Part 7: A Brief Survey: Was Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) given the Knowledge of Unseen?

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

Part 7: 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.

Objections of Wahhabis-Deobandis to Prophet’s (sal allahu alayhi wasallam) Knowledge of Unseen:

Gaining information in advance by observation such as the prediction of the sex of a baby after it takes shape as a fetus through sonography, or discovering the universe rightly or wrongly through telescopes or by inter-stellar rockets launch,  information based on weather patterns and predicting weather by means of instruments and satellites, etc., cannot be termed as the Unseen Knowledge.  But the knowledge about rain clouds, the falling of rain on land which God has deemed to be dry, the prevention of rain on land which He deemed to be blessed with rain and the knowledge of the sex of an embryo when it is still a sperm or even before the fact, are all matters which belong to the realm of the unseen.  Allah Almighty bestows this knowledge of the unseen to his chosen servants. The knowledge of servant is never comparable to knowledge of Allah (azzawajal), as servant’s knowledge is the bestowed one, bounded and limited to creation or to the extent as wanted by Allah (subhanahuwatala).  Allah the Almighty bestowed the knowledge of the unseen of the entire creation and universe (kull maqlooq) to the holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam).  However, as has been repeated oft times Allah has granted him knowledge of everything in the universe, however in no way equal to Allah.  We already noted in our previous part of the Article that the title of Alim ul-Ghayb is reserved only for Allah (swt). 

Now to continue with the objections of the dissenters….

Coming to the question: How can you say that Muhammad (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) has been given the knowledge of the Ghayb when Allah Almighty says in the Qur’an that there are five things of which no one has any knowledge about?  The relevant verse of the Qur’an is as follows:-  “Undoubtedly, Allah has the knowledge of the Hour, and He sends rain and knows what is in the wombs of the mothers and no soul knows in what land it will die. Undoubtedly, Allah is the Knower, All Aware”. (Surah Luqman Verse 34)

Many scholars held the view that Allah Most High had granted the Prophet (upon him blessings and peace) that knowledge before he left dunya. This is confirmed by his own words in which he indicated that his knowledge of the unseen (`ilm al-ghayb) was formerly partial then became complete at a later point. This completion took place first in dream as expressed in the hadith “everything became manifest to me” (al-Tirmidhi, hasan sahih); then while he was awake when he said in the famous hadith of the eclipse, “Nothing whatsoever that I had not been shown before is left but I was shown it while I stood right here” (al-Bukhari and Muslim). There are many other proofs that were listed 15 years ago in Shaykh Hisham’s Encyclopedia of Islamic Doctrine, chapter on the Prophet’s `Ilm al-Ghayb.

The word used in this verse in Arabic is Adri, which refers to that knowledge which someone can attain by guessing. Of course the knowledge of the Unseen of the Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace) was not by guessing. Allah informed this to him.  Hafidh Ibn Kathir (who met and briefly studied with Ibn Taymiyya) has written in his famous commentary to the Qur’an, ‘Tafsir Ibn Kathir’, the meaning of this ayaat, namely, that no-one can find the knowledge of these things on there own endeavor. Only Allah can give this knowledge, for example Allah gives knowledge to the angels whose duties are to control rain, and therefore on the command of Allah it rains.  Also Allah commands an angel who goes into the mother’s womb and hangs a record around the child’s neck what he/she will do in their lifetime. This knowledge is not attained by the angel but rather it is given by Allah Himself.  If the literal and direct meaning is taken from the above quoted ayaat, then it will mean that only Allah knows what is in the mother’s womb but today, we can discover quite easily if the child is a male or female by modern scanning techniques.  If Allah (swt) gives the angels some knowledge about the five Unseen things  why is it that the opponents cannot digest the fact that Allah has granted some of this knowledge to the Holy Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam)! 

