Part 6: A Brief Survey: Was Prophet (sal Allau alayhi wasallam) given the Knowledge of Unseen?

From the Layman’s Desk: Islamic Article No.18:

Part 6: A Brief Survey: Was Prophet (sal Allau alayhi wasallam) given the Knowledge of Unseen?

In the Name of Allah, Most Beneficent, Most Merciful.

Praise be to Allah, Lord of all the worlds, and blessings and peace of Allah upon His Prophet and Messenger Muhammad (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam), his Family and all his Companions.

Wahhabis/Deobandis always deny the (Knowledge of Unseen) which is gifted by Allah to his blessed Messenger (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam). Although the Deobandis will say that prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) is the most knowledgeable in creation, they will never say that Allah gave the knowledge of the unseen to Anbiya (a.s.)!

1.    Can Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam be called Aalim-ul-Ghaib?

To answer, whoever has said that Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) is “Aalim-ul-Ghayb”? This is how the opponents trick innocent Muslims by making them believe what the Ahlus Sunnah never claimed. How a certain terminology can be used to one’s advantage but for deception, is amply demonstrated here.  For example, we may call Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) as Rehmatal lil alameen, but cannot call him (s) Al-Rahman which is the title of Allah (swt).  We cannot give that title to Allah, nor give Allah's title to RasoolAllah sal Allahu alayhi wasallam.   Aalim Ul Ghayb and Ilm ul Ghayb are two distinct issues and should not be confused with each other.  Let’s be clear that Aalim Ul Ghayb (knower of Ghayb) is the title of Allah subhana wa ta'ala and it is unique to Him alone.

According to the opponents, Allah says in the Qur'aan:   "Say (O Muhammad SAW): "I possess no power of benefit or hurt to myself except as Allah wills, and if I had the knowledge of the Ghaib (unseen) (i.e. If I had been `Aalim-ul-Ghaib), I would have secured for myself an abundance of goodness, and I would never have been touched by evil." [Surah al-A`raaf: 188].   This Aayah is enough to disprove the belief that Rasoolullah (Sallallahu `Alayhi wa Sallam) is `Aalim-ul-Ghaib.

Before proceeding further, it would be relevant to point out the correct translation:  "Say (O Muhammad SAW): "I possess no power of benefit or hurt to myself except as Allâh wills, and if I were Aalim Ul Ghayb (i.e. knower of [knowledge of] Ghayb, Allah) I would have secured for myself an abundance of goodness, and I would never have been touched by evil." [Surah al-A`raaf: 188]

You would note that there is big difference between the two translations. To put it simply the verse means:  - and if I were knower of ghayb [like Allah] I would have secured for myself an abundance of goodness ..."   Allah is knower of Ghayb by his own self no one else gives him knowledge of ghayb, Allah knows everything, therefore the Tafsir of verse is:  - and if I were knower of ghayb [like Allah, who knows ghayb by his own self, and knows all the ghayb, then] I would have secured for myself an abundance of goodness ..."  As Prophet’s (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) knowledge of Ghayb is not his own, but given to him by Allah, and Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) only knows as much as Allah tells him, he therefore could not acquire the treasures of earth with his own knowledge but Allah granted him the treasures because of His mercy. 

