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We,
The Ahle As Sunnah, believe that Allah
has given the knowledge of the Ghayb (unseen), to the Prophet [May
Allah bless him and grant him peace], and that it is also permissable
to say that our Prophet [May Allah bless him and grant him peace]
knows the knowledge of the Ghayb. However, it is not
possible, nor permissable to say that the Prophet’s [May Allah bless
him and grant him peace] knowledge of the Ghayb
is equal to that of Allah - or even like the knowledge of Allah,
since Allah’s knowledge is His own and the Prophet’s [May Allah bless
him and grant him peace] knowledge has been given to him by Allah.
There
are some people, who say to hold such beliefs will render that person
a Kafir or an unbeliever. We will prove, with the help of Allah,
that such a notion is not one of kufr.
Belief
of the Ahle Sunnah about ‘ilm of the Ghayb
Mufti
Ahmad Yar Khan (Allah have mercy on him) states:-
“Allah has informed His Prophets about
certain things from the Unseen. The knowledge of the Prophet (May
Allah bless him and grant him peace) is more than anyone else’s. Nobody
can be equal to the knowledge of the Prophet (May Allah bless him
and grant him peace) knowledge in the world. The five special things
of the Unseen, Allah has informed some of these parts to the Prophet
(May Allah bless him and grant him peace)”.
(See
book Ja-alhaq, chapter Masa’la Gaib by Mufti Ahmad Yar Khan.)
Proof from
the Qur’an that the Prophet Muhammad [May Allah bless him and grant
him peace] has been given the knowledge of Ghayb
Allah
says in the Qur’an,
“These are the tidings of Unseen
that We reveal to you in secret”.
Surah-Ale-Imran,
verse 44.
“Nor will He disclose to you the secrets
of the Unseen. But He chooses of His Apostles (For the purpose)”
Surah-Ale-Imran,
verse 179.
“The Knower of Unseen reveals not His
secret to anyone. Except to His chosen Messengers”.
Surah-Al-Jinn,
verse 26.
“…Allah has sent down to you the Book
and Wisdom and has taught to you what you did not know, and
great is the grace of Allah upon you.”
Surah
Al-Nisa, Verse 113.
Imam
Tabari writes under this verse:
Allah TA’ALA has told the Prophet (May
Allah bless him and grant him peace), you must thank Allah TA’ALA
Who has informed you of what has already happened and what will happen
in the future and this is a great grace of Allah upon you.
(Tafsir
Tabari under verse 113 of Surah Al-Nisa).
The
above Qur’anic verses prove that Allah TA’ALA has given Muhammad (May
Allah bless him and grant him peace) the knowledge of the Ghayb.
Proofs
from the Ahadith that Prophet Muhammad [May Allah bless him and grant
him peace] had the knowledge of the Ghayb
We
find in a narration from the collection of Imam Bukhari :
Prophet Muhammad (May Allah bless him
and grant him peace) stood up in one meeting and he started to tell
us about events from the beginning of this world to the end and he
told us about heaven and hell and about the people who were going
to hell and who were going to heaven and what will be their places
in heaven and hell. Of course, some people remember what he told us
and some people have forgotten.
(Bukhari,
Chapter Bada-Ul-Khalq.)
Imam
Muslim writes that:
The Prophet Muhammad (May Allah bless
him and grant him peace) led the Fajr prayer and then sat on the pulpit,
and until Zuhr he told the people of the things about the Unseen.
After Zuhr, he sat on the pulpit and continued until Asar, then sat
on the pulpit and continued until Maghrib prayer. He even informed
of the dwellers of Paradise and Hell.
(Muslim
chapter on Fadial).
Hafidhh
ibn Hajar Asqalani in his famous commentary to Sahih Bukhari writes
that:
What Prophet Muhammad (May Allah bless
him and grant him peace) told in that one meeting is a miracle of
the Prophet and this should not be doubted.
(Fathul
Bari chap on Bada-Ul-Khalq).
Imam
Bukhari writes:
The Munafiqs (hypocrites- those who
were outwardly Muslims but inwardly unbelievers) made an objection
to the knowledge of the Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him
peace). The Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace) stood
on the pulpit and said, “Ask me what you will”.One person stood
up and asked, “What will be my place in the Hereafter?” The Prophet
replied, “Hell”. Another person whose name was Abdullah bin Huzaifa,
(people doubted whether he was a legitimate child), stood up and asked,
“Who is my Father?” The Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him
peace) replied, “Your Father is Huzaifa”. (The accusation on Abdullah
bin Huzaifa was cleared.) The Prophet (May Allah bless him and
grant him peace) repeated, “Ask me, ask me”.
