﴿188﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
Say (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم): "I possess no power over benefit or harm to myself except as Allâh wills. If I had the knowledge of the Ghaib (Unseen), I should have secured for myself an abundance of wealth, and no evil should have touched me. I am but a warner, and a bringer of glad tidings unto people who believe."
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
قُل
qul
Say
لَّآ
lā
Not
أَمْلِكُ
amliku
I have power
لِنَفْسِى
linafsī
for myself
نَفْعًۭا
nafʿan
(to) benefit
وَلَا
walā
and no
ضَرًّا
ḍarran
(power to) harm
إِلَّا
illā
except
مَا
mā
what
شَآءَ
shāa
wills
ٱللَّهُ ۚ
l-lahu
Allah
وَلَوْ
walaw
And if
كُنتُ
kuntu
I would
أَعْلَمُ
aʿlamu
know
ٱلْغَيْبَ
l-ghayba
(of) the unseen
لَٱسْتَكْثَرْتُ
la-is'takthartu
surely I could have multiplied
مِنَ
mina
of
ٱلْخَيْرِ
l-khayri
the good
وَمَا
wamā
and not
مَسَّنِىَ
massaniya
(could) have touched me
ٱلسُّوٓءُ ۚ
l-sūu
the evil
إِنْ
in
Not
أَنَا۠
anā
(am) I
إِلَّا
illā
except
نَذِيرٌۭ
nadhīrun
a warner
وَبَشِيرٌۭ
wabashīrun
and a bearer of good tidings
لِّقَوْمٍۢ
liqawmin
to a people
يُؤْمِنُونَ
yu'minūna
who believe
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.
Say, "I have no power to benefit or harm myself, except as Allah wills. If I had knowledge of the unseen, I would have acquired much good and no harm would have touched me. I am only a warner and a bearer of good news for those who believe."
[188]
The Benefits of Knowing the Unseen, Knowledge of the Unseen Belongs to None but Allah:
In this verse, Allah Almighty has mentioned two benefits of knowing the unseen. One is that the knower of the unseen can gather many benefits for himself; for example, take a common example: if someone knows with certainty that at a certain time the price of a certain thing will rise to a certain extent, he can easily gain much profit and accumulate a lot of wealth. The second is that such a person cannot be afflicted by any harm, because he can think of a remedy in time or even before time. Allah Almighty said to His Messenger to tell the people that I do not have any power over my own benefit or harm, so how can I have power over your or others’ benefit or harm? And the second thing that is understood from this is that when I do not even have so much knowledge of the unseen that I can think of my own benefit or harm, then how can I tell you about the occurrence of the Day of Judgment?
Those Who Claim to Tell the News of the Unseen:
Now, judge those people by this same standard who claim to know the unseen through the movement of stars, palmistry, various methods of divination, or through the knowledge of jafr and ramal, or through their own kashf. What is the reality of their claim? For example, an astrologer or fortune-teller who sits on the footpath selling rings of fate and informs people of their fortunes in various ways—if he really knew this knowledge, could he be in such a miserable state? Could he not become rich in a few days? In the era of the Prophet ﷺ, soothsayers used to tell people the news of the unseen, and for this purpose, great people from far and wide would come to their thresholds and present valuable offerings. In this regard, the Prophet ﷺ said, “Whoever goes to a fortune-teller and asks him about something, his prayer will not be accepted for forty days.” [مسلم۔ كتاب السلام، باب تحريم الكهانة ورتيان الكهان بحواله كتاب التوحيدباب 26 ماجاء فى الكهان ونحوهم]
He ﷺ also said, “Whoever goes to a soothsayer and asks him and then believes him to be truthful, he has disassociated himself from what was revealed to Muhammad ﷺ.” [ابو داؤد۔ كتاب الطب باب فى الكاهن۔ باب الكهانة والتطير]
From these hadiths, it becomes clear by itself that the one who tells the news of the unseen is himself a disbeliever.
[188]
The Benefits of Knowing the Unseen, Knowledge of the Unseen Belongs to None but Allah:
In this verse, Allah Almighty has mentioned two benefits of knowing the unseen. One is that the knower of the unseen can gather many benefits for himself; for example, take a common example: if someone knows with certainty that at a certain time the price of a certain thing will rise to a certain extent, he can easily gain much profit and accumulate a lot of wealth. The second is that such a person cannot be afflicted by any harm, because he can think of a remedy in time or even before time. Allah Almighty said to His Messenger to tell the people that I do not have any power over my own benefit or harm, so how can I have power over your or others’ benefit or harm? And the second thing that is understood from this is that when I do not even have so much knowledge of the unseen that I can think of my own benefit or harm, then how can I tell you about the occurrence of the Day of Judgment?
Those Who Claim to Tell the News of the Unseen:
Now, judge those people by this same standard who claim to know the unseen through the movement of stars, palmistry, various methods of divination, or through the knowledge of jafr and ramal, or through their own kashf. What is the reality of their claim? For example, an astrologer or fortune-teller who sits on the footpath selling rings of fate and informs people of their fortunes in various ways—if he really knew this knowledge, could he be in such a miserable state? Could he not become rich in a few days? In the era of the Prophet ﷺ, soothsayers used to tell people the news of the unseen, and for this purpose, great people from far and wide would come to their thresholds and present valuable offerings. In this regard, the Prophet ﷺ said, “Whoever goes to a fortune-teller and asks him about something, his prayer will not be accepted for forty days.” [مسلم۔ كتاب السلام، باب تحريم الكهانة ورتيان الكهان بحواله كتاب التوحيدباب 26 ماجاء فى الكهان ونحوهم]
He ﷺ also said, “Whoever goes to a soothsayer and asks him and then believes him to be truthful, he has disassociated himself from what was revealed to Muhammad ﷺ.” [ابو داؤد۔ كتاب الطب باب فى الكاهن۔ باب الكهانة والتطير]
From these hadiths, it becomes clear by itself that the one who tells the news of the unseen is himself a disbeliever.
