The claim that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) knows the unseen

The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta

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Q50: How do we respond to those who say that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) knows the unseen, citing the fact that he used to inform people about what would happen in the end times?
A50: The default ruling regarding unseen matters is that their knowledge is exclusive to Allah, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) does not know
anything of them except what Allah revealed to him. Allah the Exalted says:

And if I knew the unseen, I could have acquired much wealth, and no harm would have touched me.

وَلَوْ كُنْتُ أَعْلَمُ الْغَيْبَ لاَسْتَكْثَرْتُ مِنَ الْخَيْرِ وَمَا مَسَّنِيَ السُّوءُ

[Al-A'raf 7:188]

, and Allah informs of His exclusivity in knowing the unseen, as Allah the Exalted said:

And with Him are the keys of the unseen; none knows them except Him. And He knows what is on the land and in the sea. Not a leaf falls but that He knows it. And no grain is there within the darknesses of the earth and no moist or dry [thing] but that it is [written] in a clear record.

وَعِنْدَهُ مَفَاتِحُ الْغَيْبِ لاَ يَعْلَمُهَا إِلاَّ هُوَ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا فِي الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ وَمَا تَسْقُطُ مِنْ وَرَقَةٍ إِلاَّ يَعْلَمُهَا وَلاَ حَبَّةٍ فِي ظُلُمَاتِ الْأَرْضِ وَلاَ رَطْبٍ وَلاَ يَابِسٍ إِلاَّ فِي كِتَابٍ مُبِينٍ

[Al-An'am 6:59]

, and He said:

Say, "None in the heavens and earth knows the unseen except Allah, and they do not perceive when they will be resurrected."

قُلْ لاَ يَعْلَمُ مَنْ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ الْغَيْبَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ وَمَا يَشْعُرُونَ أَيَّانَ يُبْعَثُونَ

[An-Naml 27:65]

. However, Allah reveals to whom He chooses among His messengers some of the unseen. Allah the Exalted said:

⁽²⁶⁾ [He is] Knower of the unseen, and He does not disclose His [knowledge of the] unseen to anyone ⁽²⁷⁾ Except whom He has approved of messengers, and indeed, He sends before each messenger and behind him observers

عَالِمُ الْغَيْبِ فَلاَ يُظْهِرُ عَلَى غَيْبِهِ أَحَدًا (26) إِلاَّ مَنِ ارْتَضَى مِنْ رَسُولٍ فَإِنَّهُ يَسْلُكُ مِنْ بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِ رَصَدًا

[Al-Jinn 72:26-27]

, and He said:

Say, "I am not something original among the messengers, nor do I know what will be done with me or with you. I only follow that which is revealed to me, and I am not but a clear warner."

قُلْ مَا كُنْتُ بِدْعًا مِنَ الرُّسُلِ وَمَا أَدْرِي مَا يُفْعَلُ بِي وَلاَ بِكُمْ إِنْ أَتَّبِعُ إِلاَّ مَا يُوحَى إِلَيَّ وَمَا أَنَا إِلاَّ نَذِيرٌ مُبِينٌ

[Al-Ahqaf 46:9]

. It is established in a long hadith through the route of Umm al-'Ala , in which she said:

but he died. We shrouded him in his clothes, and Allah's Apostle came to our house and I said, (addressing the dead `Uthman), 'O Abu As-Sa'ib! May Allah be merciful to you. I testify that Allah has blessed you.' The Prophet (ﷺ) said to me, "How do you know that Allah has blessed him?" I replied, 'I do not know O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! May my parents be sacrificed for you.' Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, 'As regards `Uthman, by Allah he has died and I really wish him every good, yet, by Allah, although I am Allah's Messenger (ﷺ), I do not know what will be done to me.' Um Al- Ala added, 'By Allah I shall never attest the piety of anybody after him.

لما توفي عثمان بن مظعون ، أدرجناه في أثوابه ، فدخل علينا رسول الله - صلى الله عليه وسلم - فقلت : رحمة الله عليك أبا السائب ، شهادتي عليك لقد أكرمك الله - عز وجل - ، فقال رسول الله - صلى الله عليه وسلم - : وما يدريك أن الله أكرمه ؟ فقلت : لا أدري بأبي أنت وأمي ، فقال رسول الله - صلى الله عليه وسلم - : أما هو فقد جاءه اليقين من ربه ، وإني لأرجو له الخير ، والله ما أدري وأنا رسول الله ما يفعل بي ، قلت : والله لا أزكي بعده أحدًا أبدًا

Sahih al-Bukhari 2687

. It was narrated by Ahmad , and al-Bukhari also reported it. In one of his narrations, it says:

I do not know what Allah will do with me though I am Allah's Messenger (ﷺ).

ما أدري وأنا رسول الله ما يفعل به

Sahih al-Bukhari 1243

. It is also established in many hadiths that Allah informed the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) of the outcomes of some of his Companions, so he gave them glad tidings of Paradise. In the hadith of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), in al-Bukhari and Muslim :

That Jibril asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about the Hour, and he said, "The one asked about it is not more knowledgeable than the one asking"

أن جبريل سأل النبي - عليه الصلاة والسلام - عن الساعة ، فقال : ما المسؤول عنها بأعلم من السائل

. Then he did not go beyond informing him of its signs, which indicates that he knew of the unseen only what Allah informed him of, and not any other hidden matters, and he informed about it when necessary. Through this, it becomes clear that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not know the unseen with comprehensive knowledge, but rather he knew it with partial knowledge within the limits of what Allah revealed to him, just as his fellow prophets did.

Source www.alifta.gov.sa

The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.

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