[Bukhari
Kitab-ul-I’tisaam Muslim chap on Fadial].
It
is evident from this Hadith that the only people who objected to the
knowledge (Ilm-e-ghaib) of the Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant
him peace) were the Munafiqs (hypocrites), and the belief that Allah
informed His Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace) of
more knowledge than any one else is the belief of the blessed companions
of the Prophet.
Imam
Ahmad bin Hanbal quotes the following narration which provides more
evidence on the Prophets knowledge :
The Prophet (May Allah bless him
and grant him peace) stated, “I have seen my Lord, He put His hands
upon my chest, after which everything appeared before me and I recognized
everything.
[Musnad
Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, vol 5, page 243]
Hafidhh
Ibn Kathir writes:
A shepherd was with his goats.
Upon which a wolf came and grabbed one goat and ran. The shepherd
then chased after the wolf to get the goat back. The wolf then spoke
to him and said, “Why do you take what food (rizq) which Allah has
provided for me?” The shepherd was astonished that the wolf spoke.
The wolf again said, “If you are so surprised that I can talk then
go to Madina. You will find the last of the Prophets, and he
can inform you of the Past and the Future”. The shepherd left his
goats and went straight to the Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant
him peace) and mentioned his experience. The Prophet (May Allah bless
him and grant him peace) replied, “The wolf spoke the truth"
Isnad (chain of narrators) for this hadith is (Jayid) Authentic.
[Taareekh:
Chapter of Miracles of Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant Him
peace].
We
also find the following clear cut hadith without any ambigious meanings
from Sahih Muslim:
The Prophet (May Allah bless him and
grant him peace) stated, “Allah put the earth before me and I saw
it from the East to the West”
[Muslim
(Chapter of Excellence of the Prophet (May Allah bless him and
grant him peace]
This
Hadith is a proof that the Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant
him peace) was bestowed with the knowledge of the whole world.
Hafidhh
Ibn Kathir and Ibn Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab al Najdi write:
Suad bin Qarib recited a poem
in front of the Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace),
“I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except
Allah. Allah has made you the trustee over all the ghaib.
[Sirat-un-Nabi
and Mukhtasar Sirat ul Rasool, Storey on Swad bin Qariq by Hafidhh
ibn Kathir and Ibn Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab al Najdi]
Shaykh-ul-Islam,
al-Hafidhh Ibn Hajar Asqalani writes that:
One of the qualities bestowed upon a
Prophet is the quality that he knows what has already happened in
the past and what will happen in the future.
(Fathul
Bari chap on Anbiya).
From all the above Ahadith it is proven that the Prophet (May
Allah bless him and grant him peace) was bestowed with more knowledge,
than any other in the creation by Allah Almighty. It is also clear
that he, (May Allah bless him and grant him peace), has been bestowed
with the knowledge of the past and future and it is therefore permissible
to say that Prophet Muhammad (May Allah bless him and grant him peace)
is the trustee of the knowledge of Ghayb.
It
is proven from the above narrations that Allah Almighty bestowed (that
is gave) our Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace) the
knowledge of the Ghayb, so it is permissible to say that he, (May
Allah bless him and grant him peace) knows the Ghayb. Hence if someone says that
they hold the Prophet to know the Ghayb(unseen), he is not committing
Kufr or Shirk by holding
such a belief.
Sayyedina
Khidr (Alay hissalaam) also knew the Ghayb?
Imam
Tabari, Imam Qurtabi and Qadi Shawkani quote the following narration:
Ibn
Abbas reported that Khidr was a man who did all his work with the
knowledge of the Ghayb because he knew the Ghayb.
[Tafsir
Tabari, Tafsir Qurtabi, Tafsir Fathul Qadir, by Imam Tabari, Qurtabi
and Qadi Shawkani].
The
above statement proves from a narration from a Sahabi, which is accepted
by leading and reputable classical authorities, that it is permissible
to say about Khidhr that he knew the Ghayb, so how can it possibly
be wrong to say that Prophet Muhammad (May Allah bless him and grant
him peace) also knows the Ghayb.
Hafidhh
ibn Kathir and Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab al Najdi wrote;
Malik Bin Aouf Nazri has written a Poem
about our Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace) and has
written
I have not seen any one like you in
this world that I can compare with.