Also, Imam al-Suyuti states in Khasais al-Kubra: Some of them agreed that he was given the five knowledges as well, knowledge of the hour, the spirit, yet he remained silent.  This was affirmed by many of the later scholars, such as Imam Mansur al-Baghdadi (980-1037 c.e.) who wrote on this subject and called it, Establishing testimony upon transmitted and rational proofs of the encompassing knowledge of our Prophet.  Shaykh Abu al-`Abbas Ahmad ibn `Abdul Hayy al-Halabi was asked this by `Abdul Malik ibn Muhammad al-Tajmushi, the judge of Tajmush, and he replied in a special epistle called, Essential request and the Halabi teachers answer.  He asserts that Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasalam) knew about the five knowledges.   Allamah Abu `Abdullah Muhammad al-Habib ibn `Abdul Qadir al-Sajalmasiya al-Hasani stated in Sharh Manzumat al-Samma al-hassani lil-Hilal:  It is necessary for us to believe that Prophet (sal Allah alayhi wasallam) did not leave the world except that he obtained all the knowledges as in the authentic narration: I was given the keys to everything and all things were revealed to me.  Imam Qadi Iyad al Maliki (rh)  and  Imam Qastalani (rh) also had the similar view. The book, Fatwa Ridhwiya and Radde shaharus Thaqib  has got all arabic quotes of the scholars from the past who had the similar view.

It may be noted that the Moroccon Shaykh ‘Abdullah al-Ghumari (1910-1993) has commented upon the Hadith regarding the Prophet’s (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) “Knowledge of the Unseen Except Five”.  Shaykh Al-Ghumari  then says of the part "except the Five" that the majority believe the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) did not receive the knowledge of the five: (1. the hour 2. the womb 3. time of death 4. what will happen tomorrow and 5. when it will rain), although some and most of the later scholars believe he did. He quotes many of the scholars with the latter view, and giving references to their works, he commented: I say that which I prefer and am inclined towards is that he (Allāh bless him and grant him peace) did not leave the world until Allāh taught him these five because he does not cease to elevate in knowledge and apprehension every day, rather every moment, and the generality of the aḥādīth testify to this.  From these (aḥādīth) is the ḥadīth of Bukhārī on the authority of Asmā bint Abū Bakr that the Prophet (Allāh bless him and grant him peace) praised Allāh and glorified Him, and then said:  “there is nothing that I have not seen before but I have seen now at this place of mine, even Paradise and Hell”.  To be brief, the Shaykh has cited and commented on other hadiths  from Musnad Ahmad, Sunan Tirmidhi, and others with different chains too in his Commentary to show that to the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) “all things became manifest to me and I knew.”  This ḥadith is one of the proofs of his knowledge of the five also because his statement “all things became manifest to me” is general, rather it is the strongest of the general forms as agreed in Uṣūl. The Shaykh then quotes Qadi Iyad in ash-Shifa who wrote:  "The aḥādīth regarding this issue [the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) conveying the ghayb] is (like) an ocean whose bed is unreachable and whose flow is relentless; and this miracle is from his many miracles known by certainty (from) the continuous reports which reach tawātur for the abundance of reports and the agreement of their meanings upon the conveying of the unseen."

Again, one of the books of Sayyid Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Rasul (d.1103/1691) is  al-Isha`a li Ashrat al-Sa`a (on the preconditions of the Final Hour) in which he stated, "Allah taught the knowledge of the Hour to the Prophet  and forbade him to divulge it due to its terrible nature and enormous importance." Imam Ahmad Rida (1856-1921) quotes this passage of the Isha`a in the Bareili edition of his masterpiece al-Dawla al-Makkiyya fil-Madda al-Ghaybiyya (Bareilly p. 378-380).