Shaykh Gibril Haddad has more to say on this: “ ….it does not follow that the Prophet can be called by the name `Alim al-ghayb. The reason for this caveat is that, for Ahl al-Sunna wal-Jama`a, the Prophetic Names and Attributes, like the Divine Names and Attributes, are Divinely ordained (tawqifi) and cannot be inferred or derived. This is stated by Imam al-Laqani in his commentary on his own poem Jawharat al-Tawhid and others.  For example, the Qur'an says that Allah Most High {istawa `ala al-`arsh} which is commonly translated "He established Himself over the Throne." However, it does not follow that we can invent the name "al-Mustawi" for Allah Most High. Nor can we infer the name "al-Mudamdim" from the verb damdama, although it is an act that Allah Most High said He effected. Similarly, the name `Alim al-ghayb is tawqifi and cannot be inferred for a Prophet even if the very term Nabi essentially means someone who brings news of the unseen. To illustrate this through another name, we know that the Prophet, upon him peace, is the greatest mercy to the created universes. Nevertheless, it does not follow from this that he can be called "the All-Merciful" (al-Rahman)! The latter is a name exclusively reserved for Allah Most High by Consensus and, as the Tahawiyya says, "Whoever brings something unsupported by the Qur'an, the Sunna, or the Consensus, we do not believe him." I actually asked Mawlana al-Shaykh Nazim in his house in Cyprus about this very point and he replied on the spot: "No! We do not call the Prophet 'al-Rahman'; rather, we say he is the greatest manifestation (mazhar) of mercy." and this fine point is the whole difference between the harmony and truth of right Sunni belief on the one hand and, on the other, the cacophony of invented terminology and jarring exaggerations. Finally, there are many books by the pious scholars on the names of the Prophet, upon him peace, reaching up to a thousand names, but not `Alim al-ghayb. None of those books mentioned that name. Allah Most High referred to Himself by that name in the Holy Qur'an and so we, also, refer to Allah Most High by that name and to none other. At the same time we firmly believe that the Prophet, upon him blessings and peace, was given knowledge of ghayb by Allah Most High and we say to whoever doubts this: "May Allah strengthen your belief in your Prophet and grant you better understanding of His Power over all things." It is best to stay with the Sawad al-A`zam of this Umma and avoid unnecessary controversy and differences between hearts.”

The irony is they claim to be ‘Muslims on the way of Salaf-us-Saaliheen’  and yet have the audacity to mock the Ilm of Rasoolullah sal Allahu alaihi wasalam. They behave exactly like the Munaafiqs (Hypocrites) behaved 1400 years back:  "Rasoolullah (sal Allahu alaihi wasalam) did not have Ilm-e-Ghaib (knowledge of the unseen). This is the sifat of Allah alone. If you say Rasoolullah sal Allahu alaihi wasalam has Ilm-e-Ghaib, you are commiting shirk."  They have not received a share of wisdom although knowledge is shared even by non-believers.  The Holy Qur’an states (2:85): “Believe ye in part of the Scripture and disbelieve ye in part thereof? And what is the reward of those who do so save ignominy in the life of the world, and on the Day of Resurrection they will be consigned to the most grievous doom. For Allah is not unaware of what ye do.” It is the characteristic of the Yahud to believe in part of the Book and disbelieve in another. 

In the very beginning of our previous Parts of the Article we mentioned that Allah subhana wa ta'ala has granted knowledge of Ghayb to RasoolAllah, (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) and number of verses of Quran affirm this, just as He said: { The Knower of the Unseen, and He reveals unto none His secret SAVE UNTO EVERY MESSENGER WHOM HE HAS CHOSEN} (72:26-27).  So you cannot disbelieve in it without committing Kufr.  

We have stated before and now state again: The Prophet’s (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam)  knowlegde of unseen is greater than all creations of Allah, but in no way equal to Allah’s.  However, Allah has granted Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) the knowledge of everything in the universe and taught him what he did not know.  We already noted all this before in our Article, but to point out just one: 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: 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 Tabari’s comments too have been noted earlier and are not being repeated here.   In short, Allah’s knowledge of unseen is Absolute, pre-eternal and ever-abiding.  Therefore, according to Ahlus Sunnah, we have used the title A'alim ul Ghayb for Allah to clarify that the title is only reserved for Allah. Or to state still more explicitly, believing that Allah (swt) granted the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) the knowledge of unseen is not “Shirk” and denying him that status is the sign of going against the Holy Qur’an and the overwhelming number of ahadith.  

In the words of Shaykh Haddad: “From the established facts that [1] the Prophet Muhammad upon him peace, knows ghayb by the grace of Allah, and [2] whoever claims that what the Prophet knows is accessible to all or disbelieves that the Prophet knows ghayb is a materialist and an atheist…”

2.    What Allah made known to Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) is Ghayb no more?: 
Saying that "what Allah made known to the Prophet Muhammad (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) is Ghayb no more" is incorrect, since most of the states of the past, present, and future, including Qiyama, which Allah Most High made known to the Prophet, upon him blessings and peace, remain ghayb for us, and he, upon him blessings and peace, knew that ghayb and continues to know it until Qiyama. The very term Nabi essentially means someone who brings news of the unseen. Our combined knowledge is like a drop in the ocean of the knowledge of a single Prophet and the combined knowledge of 124,000 Prophets is like a drop in the ocean of the Seal of Prophets and the knowledge of the Seal of Prophets is like a drop or less in the ocean of the knowledge of Allah Most High, as Imam Ahmad Rida said in al-Dawla al-Makkiyya fil-Maddat al-Ghaybiyya ("The Meccan Authority on the Subject of the Unseen," thus titled because he wrote it in less than three days in the Haram, away from his library).
Also, Allah Subhan Wa Taalah says in the Qur'an:  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.