Who always fulfill all that he promises.
There is no one more generous than him,
When you ask him some thing he will
inform you of what is going to happen tomorrow.
[Sirat
an Nabi Ibn Kathir and Muktasar Sirat al Rasool chapter Gazwa Hawazan
by Hafidh ibn Kathir and Ibn Shaykh Najdy]
We
will now examine some doubts that are raised by the opponents of the
above Qur’anic and Ahadith based beliefs, and then by the grace of
Allah, will answer their doubts so that the truth may become clear,
Insha’allah.
Q)
How can you say that Muhammad (May Allah bless him and grant him peace)
has been given the knowledge of the Ghayb when Allah Almighty says
in the Qur’an that there are five things of which no one has any knowledge
about?
The
relevant verse of the Qur’an is as follows:-
“Undoubtedly, Allah has the knowledge
of the Hour, and He sends rain and knows what is in the wombs of the
mothers and no soul knows in what land it will die. Undoubtedly,
Allah is the Knower, All Aware”. (Surah
Luqman Verse 34)
There
are two answers to this:
The
word used in this verse in Arabic is Adri, which refers to that
knowledge which someone can attain by guessing. Of course the knowledge
of the Unseen of the Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace)
was not by guessing. Allah informed this to him.
Hafidhh
Ibn Kathir (who met and briefly studied with Ibn Taymiyya) has written
in his famous commentary to the Qur’an, ‘Tafsir Ibn Kathir’, the meaning
of this ayaat, namely, that no-one can find the knowledge of these
things on there own endeavor. Only Allah can give this knowledge,
for example Allah gives knowledge to the Angels whose duties are to
control rain, and therefore on the command of Allah it rains.
Also
Allah commands an Angel who goes into the mother’s womb and hangs
a record around the child’s neck what he/she will do in their lifetime.
This knowledge is not attained by the Angel but rather it is given
by Allah Himself.
If
the literal and direct meaning is taken from the above quoted ayaat,
then it will mean that only Allah knows what is in the mothers womb
but today, we can discover quite easily if the child is a male or
female by modern scanning techniques.
If
the Angels have some knowledge on the five Unseen things - given to
them by Allah, why is it strange if the Prophet (May Allah bless him
and grant him peace) also has some of this knowledge - again bestowed
by Allah.
During
the battle of Badr, the Prophet mentioned the names of the kafirs
that were to die the next and also described the manner in which the
companions would achieve martyrdom.
These
are clear and authentic examples of the Prophet, (May Allah bless
him and grant him peace), informing his ummah about future events,
hidden from all else (ie ghayb), [Taken from Sahih Bukhari chapter
on the Battle of Badr and also Tafsir Ibn Kathir on Surah Luqman Ayaat
34.]
(Q)
Did Prophet Muhammad (May Allah bless him and grant him peace) not
stop people from saying that he [May Allah bless him and grant him
peace] had the knowledge of tomorrow?
On
one occasion our Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace)
went to a wedding. There, the girls were singing about the battle
of Badr. When they saw the Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant
him peace) coming they stopped singing about Battle of Badr and started
to sing that: "There is a Prophet amongst us that knows about
tomorrow". The Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace) said
carry on singing what you were singing before. [Miskat chapter
Nikah]
If
he [May Allah bless him and grant him peace] knew about tomorrow,
then why did he stop them from singing it?
The
Answer to this is:
These
poems were written by a Companion [Sahabi], and had it been incorrect,
he [May Allah bless him and grant him peace] would have instructed
them to stop immediately and not to repeat.
This
means the poem was right. The reason he told them to stop singing
was because a wedding celebration was taking place and he wanted them
to sing the poem that they were singing before, and secondly he did
not want them to praise him in the presence of himself. That
was one of the beauties of our Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant
him peace), that he didn’t like to be praised.
Everyone
knows that our Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace) did
know about the future events up to the Day of Judgment and even after,
how else could he have told us about the Mahdi, the Dajjal, the second
coming of Jesus, the questions to be asked in the grave, the bridge
over Hell which everyone will have to cross to get to Heaven, the
Meezan (scales) where everyone’s actions will be weighed etc etc.
There
are countless more proofs which show without a shadow of a doubt that
the Beloved Messenger of Allah, (May Allah bless him and grant him
peace), had been given the knowledge of the Ghayb (Unseen) and ALLAH
is the knower of all things!
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