Knowledge of Unseen (In the light of Quran and Sunnah)

Ahlus-Sunna wa'l Jam'ah believe that Allah has given the knowledge of Ghayb (unseen) to His Prophet(may Allah bless him and grant him peace), and that it is also permissible 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 permissible rather it is Kufr 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/granted to him by Allah.

The Ahlus Sunnah Wa'l Jama'ah also believes that our Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam), after being informed by Allah Ta'ala, is aware of everything that happened and will happen (Being a Makhlooq i.e. Plus he keeps on learning more and more about Dhaat and Sifaat of Allah hence knowledge is increasing every single moment for Prophet, whereas this cannot be applicable to Allah's knowledge which is from Azl and till Abad)

Categories in knowledge of Unseen

A) Dhaati & Atai'i [Personal & Bestowed]
B) Kulli & Baadh' [Total & Partial]

1: Dhaati Ilm ul Ghayb - [Personal Knowledge Of Ghayb] is of ALLAH Ta'ala alone, It is He who has the knowledge of Ghayb by His "OWN SELF" and no one has taught Him, revealed to Him, shown Him, nor has He learnt it with passage of time rather He has it from Awal to Akhir. This is the knowledge of Unseen which has been made Khaas (specific) with Allah in Quran at many places.

2: Atai'i Ilm ul Ghayb - [Bestowed Knowledge Of Ghayb] is of RasoolAllah (صلی اللہ علیھ وآلھ وسلم), he was given this knowledge by Allah, he himself did not know it, but Allah Ta'ala bestowed the knowledge of Ghayb on him, this knowledge of Unseen is also mentioned at many places in Qur'an so rejection any of these two or having confusion by mixing these two together is a fallacy.

3: Kulli Ilm ul Ghayb - [Total Knowledge Of Ghayb] is of Allah Ta'ala alone, it is He who knows everything in his creation and what was before the creation, no creation of Allah knows as much as Allah tallah knows, Allah knows absolutely EVERY GHAYB, nothing what so ever is hidden from Him, however when it is referred to Prophet (Peace be upon him) then it only means in "REFERENCE TO MAKHLOOQ NOT KHALIQ"

4: Ba'adh Ilm ul Ghayb - [Partial Knowledge Of Ghayb] is of RasoolAllah (صلی اللہ علیھ وآلھ وسلم), Allah Ta'ala gave limited, partial, some, knowledge of Ghayb to RasoolAllah (صلی اللہ علیھ وآلھ وسلم). What ever Ghayb RasoolAllah (صلی اللہ علیھ وآلھ وسلم) knows, revealed, prophecised, is in the category of 'Partial'. For no creation of Allah can know as much as Allah, not even RasoolAllah (صلی اللہ علیھ وآلھ وسلم) not even Al Lawh Al Mahfooz
Allah azza Wajjal says in Qur'an:

"He (alone) knows the Unseen, nor does He make any one acquainted with His Mysteries Except an apostle whom He has chosen: and then He makes a band of watchers march before him and behind him" (72:26/27)

Shaykh ul Islam Ibn Hajr al Asqalani (rah) quotes al-Qurtubi (rah) saying:

The truthful, righteous Muslim (al-muslim al-sadiq al-salih) is he whose state matches that of Prophets and thereby is bestowed (ukrima) some of the same kind of gift they were, and that is to behold the unseen (wa huwa al-ittila` `ala al-ghayb). As for the disbeliever (al-kafir), the corrupt person (al-fasiq), and the contentious one who confuses matters for the listeners (al-mikhlat)-- then no

Reference: Al-Qurtubi as quoted by Ibn Hajar in Fath al-Bari (1989 ed.) 12:449.

2. Allah azza Wajjal says in Qur'an:

وَعَلَّمَكَ مَا لَمْ تَكُنْ تَعْلَمُ وَكَانَ فَضْلُ اللّهِ عَلَيْكَ عَظِيمًا

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" [Sura an-Nisa, verse 113]

Imam Jalal udin Suyuti Writes:

مِنْ الْأَحْكَام وَالْغَيْب

Translation: (Taught to you what you did not know) means that Allah Most High has told the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) of Ahkam and Unseen.