This brings us to Khaalis al-I'tiqad by Imam Ahmad Rida al-Qadiri (Alaihir raHmah) from which it would be relevant to cite the following commentaries on this ayat (Surah Luqman:34):

“Tafseer-e-Saavi Hashiya Ala Tafseer al Jalalain comments under this verse, while explaining Mādhā Taksibu Ghadāan: It means that no one knows about these five things. But on being informed by Almighty Allah Himself it is not prohibited that any of chosen people such as Prophets and Mystic saints (Auliya Allah) may come to know about of anythings belonging to the Realm of the Unseen (Ghayb). Allah Almighty has said that (even) these chosen servants can not encompass the knowledge of Allah except what Almighty Allah pleases to enlighten them and only to the extent revealed by Him. Similarly he can inform any of these dignitares of the knowledge of the Ghayb especially the Prophets and the Friends of Allah known as Auliya Allah, in the latter case the manifestation of that knowledge of the unseen (Ghayb) becomes miracles and super human feat (Karamat). It is for this reason that the scholars have said, as an element of truth that the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon Him) did not leave the world until he was fully informed by Almighty Allah on all these five subjects (concerning human destiny). [Saavi Hashiya Ala Tafseer al Jalalain, Vol 3, Page 215]

In Tafseer Araais al-Bayan, it is said with reference to what is in the wombs (of the mothers): We heard some Auliya saying that they had given the advanced information whether the child in the womb was a boy or a girl and we saw with our own eyes that the information given by the Auliya (saints) was correct. [Araa'is al-Bayan, Dar al Kutb Ilmiyah (Berut - Lebenon), Vol 3, Page 126]

It is said in Rooh al-Bayan, about this verse:  And whatever the information about the Unseen (Ghayb) are reported from the apostles and the mystic saints, these are the blessings from Almighty Allah either by way instruction from Him or Revelation (Wahi) or Inspiration (Ilhaam). Likewise some saints (Auliya) predicted rainfall, some about the child in the womb, these all proved correct. [Tafsir Rooh al-Bayan, Vol 10, Page 446 / 447]

It is stated in Tafseer-e-Ahmadiyyah under this verse:  And you can also say that though Allah is the absolute knower of all these things, it is not unjustifiable that he may inform some such chosen servants (Prophets, Saints, Scholars) whom He pleases in any or all these subjects for Allah besides knowing (Aleem) himself, he can also inform others (Khabeer) of that knowledge. “

Further, coming to the hadith,  cited by the dissenters on the above Ayat (31:34):  The relevant hadith shareef is as narrated by Aḥmad and al-Ṭabrānī with an authentic chain: On the authority of Ibn ‘Umar (Allāh be pleased with them) the Prophet (Allāh bless him and grant him peace) said:   “I was given the keys of all things except the Five: truly Allāh, with Him is the knowledge of the Hour …" to the end of the verse (31:34)” 

It is recorded in Sahih al Bukhari and Tafsir al Khazin:  The Holy Prophet (Peace be upon Him) stood on the Pulpit (Mimbar) and spoke about the things relating to the Day of Judgment and said that the occurrence of the fateful day many events of grave significance would have taken place. He said to the people present on the occasion to ask any thing they are keen to know about. He said: By Allah the Almighty! till such time I am on the pulpit (Mimbar) any thing you ask I shall give the answer thereto. One stood up and asked, "Where is my place? The Holy Prophet (Peace be upon Him) O replied:' In the hell! Then Abdullah bin Huzafa asked: 'Who is my farther? He replied, 'Huzafa'. After that he repeatedly said: Ask, Ask, Ask. (But there was no more question to be asked). [Sahih Bukhari, Vol 2, Page 424, Hadith 540 - Tafseer al Khazin (5:101), Vol 2, Page 341]

It may be noted that to be a person destined to be sent in the hell or the paradise, relates to the basic five things of the Unseen, namely whether a person is a righteous one or a transgressor. Similarly to know about real father, the real answer is the secret known only to the mother. It has nothing to do with knowledge of the Unseen! The answers given by the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon Him) show that he was aware about the reality of the man who was declared to be sent to hell was transgressor in his practical life; Similarly. The Holy Prophet (Peace be upon Him) knew that the father of Abdullah was Huzafa, declaring there by that the mother of Abdullah was chaste and maintained her purity or her moral modesty.