3.   Revelations cannot be the knowledge of unseen?
When you present verses from Qur’an in favour of Ilm al Ghaib of the Prophet (sal allahu alayhis wasallam) the opponens usually resort to chicanery and say that whatever was shown to him was because of revelations (Vahee), and so it cannot be called unseen knowledge bestowed by Allah (ilm-e-ghaib-e-attayee).  The above claim that a Vahee (Revelation) cannot be termed  even as “Gifted (Ataayee) knowledge of Unseen”, has been refuted by the Mufasareen of Holy Qur’an.   Dr Tahir ul-Qadri in one of his speeches has stated: “Ilm-e-Ghayb ka mutlaqan inkaar karnaa kufr hai…”  That is, absolute denial of Prophet’s (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) gifted knowledge of unseen is Unbelief!
Further, with regard to the hadith shareef that the the Prophet  (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) said:  "I swear it by Allah! Truly I know nothing except what my Lord taught me", Shaykh Gibril Haddad has explained thus:  “When the camel of the Prophet  (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) was lost during the Tabuk expedition he asked people for its whereabouts, whereupon one of the hypocrites [Zayd ibn al-Las.it al-Qaynuqa`i] said, ‘Here is Muh.ammad to whom come news from the heaven and he knows not where his camel is.’ At this he praised Allah then said: ‘A certain man said such-and-such. Truly, I do not know anything except what my Lord taught me, and He has informed me that the camel is in such-and-such a vale with its reins entangled in a tree.’ The people ran and found it.
[Narrated from the Companions Mah.mud ibn Labid and `Umara ibn H.azim by Ibn Ish.aq in al-Maghazi as stated by Ibn Hisham in the Sira (5:203) and al-T.abari in his Tarikh (2:184); Ibn H.azm in al-Muh.alla (11:222) and Ibn H.ajar in Fath. al-Bari (1959 ed. 13:364) and al-Is.aba (2:619), while Ibn H.ibban cites it without chain in al-Thiqat (2:93). Also narrated by al-Taymi in Dala'il al-Nubuwwa (p. 137) citing Ibn Qutayba's report.] The segment quoted by al-Nabahani is also narrated from `Uqba ibn `Amir by Abu al-Shaykh in al-`Az.ama (4:1468-1469 #96714) as part of a longer narration that includes: ‘I shall inform you of what you came here to ask me about before you tell me and, if you wish, you can speak first then I will answer you... You came to ask me about Dhu al-Qarnayn....’ The camel of the Prophet was similarly lost and found in the expedition of H.udaybiyya.”  So everything that came to us from him consisting in news of the unseen is nothing other than the Divine disclosure to him as a proof for the actuality of his Prophethood and its truth. 

However, it is to be noted that  locating of the camel is not mentioned as a verse in the Holy Qur’an, which means that it was not a revelation at the time the Holy Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) informed them of the place where they could find the lost camel. Neither the Companions mentioned that it was during the Revelation that Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) had informed them about the location.  A Deobandi Urdu translator of the Arabic Tarikh ibne Khaldun has used the words “ba-ilhaam-e-ilaahi” which shows that it was not a Vahee  but Ilhaam, which could have been  more properly translated as “ba-Ataaye Ilaahi”.

4.    It is Impossible for all Creation to have Knowledge Equal to Allah Almighty Qualitatively and Quantitatively”.

Another method of chicanery of Wahhabi-Deobandi is to make universally accepted statements with a view to showing that Ahlus Sunnah don’t agree with them or believe the contrary -  such as the one made by a Deoband scholar:  “It is Impossible for all Creation to have Knowledge Equal to Allah Almighty Qualitatively and Quantitatively”.  Just think, has anyone, least of all the Ahlus Sunnah,  stated that it is possible for any creation to have knowledge equal to that of Allah whether qualitatively and quantitively?  Of course not!  Then why make such statements?  This is one of the ways of sowing the seeds of doubts, mistrust and suspicions in the minds of the innocent Muslims in order to mislead them into thinking that Ahlus Sunnah has that deviant belief.  Please don’t fall into this trap!  And in any case, the said Deobandi scholar Manzoor Nomani has been soundly refuted, among others,  by Mufti Ajmal Sambhali in his Rad Shahaab-e-Saaqib bar Wahaabi Khaib.