Imam Ibn Jarir at-Tabari writes under this verse:

وقوله: {وَأَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيْكَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ وَٱلْحِكْمَةَ} يقول: ومن فضل الله عليك يا محمد مع سائر ما تفضل به عليك من نعمه، أنه أنزل عليك الكتاب، وهو القرآن الذي فيه بيان كل شيء، وهدى وموعظة، {وَٱلْحِكْمَةَ} : يعني وأنزل عليك مع الكتاب الحكمة، وهي ما كان في الكتاب مجملاً ذكره، من حلاله وحرامه، وأمره ونهيه وأحكامه، ووعده ووعيده. {وَعَلَّمَكَ مَا لَمْ تَكُن تَعْلَمُۚ} من خبر الأوّلين والآخرين، وما كان، وما هو كائن قبل، ذلك من فضل الله عليك يا محمد مذ خلقك، فاشكره

(The following is a rough Translation due to very deep and spiritual explanation by Imam at-Tabri):

Allah saying of Allah: {Allah has sent down to you the Book and Wisdom} This is Allah's Fadhl (Bestowed Grace) upon you O Muhammad (Salallaho alaihi wasalam) among all other graces upon you, this bounty is superior. He revealed unto you the Kitaab which is al-Qur'an containing "MENTION OF EVERYTHING" and guidance and admonition. {The wisdom} meaning He revealed unto you along with Kitaab also Wisdom... {Taught you what you did not know} which includes "NEWS OF FIRST MOST AND LAST MOST" of what was and it is regarding what had happened before. That is the grace of Allah upon you O Muhammad (Peace be upon you) in creation, so THANK HIM!...

Reference: Tafsir at-Tabari, Sura an-Nisa, under Verse # 113

More Proof from the Qur'an that the Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) has been given the knowledge of al-Ghayb:

3. Allah Subhan Wa Taalah says in the Qur'an:

تِلْكَ مِنْ أَنبَاءِ الْغَيْبِ نُوحِيهَا إِلَيْكَ ۖ مَا كُنتَ تَعْلَمُهَا أَنتَ وَلَا قَوْمُكَ مِن قَبْلِ هَٰذَا ۖ فَاصْبِرْ ۖ إِنَّ الْعَاقِبَةَ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ

Qur'an states: This is of the tidings of the Unseen which We inspire in thee (Muhammad). Thou thyself knewest it not, nor did thy folk (know it) before this. Then have patience. Lo! the sequel is for those who ward off (evil).

[Surah Hud (11), verse 49]

Although this verse is a "NASS" from Qur'an on Ilm ul Ghayb of Prophet (Peace be upon him) but still there are some unfortunate and disrespectful people who use this verse in a very strange manner. They claim that once knowledge of Unseen is given to Prophet then it ceases to be Unseen (Naudhobillah). This is such a Baatil Qiyaas of Wahabis and some deobandis that they do not have any verse nor Hadith to justify it. If we accept their Baatil Qiyaas then remember Allah already knows all Ghuyub so does that mean Allah also ceases to be A'alim ul Ghayb? (Naudhobillah).

Note: This is an Ilzami answer and it destroys the Wahabi/Deobandi logic if only they ponder. We have used the title A'alim ul Ghayb for Allah to clarify that the title is only reserved for Allah. It is a lie of Wahabis/Deobandis that Ahlus Sunnah consider Prophet (Peace be upon him) to be A'alim ul Ghayb. Imam Ahmed Ridha Khan (rah) has explicitly said in his Fatawa Ridhwiya that just like word azza Wajjal cannot be used for Prophet (Peace be upon him) similarly the title Aa'lim ul Ghayb cannot be used either. This however doesn't mean that Prophet does not have "IMMENSE KNOWLEDGE OF UNSEEN (ILM UL GHAYB)"

Qur'an states: Nor will He disclose to you the secrets of the Unseen. "But He chooses of His Apostles [for the purpose]"

[Sura Aali-Imran, verse 179]

*Hadiths

Narrated Mu'adh ibn Jabal

Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) was detained one morning from observing the dawn prayer (in congregation) along with us till the sun had almost appeared on the horizon. He then came out hurriedly and Iqamah for prayer was observed and he conducted it (prayer) in brief form. When he had concluded the prayer by saying As-salamu alaykum wa Rahmatullah, he called out to us saying: Remain in your places as you were. Then turning to us he said: I am going to tell you what detained me from you (on account of which I could not join you in the prayer) in the morning. I got up in the night and performed ablution and observed the prayer as had been ordained for me. I dozed in my prayer till I was overcome by (sleep)

And Lo, I found myself in the presence of my Lord, the Blessed and the Glorious, in the best form. He said: Muhammad! I said: At Thy service, my Lord. He said: What these highest angels contend about? I said: I do not know. He repeated it thrice. He said: Then I saw Him put his palms between my shoulder blades till I felt the coldness of his fingers between the two sides of my chest. Then everything was illuminated for me and I recognized everything (فتجَلَّى لِي كُلُّ شَيْءٍ وَعَرَفْتُ).

