The saying of Allah the Exalted: (And He knows what is in the wombs), and in these days, the determination of the type of fetus has been achieved through some devices?
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The questioner : Allah the Exalted said: [Luqman 31:34] This verse indicates that no one knows what is in the wombs except Allah. However, when a woman visits the female doctor, an imaging device is inserted into the womb, and the type of the fetus becomes clear. So what is the interpretation of this verse then?
The Shaykh : The interpretation of the verse has no connection to the means that Allah Mighty and Majestic created and facilitated for humans. The doctor’s access today to the type of fetus through a device is no stranger than the astronomers’ announcement of a solar or lunar eclipse years in advance, not just months or days. What Allah Mighty and Majestic described is that by His intrinsic knowledge, in which no one shares with Him in knowing what is in the bellies, what is in the wombs of the fetuses, this is a matter in which even the prophets and messengers do not share with Him. So Allah Mighty and Majestic said in the explicit Qur'an:[Al-Jinn 72:26-27] So He does not reveal, meaning He does not inform, so no one knows the unseen by their own essence except Allah Blessed and Exalted is He, as it came in "Sahih al-Bukhari" that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by a maidservant of the Ansar one day who was singing, saying: "And among us is a Prophet who knows what is in tomorrow" So he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: So no one knows the unseen by their own essence except Allah Blessed and Exalted is He. As for by means, that is possible. So Allah Mighty and Majestic informs His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) through Jibril, or through inspiration, which is the infallible inspiration free from error. As He also informed some of His servants by means by which they are able to know what is hidden from some people, and that is not a way of knowing the unseen.
And some farmers, and it is supposed that farmers, especially in the past when agriculture was not a science that is studied, knew by their own experiences that when a tree is cut, its age is so many years. This is not the unseen, but they knew by experience that every ring in the trunk of the tree indicates that it represents a year of its age. So if there are three rings, and this is observable if you pay attention to it, every ring indicates a year. This has no connection to the knowledge of the unseen, but rather Allah Mighty and Majestic decreed these rings and informed the people who observe them that this ring indicates that the age of the tree is one year or two years, and so on.
Likewise, these devices by which they discover the presence of rain, for example, after a day or two, or what came in the question regarding the insertion of a tube or a special strip that has a special nature and was made with precise craftsmanship, by which the doctor discovers whether the fetus is male or female. It is said to her: Without using this means, can you know? All humans say: No, we do not know. So then, we must conceive the reality of the unseen by which Allah specialized Himself, for it is intrinsic knowledge in which no human shares with Him. As for discovering some of the hidden things from people in general or in particular by some means that Allah Mighty and Majestic facilitated, this has absolutely no connection to the knowledge of the unseen. So let no one be confused by the matter after this explanation.
Indeed, Allah [alone] has knowledge of the Hour and sends down the rain and knows what is in the wombs
إن الله عنده علم الساعة وينزل الغيث ويعلم ما في الأرحامThe Shaykh : The interpretation of the verse has no connection to the means that Allah Mighty and Majestic created and facilitated for humans. The doctor’s access today to the type of fetus through a device is no stranger than the astronomers’ announcement of a solar or lunar eclipse years in advance, not just months or days. What Allah Mighty and Majestic described is that by His intrinsic knowledge, in which no one shares with Him in knowing what is in the bellies, what is in the wombs of the fetuses, this is a matter in which even the prophets and messengers do not share with Him. So Allah Mighty and Majestic said in the explicit Qur'an:
(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
عالم الغيب فلا يظهر على غيبه أحدا إلا من ارتضى من رسولNo one knows the unseen except Allah. Leave this and say what you used to say
لا يعلم الغيب إلا الله دعي هذا وقولي مثل ما كنت تقولينAnd some farmers, and it is supposed that farmers, especially in the past when agriculture was not a science that is studied, knew by their own experiences that when a tree is cut, its age is so many years. This is not the unseen, but they knew by experience that every ring in the trunk of the tree indicates that it represents a year of its age. So if there are three rings, and this is observable if you pay attention to it, every ring indicates a year. This has no connection to the knowledge of the unseen, but rather Allah Mighty and Majestic decreed these rings and informed the people who observe them that this ring indicates that the age of the tree is one year or two years, and so on.
Likewise, these devices by which they discover the presence of rain, for example, after a day or two, or what came in the question regarding the insertion of a tube or a special strip that has a special nature and was made with precise craftsmanship, by which the doctor discovers whether the fetus is male or female. It is said to her: Without using this means, can you know? All humans say: No, we do not know. So then, we must conceive the reality of the unseen by which Allah specialized Himself, for it is intrinsic knowledge in which no human shares with Him. As for discovering some of the hidden things from people in general or in particular by some means that Allah Mighty and Majestic facilitated, this has absolutely no connection to the knowledge of the unseen. So let no one be confused by the matter after this explanation.