Sayyeduna Anas narrated about the incident took place in Battle of Badr:

The Messenger of Allah (may Peace be upon Him) said: This is the place where so and so would be killed. He placed his hand on the earth (saying) here and here; (and) none of them fell away from the place which the Messenger of Allah (may Peace be upon Him) had indicated by placing his hand on the earth.

[Sahih Muslim, Book 19 (The Book of Jihad and Expedition), Hadith 4394

Sahih Muslim, Kitab Al-Jihad wa'l-Siyar, Vol 9, Page 247, Hadith 3330]

It may be remembered in this connection that according to Holy Qur'an it is of the Five Fore-knowledge known only to Allah Almighty about the place where a certain person would die, and which the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon Him) indicated one day in advance of the battle of Bad'r.

Narrated Sahl: On the day (of the battle) of Khaybar the Prophet said, "Tomorrow I will give the flag to somebody who will be given victory (by Allah) and who loves Allah and His Apostle and is loved by Allah and His Apostle." So, the people wondered all that night as to who would receive the flag and in the morning everyone hoped that he would be that person. Allah's Apostle asked, "Where is 'Ali?" He was told that 'Ali was suffering from eye-trouble, so he applied saliva to his eyes and invoked Allah to cure him. He at once got cured as if he had no ailment. The Prophet gave him the flag. 'Ali said, "Should I fight them till they become like us (i.e. Muslim)?" The Prophet said, "Go to them patiently and calmly till you enter the land. Then, invite them to Islam, and inform them what is enjoined upon them, for, by Allah, if Allah gives guidance to somebody through you, it is better for you than possessing red camels."

[Bukhari, Book 4 (Fighting for the Cause of Allah), Volume 52, Hadith 253

Bukhari, Kitabul Jihad Wal Sayyar, Volume 10, Page 198, Hadith 2787

Bukhari, Kitabul Magazi, Volume 13, Page 110, Hadith 3888

Sahih Muslim, Fazail As-Sahaba, Vol 12, Page 129, Hadith 4420

Sunan Al Tirmidi, Kitabul Manaqib An Rasoolillah, Vol 12, Page 187, Hadith 3658

Sunan Ibne Maja, Kitabal Muqaddima, Vol 1, Page 130, Hadith 114]

Abdullah Ibne Abbas ® narrates from Ummul Fadl, She said, "Once I passed nearby Syyeduna Rasoolullah SallAllaho 'Alaihi wa Sallam. He said, 'You are pregnant and you have a son in your womb. Bring him to me when he will take birth' Ummul Fadl said that, 'After some time my son took birth and I brought him to Prophet Peace be upon Him. He gave Adhan in his right ear and said Aqamat in the left and put his lu'aab in his mouth and name him Abdullah and said to me, 'take this father of Khaleefa' Ummul Fadl told it to her Husband Abdullah Ibne Abbas. Ibne Abbas went to Prophet Peace be upon Him and said that Ummul Fadl had told him such and such. Prophet Peace be upon Him replied, 'Its true! This child would become the father of caliphates. One would be named as Saffah and other would be named as Mehdi'". [Dalail an-Nabuwwah li Abi Nu'aym, Vol 2, Page 81, Hadith 467]

From these Ahadith it is evident that Almighty Allah has bestowed the knowledge of these five subjects on the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon Him).  Rasoolullah sal Allahu alaihi wasalam knew what was in the womb of Hazrat Ummul Fadl. He even knew what the child would become once he grew up. If this is not the glaring proof of his Ilm, then what is it?”

