The ruling on the claim that the dead know the unseen
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There is a letter sent by someone who says: We have a mosque where we pray the obligatory and voluntary prayers, and the imam says to us: Shaykh Abd al-Qadir says, if Allah wills, so-and-so will die. Then he dies at that very moment. How do you view this, Your Eminence, and what do you advise the Muslims in that place to do?
Answer: Shaykh Abd al-Qadir is of the same kind as the rest of the scholars; he does not know the unseen, neither in his lifetime nor after his death. Whoever claims that Shaykh Abd al-Qadir knows the unseen, or that he acts in the universe, or that he aids those who ask, is a disbeliever, may Allah protect us from that. This is because the dead have been cut off from their deeds, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Riyad as-Salihin 1383 And because they are detained by their deeds, and they have no authority over the affairs of people. Rather, it is Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) who has authority over them.
So whoever claims that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), or Shaykh Abd al-Qadir, or al-Badawi, or al-Husayn, or Ali ibn Abi Talib, or anyone else, acts in the universe, gives to whom they will and withholds from whom they will, or that they know the unseen, who will die and who will not, is a disbeliever in Allah (Mighty and Majestic), may Allah protect us. This is because Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) says: [Surat al-Naml: 65], and He says (Glorified and Exalted is He) to His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): [Surat al-A'raf: 188]. Thus, He (Glorified and Exalted is He) made it clear through the tongue of His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in His great Book that he is a bringer of good news and a warner, and does not know the unseen: [Al-A'raf 7:188]
So whoever claims that Shaykh Abd al-Qadir knows that so-and-so will die today or tomorrow, all of this is false, all of it is denounced, and all of it is from the inspiration of the devils to this person, and he lies about Abd al-Qadir. Rather, these devils are telling him, while Abd al-Qadir does not speak or say anything to him, and he is detained by his deed, and his deed has been cut off.
So the result is: that this matter is from the inspiration of the devils to these misguided ones. They inspire in them what they steal from the hearing. It may be that they hear that so-and-so will die by what they stole from the sky, so they inspire it to some of their allies, and they inform them of it, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: that they may listen to a word and then throw it among the people, and then the people believe them in what they heard from them of this word in which they were truthful, which is what they heard from the sky from the angels when they stole the hearing, and then they believe them in all their lying speech because of the word in which they were truthful.
So the result is: that this is not from Abd al-Qadir and not from the dead, but it is from what the devils inspire to their allies from among the living humans, so they lie and say: this is from Abd al-Qadir, or this is from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), or this is from so-and-so, or this is from so-and-so. All of it is lying and fabrication and has no truth. It may be that the devil lied to them and said to them: Abd al-Qadir said to him such and such, or he said: I am Abd al-Qadir, or he said: I am the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). He lies to them. All of this may happen. The devil comes and takes the form of someone other than the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him); the devil is not able to take his form (peace and blessings be upon him) or represent himself in his form. But he may come to some people in a form other than the form of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and claim that he is the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), or that he is al-Khidr, or that he is Abd al-Qadir, or that he is Ali, or that he is Umar, or so-and-so, or that he is al-Badawi... to the extent of the lies of the devils.
So it is not permissible to believe them in these matters ever, even if their statement matches the truth. It may be that what they matched was from what was heard from the sky, which the devils stole and inspired to their allies. We ask Allah for safety. Yes.
Answer: Shaykh Abd al-Qadir is of the same kind as the rest of the scholars; he does not know the unseen, neither in his lifetime nor after his death. Whoever claims that Shaykh Abd al-Qadir knows the unseen, or that he acts in the universe, or that he aids those who ask, is a disbeliever, may Allah protect us from that. This is because the dead have been cut off from their deeds, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
When a man dies, his deeds come to an end except for three things: Sadaqah Jariyah (ceaseless charity); a knowledge which is beneficial, or a virtuous descendant who prays for him (for the deceased).
إذا مات ابن آدم انقطع عمله إلا من ثلاث: صدقة جارية، أو علم ينتفع به، أو ولد صالح يدعو لهSo whoever claims that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), or Shaykh Abd al-Qadir, or al-Badawi, or al-Husayn, or Ali ibn Abi Talib, or anyone else, acts in the universe, gives to whom they will and withholds from whom they will, or that they know the unseen, who will die and who will not, is a disbeliever in Allah (Mighty and Majestic), may Allah protect us. This is because Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) says:
Say, "None in the heavens and earth knows the unseen except Allah
قُلْ لا يَعْلَمُ مَنْ فِي السَّمَوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ الْغَيْبَ إِلَّا اللَّهُSay, "I hold not for myself [the power of] benefit or harm, except what Allah has willed. And if I knew the unseen, I could have acquired much wealth, and no harm would have touched me. I am not except a warner and a bringer of good tidings to a people who believe."
قُلْ لا أَمْلِكُ لِنَفْسِي نَفْعًا وَلا ضَرًّا إِلَّا مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ وَلَوْ كُنتُ أَعْلَمُ الْغَيْبَ لاسْتَكْثَرْتُ مِنَ الْخَيْرِ وَمَا مَسَّنِيَ السُّوءُ إِنْ أَنَا إِلَّا نَذِيرٌ وَبَشِيرٌ لِقَوْمٍ يُؤْمِنُونَI am not except a warner and a bringer of good tidings
إِنْ أَنَا إِلَّا نَذِيرٌ وَبَشِيرٌSo whoever claims that Shaykh Abd al-Qadir knows that so-and-so will die today or tomorrow, all of this is false, all of it is denounced, and all of it is from the inspiration of the devils to this person, and he lies about Abd al-Qadir. Rather, these devils are telling him, while Abd al-Qadir does not speak or say anything to him, and he is detained by his deed, and his deed has been cut off.
So the result is: that this matter is from the inspiration of the devils to these misguided ones. They inspire in them what they steal from the hearing. It may be that they hear that so-and-so will die by what they stole from the sky, so they inspire it to some of their allies, and they inform them of it, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: that they may listen to a word and then throw it among the people, and then the people believe them in what they heard from them of this word in which they were truthful, which is what they heard from the sky from the angels when they stole the hearing, and then they believe them in all their lying speech because of the word in which they were truthful.
So the result is: that this is not from Abd al-Qadir and not from the dead, but it is from what the devils inspire to their allies from among the living humans, so they lie and say: this is from Abd al-Qadir, or this is from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), or this is from so-and-so, or this is from so-and-so. All of it is lying and fabrication and has no truth. It may be that the devil lied to them and said to them: Abd al-Qadir said to him such and such, or he said: I am Abd al-Qadir, or he said: I am the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). He lies to them. All of this may happen. The devil comes and takes the form of someone other than the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him); the devil is not able to take his form (peace and blessings be upon him) or represent himself in his form. But he may come to some people in a form other than the form of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and claim that he is the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), or that he is al-Khidr, or that he is Abd al-Qadir, or that he is Ali, or that he is Umar, or so-and-so, or that he is al-Badawi... to the extent of the lies of the devils.
So it is not permissible to believe them in these matters ever, even if their statement matches the truth. It may be that what they matched was from what was heard from the sky, which the devils stole and inspired to their allies. We ask Allah for safety. Yes.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.