5.    Allah’s asking questions; Prophet’s saying: “What do I know”.
Next, we know that in the Holy Qur’an even Allah (swt) asks questions; but that could not be construed to mean that He doesn’t know the answers.  Also, there are several instances when the Holy Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) revealed the unseen and many other things to the Sahaba ®, and at times he chose to remain silent as, for example, the knowledge of the Hour.  Then, it is the belief of every Muslim that Allah sees every action of every person and there is also a Hadith that there are two angels appointed for every person who have the duty to convey the deeds of that person to Allah.  So does that means that Allah cannot hear or see that person directly?

Some people cite the verses of the Holy Qur’an which they translate to mean that Allah commands the Prophet to tell the companions that he has no knowledge of the unseen. The prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) knows and can but he is humble and does not boast.  Merely not disclosing something is not sufficient. It is possible for the Holy Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) to have its knowledge but not reveal it based on his wisdom. Similarly, deducing from Rasoolullah’s (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam)  saying, “Only Allah knows; no one knows besides Allah; what do I know? Etc,”  is also not sufficient as these utterances are sometimes used to negate llrn-e-Zaati (Allah’s unique knowledge) or to silence the person spoken to.  Like most other claims of such Muslims, they have handpicked verses to establish their claim without looking at the Holy Quran and the Sunnah in their entirety. If a Muslim was to go by their claim on Ilme Ghaib, he would have to deny the Noble Quran and Sunnah, where it is amply evident that Ilme Ghaib was bestowed on not just the Prophets (a.s.), but even on ordinary individuals including infants, rather even on animals as we pointed out in Part 5.

6.    Did the Holy Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) not stop people from saying that he had the knowledge of tomorrow?

Allah (swt) revealed to the Prophet  knowledge of the future until the Day of Judgment and much of the Hereafter as well. Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) only objected because knowledge of the unseen had been  attributed to him in absolute terms when only Allah knows the unseen in absolute terms. This is stated by Ibn Hajar in his commentary of this narration in Fath al-Bari.  Allah said {No soul knows what it will earn tomorrow} (31:34). Hence, the Prophet, in one version, added by way of explanation, "Only Allah knows what happens tomorrow" (in Ibn Majah with a fair chain) i.e. independently of anyone and with an absolute knowledge.  Simply stated, we should not attribute Knowledge of Unseen to Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) in the Absolute sense since only Allah has the absolute knowledge of everything and for him there is nothing “unseen”.  However, we have seen in the previous parts of this Article that Allah has bestowed the knowledge of unseen on his chosen apostles and messengers and on our beloved Prophet the most of all.   Please consider that Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) didn’t have to act upon it in all situations where the tasks were related to his common knowledge.  Also, though “Undoubtedly Allah Almighty created the Noor of Prophet Muhammad (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) before everything” [narrated by Imam Abdur Razzaq in Fatawa-e-Hadithia, page 289] he had to be a pattern for human beings so that his Sunnah could be a pattern for the believers.  Also because Allah’s sunnah is upon the law of cause and effect and Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) acted upon this law too.  In some situations, as stated before, he had to maintain silence.   In fact, the Prophet’s (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) familiarity with the knowledge of unseen was a well-known and universally recognized fact both among believers and unbelievers.  Shaykh Gibril Haddad points out in his Article Eighty Hadiths on the Prophet’s Knowledge of the Unseen based on Shaykh Yusuf an-Nabahani’s (translated as) Miracles of the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam):   “one of them would say to the other, "Hush! By Allah, even if there is none among us to tell him, the very stones and pebbles would tell him."[3] Al-Bukhari narrated from Ibn `Umar (ra): "We kept away from conversation and leisurely talk to our women lest some revelation come down concerning us. After the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) died we spoke more freely."[4] Al-Bayhaqi narrated from Sahl ibn Sa`d al-Sa`idi (ra): "I swear by Allah that some of us would refrain from doing something with his wife as he and she lay together under the same sheet for fear some Qur'anic revelation should come down concerning them."[5]
  
7.    If the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) knew about tomorrow, then why did he stop the girls from singing it?   