Also, are they not aware that the first Caliph of Islam could predict what is in the womb as seen from the hadith shareef of Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddique ® And The Prediction Of The Baby In The Womb is well-known:  Sayyidah A'ishah ®  narrated: "When he was on his deathbed, my father said to me: "Verily, you have two brothers and two sisters." So, I became startled at this, as I only had two brothers and one sister. He referred to his then-pregnant wife, Bint Kharijah, saying: "I see that she is pregnant with a girl," and that turned out to be exactly the case."  [Reported by ash-Shatibi in 'al-Muwafaqat' (4/85), and Ibn Taymiyyah mentioned it in 'Majmu' al-Fatawa' (11/318)]

To continue with the excerpts from Khaalis al-I'tiqad:

We now present the statements given by the scholars in respect of these five elemental subject matters. Some important explanation, can be consulted notably Imam Qurtubi, the expositor of Saheeh Muslim, Imam al-Ayni, Imam Ahmad Qastalani, the expositor of Sahih Bukhari, Allama Ali Qari in the Mirqat, the exposition of Mishkat, explain the Hadeeth (The Five of which none but Allah knows):

"Anybody who claims to have knowledge of any of these Five without Allah's Prophet's (SallAllaho 'Alaihi wa Sallam) informing him on it is a liar in his claim."

[Umdat al-Qari Sharha Al-Bukhari, Kitab-al-Eman, Idarat-ut-Taba'at-al-Muniriyya , Vol 1, Page 290

Irshad as-Saari, Sharha Al-Bukhari, Kitab-al-Eman, Dar-ul-Kitab Al-Arabi , Vol 1, Page 141

Fath al-Baari Sharha Al-Bukhari, Kitab-al-Eman, Vol 1, Page 80, Hadith 48]

It is crystal clear that Allah's Prophet (Sallallahu 'Alaihi wa Sallam) enshrines the knowledge of these Five Unknowns and can inform any of his men on any of these Unknown. That is why the claim of a person to the knowledge of them without his (upon Him Salat and Salam) information is false.

The Researcher Shaikh Abdul Haq Dehlwi (Quddisa Sirruhu), in his "Lama'at" - The exposition of Mishkat writes on this Hadeeth:  "This means that these Five cannot be known without the instruction of Allah Ta'ala". [Ash'at al Lama'at, Maktabtul Ma'ariful Ilmiyah, Vol 1, Page 73]  In the same 'Ash'atul Lam'aat, Shaikh Abdul Haq elaborates this very hadith:  The idea is that no one can know those five aspects of the Ghayb with the help of his own wisdom unless Allah Almighty informs (inspires) him because no one knows (nor can any one know) about these things except Almighty Allah Who may inform the person concerned either through inspiration (Ilhaam) or Revelation (Wahi). [Ash'at al Lama'at, Maktabtul Ma'ariful Ilmiyah, Vol 1, Page 74]

Imam Qastalani in his book, Sharha Bukhari in the Tafseer of Sura Ra'ad:   "No one except ALLAH Ta'ala knows, when the Judgment Day will come, but His chosen Messengers. He discloses His unseen to any of His Messengers; but as far as Awliya are concerned, they receive these Unseen from the Prophets (Salat Was Salam). [Irshad as-Saari, Kitab-ut-Tafseer, Surah Ra'ad, Darul Kitab al-Arabi, Vol 7, Page 186]

Here the possibility to have that particular knowledge by the Auliya has been made in the manner that this knowledge is originally imparted to the Prophets and the Auliya receive it from them. And the very fact is that the Ayah denies those other than the Prophets the knowledge of the Unknown originally or directly, not absolutely or indirectly.

Mentioning the false doubts of the false sect Mu'tazala about the miracles of Auliya and refuting them in "Sharh al-Maqasid", Allama Sa'ad al-Deen Taftazani says:

"Their fifth argument pertains to their denial that the Auliya have the knowledge of the Unknown. They predicate their argument on the Ayah. 'Allah is the Knower of the Unknown, so He does not reveal His Unknown to anyone but the Prophet whom He chooses' they argue that the Unknown is accordingly particular to the Prophets, Consequently Allah Ta'ala does not inform anybody except the Prophets on the Unknown,  not even the Auliya.  The answer to this argument is that here "The Unknown" is not for the general but is absolute or definite and that is, in accordance with the previous Ayah, the time of the occurrence of the Day of Judgement. And it is not distant of the Messengers out of men and angels to be granted its knowledge. On this ground the exception made by Allah ta'ala is correct. [Sharh-ul-Maqasid, Darul Mu'arif An-Nau'maniyah (Lahore), Vol 2, Page 204/205]

