What is the knowledge of the unseen that Allah has made exclusive to Himself, and is what sorcerers do, claiming to read cups, considered part of their knowledge of the unseen?
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The questioner : What is the meaning of the knowledge of the unseen that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has made exclusive to Himself? Then, if a man knows a hidden matter through a cup or similar methods that they use, what is the prohibition in saying it is knowledge of the unseen or knowledge of a hidden matter?
The Shaykh : The unseen, as is clear to all present, when used in its absolute sense, refers to the intrinsic unseen, meaning what a person knows by his own nature, i.e., by his intrinsic knowledge, without adopting any of the means that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) created for him to reach knowledge of what is hidden from some people. This is the unseen that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has made exclusive to Himself, excluding people. For example, we know that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) informed us of many hidden matters, but this knowledge with which the Messenger (peace be upon him) informed us was not intrinsic knowledge on his part; rather, Allah (Mighty and Majestic) informed him through revelation, as He said:[Al-Jinn 72:26-27] So when Allah (Mighty and Majestic) chooses a messenger, He informs him of some hidden matters. This informed messenger is not described as one who knows the unseen, but rather as one who is informed of the unseen. As it came in Sahih al-Bukhari, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) passed by a maidservant of the Ansar one day who was singing, beating a hand drum, and saying: "And among us is a Prophet who knows what is in tomorrow". He (peace be upon him) said: Leave your saying "And among us is a Prophet who knows what is in tomorrow", because he does not know the unseen by his own nature, but rather through his Lord informing him of some hidden matters. If we understand this reality, the summary is that knowledge of the unseen is either intrinsic or acquired through a means. What Allah has made exclusive to Himself is the first category. As for the second category, some people may attain it. These people are of two types: the first, and the fewer in number relative to the general population, are the messengers whom Allah (Mighty and Majestic) selects for His messengership and words, and to whom He reveals what He wills of His revelation. The other type of people are those who adopt acquired knowledge and learning as a means to discover some matters that are usually hidden from the general public. This is not called knowledge of the unseen. This is like any other knowledge. For example, I say to you, "The Messenger of Allah said..." and you have never heard of this hadith at all. So for you, this is unseen, but I did not say this is unseen from Allah. Because if one... you say no, but I researched, studied, and investigated, and I found this hadith, so I informed you of it. So my knowledge was unseen to you, but when I informed you of it, it became witnessed and ceased to be unseen. By this simple example, compare all modern and ancient scientific means, whether natural or those that required great effort from scholars until they reached the discovery of very precise matters... I, like other people, did not know that the farmer in his farm knows what the informed doctor now knows through the television device about the fetus in the mother's womb. This doctor who reached this discovery to know the identity of the fetus, whether male or female, does not know what the farmer knows in his field and farm. For example, he can say, if he cuts the tree, how old it is. But ask the graduate doctor in his profession, he does not know. Do you see how simple the matter is by experience? I read it long ago, forty years or more, that there are rings in the trunk of the tree, and each ring indicates a year. This is not knowledge of the unseen; it is experimental knowledge, but it is unseen to the general public. However, it is not the unseen that Allah has made exclusive to Himself. Of this same type is what I have read, which is more precise, and you can try it yourselves, but I do not think you will succeed in this brief moment. It is said that a person can be known by counting the lines on their fingernails.
Another questioner: Knowing his age.
The Shaykh : The age of a person, which is in their fingernails, has lines that you must have seen. Each line gives a year. Now this science has advanced. Before this advancement, which the questioner may be alluding to, we have known from ancient times that astronomers rule years in advance and provide you with a plan, methodology, and calendar stating that in such a year, in such a month, on such a day, at such an hour, the sun or moon will be eclipsed, and they give you precise details: total, partial, or partial eclipse, and so on. This is unseen to the general public, but this is not unseen; it is knowledge that if any person studies it, they can become like these astronomers. Finally, now they have reached the discovery of what may be thought to be among the exclusive attributes of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), that our Lord knows what is in the wombs. Now some doctors, or all of them, because the means have become available, even women, have come to know whether it is male or female. This is through the knowledge that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has facilitated for people over this long period. So it is like the science of astronomy, like knowing eclipses. This is exactly of this type. So this is not knowledge of the unseen. The unseen is intrinsic knowledge, and this is among the exclusive attributes of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and none of His servants shares in it. From here, we can conclude that the Islamic creed is moderate between the extremists of the Sufis who claim that some of their shaykhs have insight into what is in the breasts, and this, unfortunately, we know from many of the claimed followers, and between some rigid shaykhs and jurists who deny scientific facts that there is no room for denying, due to their assumption that this contradicts our belief that knowledge of the unseen is what Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has made exclusive to Himself. So we say: Yes, knowledge of the unseen without a means created by Allah is among the exclusive attributes of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and no one shares in it. As for knowledge of some hidden matters that are concealed from the general public by using the means that Allah has facilitated and made easy, this is possible, and this does not contradict the independence and exclusivity of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in His knowledge of the unseen. This is all I have in my answer to that question.
The Shaykh : The unseen, as is clear to all present, when used in its absolute sense, refers to the intrinsic unseen, meaning what a person knows by his own nature, i.e., by his intrinsic knowledge, without adopting any of the means that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) created for him to reach knowledge of what is hidden from some people. This is the unseen that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has made exclusive to Himself, excluding people. For example, we know that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) informed us of many hidden matters, but this knowledge with which the Messenger (peace be upon him) informed us was not intrinsic knowledge on his part; rather, Allah (Mighty and Majestic) informed him through revelation, as He 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
عالم الغيب فلا يظهر على غيبه أحدا إلاّ من ارتضى من رسولNone knows the unseen except Allah. Leave this and say what you used to say
لا يعلم الغيب إلاّ الله دعي هذا و قولي ما كنت تقولينAnother questioner: Knowing his age.
The Shaykh : The age of a person, which is in their fingernails, has lines that you must have seen. Each line gives a year. Now this science has advanced. Before this advancement, which the questioner may be alluding to, we have known from ancient times that astronomers rule years in advance and provide you with a plan, methodology, and calendar stating that in such a year, in such a month, on such a day, at such an hour, the sun or moon will be eclipsed, and they give you precise details: total, partial, or partial eclipse, and so on. This is unseen to the general public, but this is not unseen; it is knowledge that if any person studies it, they can become like these astronomers. Finally, now they have reached the discovery of what may be thought to be among the exclusive attributes of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), that our Lord knows what is in the wombs. Now some doctors, or all of them, because the means have become available, even women, have come to know whether it is male or female. This is through the knowledge that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has facilitated for people over this long period. So it is like the science of astronomy, like knowing eclipses. This is exactly of this type. So this is not knowledge of the unseen. The unseen is intrinsic knowledge, and this is among the exclusive attributes of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and none of His servants shares in it. From here, we can conclude that the Islamic creed is moderate between the extremists of the Sufis who claim that some of their shaykhs have insight into what is in the breasts, and this, unfortunately, we know from many of the claimed followers, and between some rigid shaykhs and jurists who deny scientific facts that there is no room for denying, due to their assumption that this contradicts our belief that knowledge of the unseen is what Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has made exclusive to Himself. So we say: Yes, knowledge of the unseen without a means created by Allah is among the exclusive attributes of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and no one shares in it. As for knowledge of some hidden matters that are concealed from the general public by using the means that Allah has facilitated and made easy, this is possible, and this does not contradict the independence and exclusivity of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in His knowledge of the unseen. This is all I have in my answer to that question.