According to a hadith:  The Messenger (sal-Allahu 'alayhe wa sallam) once heard a young girl say: "Amongst us is a Prophet who knows what will happen tomorrow." So he (sal-Allahu 'alayhe wa sallam) said to her: "Leave this and return to that which you were saying before." [Bukhari]

The fact is that on one occasion our Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) went to a wedding. There, the girls were singing about the Battle of Badr. When they saw the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) coming they stopped singing about the Battle of Badr and started to sing that: 'There is a Prophet amongst us that knows about tomorrow'.  [Narrated from al-Rubayyi` bint Mu`awwidh in al-Bukhari, the Sunan, and Ah.mad]  Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) told them to carry on singing what they were singing before.  [Miskat, chapter on 'Nikah']

In answer, coming back to the aforesaid Article, Shaykh Haddad cites two poems: one by Abd Allah ibn Rawaha and the other by Hassan ibn Thabit respectively:

Among us is the Messenger of Allah reciting His Book
As the radiant light cleaves the true dawn's sky.
He showed us guidance after blindness and our hearts
Now firmly know that all he says will take place.

[Narrated from Abu Hurayra by al-Bukhari in al-Tarikh al-S.aghir (1:23) and al-T.abarani in al-Ah.ad wa al-Mathani (4:38). Al-Qurt.ubi (14:100) and Ibn Kathir (3:460) cite it in their Tafsirs]

And: 

A Prophet who sees around him what others do not
And recites the Book of Allah in every assembly!
If he says something of a day which he has not yet seen
What he says is confirmed on the morrow or the next day.

[Narrated from Hisham ibn H.ubaysh by al-T.abarani in al-Kabir (4:48-50), al-H.akim (3:9-10) with a chain he declared sound, Ibn `Abd al-Barr in al-Isti`ab (4:1958-1962), al-Taymi in Dala'il al-Nubuwwa (p. 59-60), and al-Lalika'i in his Sharh. Us.ul I`tiqad Ahl al-Sunna (4:780). Cf. al-T.abari in his Tafsir (1:447-448) Ibn H.ibban in al-Thiqat (1:128) and al-Kila`i in al-Iktifa' (1:343). Also narrated from Abu Ma`bad al-Khuza`i by Ibn Sa`d (1:230-232) but this is mursal and Abu Ma`bad is a Tabi`i as stated by Ibn H.ajar in al-Is.aba (#10545)]

The Shaykh says that these poems were written by a Companion (Sahabi) before the wedding and had it been incorrect the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) would have instructed them to stop immediately and not allowed them to repeat. This means the poems were right. The reason he told the slave-girl to stop singing was because a wedding celebration was taking place and he wanted them to sing the poem that they were singing before, and secondly he did not want them to praise him in the presence of himself. This hadith demonstrates one of the beauties of our Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) that he did not like to be praised in front of others.

The above two quatrains put to rest the odd claim of the author of Taqwiyat al-Iman that the Prophet  did not know what would happen on the next day on the grounds that he  said, "Avoid saying this" to the slave-girl reciting poetry when she said, "Among us is a Prophet that knows what happens tomorrow." The reason for this order is not because he did not know but because knowledge of the unseen was attributed to him in absolute terms when only Allah knows the unseen in absolute terms. [As stated by Ibn H.ajar in his commentary of this narration in Fath. al-Bari.] Hence, the Prophet , in one version, added by way of explanation, "Only Allah knows what happens tomorrow" i.e. independently of anyone and with an absolute knowledge.

Also, Hafiz Ibn Kathir writes:  "A shepherd was with his goats upon which a wolf came and grabbed one goat and ran. The shepherd then chased after the wolf to get the goat back. The wolf then spoke to him and said, 'Why do you take what food (rizq) which Allah has provided for me?' The shepherd was astonished that the wolf spoke. The wolf again said, 'If you are so surprised that I can talk then go to Madina. You will find the last of the Prophets, and he can inform you of the past and the future'. The shepherd left his goats and went straight to the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and mentioned his experience. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) replied, 'The wolf spoke the truth. 'Isnad [chain of narrators]. For this hadith is authentic.[Ta'rikh Ibn Kathir, chapter on 'Miracles of the Prophet']

Continued in Part 7.

NASIR