The above exquisite passage amply demonstrates that the Wahhabia are worse than even the Mu'tazala: for the Mu'tazala denied the Honourable Auliya the knowledge of the Unknown but not the Prophets; while the vicious Wahhabia have denied the Prophets themselves.

It is recorded about the Five Knowledges in Anhah al-Hajjah Hashiaya Ibne Maaja:

Siddiq-e-Akbar Abu Bakar Siddiq informed his wife Bint-e-Kharijah that she was pregnant with a daughter. A daughter was born to his wife but by that time Hadrat Abu Bakr had left the world on his wafat. This is an example of foresight and prudence of a Momin which Almighty Allah proves true (in due course of time).

[Bayhaqi in his Sunan al-Kubra [6:170] - Imam Malik Ibn Anas in his Mau'ta [2:752] - Albani in his Irwa al Galeel [6:61] - Ibn Asakir in Darikh al-Damishq [30:424] - Ibn Hajr in al-Isabah [8:80] and Imam Jalal al-Din Suyooti in Tarikh al-Khulafa [1:83] have recorded the the above narration.]

Hafiz-ul-Hadith Sayyidi Ahmad Maliki reports the Ghawth of the time Sayyid Shareef Abdul Azeez Mas'ood Hasani (Radi Allahu Ta'ala Anhu) as saying:

"The Five Unknown [i.e. (1) when will the Day of Judgment be? (2) When, where and how much will it rain? (3) What is there in the womb of a female? (4) What is to happen tomorrow? (5) When and where will so and so person die? Mentioned in the Great Ayah are not secret to him (Sallallahu 'Alaihi wa Sallam). And how can they be secret to him when the Seven Qutbs out of his Umma know them, and the Qutbs are subordinate to the Ghawth. So what about the Ghawth! And above all what about the Chief of the First and the Last, who is the Cause of everything and from Whom everything emanates!

"Al-Ibreez" further goes on:

"I asked the Shaikh that the exteriorist Ulema out of the Muhadditheen differed from one another in the issue of the Five whether the Prophet (Sallallahu 'Alaihi wa Sallam) had the knowledge of them or not. The Shaikh said: "How can the Five be concealed from him. (SallAllaho 'Alaihi wa Sallam) when none of "The Ahl-u-Tasarruf" (The Divine power-wielding) of His Umma cannot wield power and authority unless he knows the Five." [Al-Ibriz, Chapter 2, Mustafa AlBaabi (Egypt), Page 167/168]

Allama Shanwani, in "Jami'un Nihaya", has reported it as Hadeeth that: "Allah Ta'ala did not take the Prophet (SallAllaho 'Alaihi wa Sallam) out of this world but when He Ta'ala had informed him (upon Him Salat and Salam) on every thing. [Jami'un Nihaya]

Allama Shanwa'ee says in the same book:  Some commentators (Mufassireen) are of the opinion that the knowledge of the five aforesaid events are not possible to be acquired by any one personally and directly on his own except with the bestowment by Almighty Allah as these knowledges are exclusive to Him.  But the indirect acquisition of these knowledges through a medium does not remain exclusive to divine authority and can be known to chosen servants of Almighty Allah. [Jami'un Nihaya]

The Great Imam Suyuti, in his book Raudh an-Nadheer, the exposition of Jami as-Sagheer writes on this Hadeeth: "So far as his (upon him salat and salam) statement that none but Allah knows these Five Unknown, it means that Allah knows these Five Unknown by his own self, none other. Yet others can know them only by His imparting. So there are those who know them, and we have met a group of persons who knew when they would die and what was in the Womb of a woman before delivery." [Raudh-un-Nadheer Sharah Al-Jami'us Sagheer]