He said: Muhammad! I said: At Thy service, my Lord. He said: What do these high angels contend about? I said: In regard to expiations. He said: What are these? I said: Going on foot to join congregational prayers, sitting in the mosques after the prayers, performing ablution well despite difficulties. He again said: Then what do they contend? I said: In regard to the ranks. He said: What are these? I said: Providing of food, speaking gently, observing the prayer when the people are asleep. He again said to me: Beg (Your Lord) and say: O Allah, I beg of Thee (power) to do good deeds, and abandon abominable deeds, to love the poor, that Thou forgive me and show mercy to me and when Thou intendst to put people to trial Thou causes me to die unblemished and I beg of Thee Thy love and the love of one who loves Thee and the love for the deed which brings me near to Thy love. Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said: It is a truth, so learn it and teach it.

- End of Hadith

Hukm on this hadith by Imam al Bukhari (rah):

قال أبو عيسى: هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ صحيحٌ. سَأَلْتُ مُحَمَّدَ بنَ إِسْماعِيلَ عَن هَذا الحَدِيثِ فَقَالَ هَذَا حديث حسنٌ صحيحٌ

Translation: Imam at-Tirmidhi said: This is a "Hasan Sahih (Good and authentic)" hadith and I asked Muhammad ibn Isma'il (i.e. Imam Bukhari) about this hadith and he said: It is a "Hassan Sahih (Good and Authentic)" hadith.

Reference

► (Sunnan Tirimdhi, Volume No. 5, Page No. 368-369, Tafsir Surah S'ad, Hadith No. 3235)

Narated By Hudhaifa :The Prophet once delivered a speech in front of us wherein he left nothing but mentioned (about) everything that would happen till the Hour. Some of us stored that our minds and some forgot it. (After that speech) I used to see events taking place (which had been referred to in that speech) but I had forgotten them (before their occurrence). Then I would recognize such events as a man recognizes another man who has been absent and then sees and recognizes him.


Reference

►Sahih Bukhari Volume 008, Book 077, Hadith Number 601

Here is proof of Ilme-Ghayb of Prophet (Peace be upon him) along with greatness of first three caliphs:

Hadith.

Narrated by Anas bin Malik:

The Prophet once climbed the mountain of Uhud with Abu Bakr, 'Umar and 'Uthman. The mountain shook with them. The Prophet said (to the mountain), "Be firm, O Uhud! For on you there are no more than a Prophet, a Siddiq and two martyrs."

Reference

►Sahih Bukhari Volume 5 Number 24.

The Prophet Salallaho Alaihi wa-Alihi Wasalam knew that Hazrat Umar R.A and Hazrat Uthman R.A will be Martyrs.

Hadith

Hudhaifa reported that:

Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) stood before us one day and he did not leave anything unsaid (that he had to say) at that very spot which would happen (in the shape of turmoil) up to the Last Hour. Those who had to remember them preserved them in their minds and those who could not remember them forgot them. My friends knew them and there are certain things which slip out of my mind, but I recapitulate them when anyone makes a mention of them just as a person is lost from one's mind but is recalled to him on seeing his face.

Reference

►Sahih Muslim The Book Pertaining to the Turmoil and Portents of the Last Hour (Kitab Al-Fitan wa Ashrat As-Sa`ah) Book 041, Number 6909

Hadith

عَنْ أَنَسٍ رضي الله عنه أَنَّ النَّبِيَّّ صلي الله عليه وآله وسلم نَعَي زَيْدًا وَجَعْفَرًا وَابْنَ رَوَاحَةَ رضي الله عنهم لِلنَّاسِ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَأْتِيَهُمْ خَبَرُهُمْ، فَقَالَ : أَخَذَ الرَّايَةَ زَيْدٌ فَأُص