Again the same Allama Jalaluddin Sayooti says in his 'Khasais al-Kubra':  All the things which were to happen to his Ummah till the advent of the Day of Judgement by way of the Knowledge of the Unseen were presented to the Holy Prophet Hadrat Muhammad Mustafa SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam. [Khasa'is al-Kubra, Vol 2, Page 292]

Allama Bajouri in Sharh Qasida Burdah and Shaykh Ahmad Bin Muhammad as-Sawi in Hashiya ala Tafsir Jalalain says:  The Holy Prophet (Peace be upon Him) did not leave the world (Wisaal) until ALLAH granted all the five things in full to his knowledge. [Hashiya ala Tafsir Jalalain, Vol 3, Page 215 - Hashiya Al-Bajouri Alal Burda, Page 92]

In Futoohaat-e-Wah'biya Sharha Arba'een al-Nawawi, The religious scholar Ibne Atiyyah says:  The truth is what a sect has said that Almighty Allah did not please the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon Him) leaving the world (Wisal) until he had informed him of all the secrets of the universe with special permission to disclose some of these secrets and some to remain hidden.

Imam Ibn Hajar Makki says in his exposition of The Hamziyya:   "The Unknown is peculiar to Allah Ta'ala but in the sense of its comprehensiveness. Consequently,  it does not negate Allah Ta'ala's intimating some of His choice with many of the Unknown Secrets even some of the Five of which the Prophet (SallAllaho 'Alaihi wa Sallam) has said that none but Allah knows them." [Afdalul Qura li Qura'ee Ummul Qura, Majma'us Saqafi (Abu Dhabi), Page 143-144]

In his commendable book "Ajab-ul-Ajaib", the exposition of Salat-ul-Hadrati Sayyidi Ahmad Badawi Kabeer (radiyallahu ta'ala anhu), Allama Uthmawi says:  "It is said that he (SallAllaho 'Alaihi wa Sallam) was granted the knowledge of the Five at last but was commanded to keep it, and this very is the accurate statement." [Ajab al-Ajaib Sharah Salat Syed Ahmad Kabeer Badawi]

Shah Abdul Aziz Muhaddith Dehlawi in Bustaan-e-Muhaddiseen has said:  It is reported that no child of the father of Shaykh Ibn Hajar survived after birth, Disheartened by this tragedy he approched the shaikh to bless him with a child. The shaikh gave him the glad tiding that in his progeny a son will be born who will enlighten the world with his erudition.

Conclusion:

These narrations and sayings also affirm that Almighty Allah has given the knowledge of the Five Unseen events to His servants with whom He is pleased. How was it possible that the Holy Prophet Hadrat Muhammad SallAllaho 'Alaihi wa Sallam did not possess the knowledge of these Five events when his knowledge supersedes and transcends the total knowledge of all creatures. Moreover all these events are ephemeral and transitory in nature subject to change, and as such being in possession of knowledge of these events does not mean sharing powers of Almighty Allah. Only things which are immutable and predetermined are in the knowledge of Almighty Allah and beyond the reach of the people except those of extraordinary merits whom Allah has chosen for this grace.

AlHamduLILLAH!! we have presented the reported aspects of the Five Knowledges of the Unseen through the Authentic Commentaries of Qur'an, Ahadith and the books of the Prominent learned Scholars and Mystic. Through which, It is proved without a doubt that Allah the Almighty has bestowed the knowledge of the Greater parts of the Five Exclusive knowledges of the Ghaib to His Beloved Habeeb Kareem Alaihi afDalus Salati wat Tasleem. One who denies this quality, is one led astray and faithless, as denier of Ahadith.”  [Excerpted from Khaalis al-I'tiqad by Imam Ahmad Rida al-Qadiri Alaihir raHmah]

Continued in Part 8…

Nasir