Knowing the unseen
22-6-2004 | IslamWeb
Question:
Does knowing the unseen include the intention of a person?
E.g. whether someone has a bad intention or not? If the knowledge of the future exclusively of in Allah's knowledge, which is implied by the last verse of surah Luqman(31:34) and a Hadith by Bukhari as mentioned in the tafseer of Ibn Kathir ,is it not contradicted by the following facts:
A. Some people get an indication regarding future events in their dreams which turn out to be true
B. The Hadith related by Muslim that the satan sometimes manage to steal information from the heavens and then whispers into the ears of the magician. (Only he mixes it with lot of untruths) that is why sometimes their predictions are true.
C. Some people, including the Prophet, could sense that they are nearing death,
Answer:
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions.
Al-Ghaib (the unseen) is of two kinds:
The first kind: The absolute unseen: No one knows it but, Allah, He has not revealed it to any of his creatures and none came to know about it.
Bukhari reported: "The keys of the unseen are five, None knows them but Allah, then the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) recited: "Verily, Allâh! With Him (Alone) is the knowledge of the Hour, He sends down the rain, and knows that which is in the wombs. No person knows what he will earn tomorrow, and no person knows in what land he will die. Verily, Allâh is All-Knower, All-Aware (of things). (Luqman 31:34)
The evidences that people do not know the unseen are balanced against the above, like the saying of Allah: " Say: "None in the heavens and the earth knows the Ghaib (unseen) except Allâh, nor can they perceive when they shall be resurrected." (An-Naml 27:65)
Allah also says: " Allâh will not leave the believers in the state in which you are now, until He distinguishes the wicked from the good. Nor will Allâh disclose to you the secrets of the Ghaib (unseen), but Allâh chooses of His Messengers whom He pleases. So believe in Allâh and His Messengers. And if you believe and fear Allâh, then for you there is a great reward. (Aali Imran 3:179)
Allah says: ""(He Alone) the All-Knower of the Ghâ'ib (unseen), and He reveals to none His Ghâ'ib (unseen). Except to a Messenger (from mankind) whom He has chosen (He informs him of unseen as much as He likes)," (Al-Jinn 72:26,27)
The second kind: What is unseen for some creatures but is known by some other creatures.
This kind of the knowledge of the unseen can be either known by an Islamic juridical, like the revelation to the prophets, or by a good dream, inspiration, in sight or presumption for other people (other than prophets).
Or it could be known by a non- Islamic juridical source, like what the magicians say based on what they get from the Jinn who steal the hearing.
Some analysts stated that, amongst them are Ibn-Al-Qayim in his book Madarijj Al-Salikeen, when he was relating about the insight.
Al-Munawi in interpreting the Hadith "Fear the insight of a Mu'min".
In Islamic jurisprudence it is confirmed that there are good dreams, insight, inspiration and what the magicians inform us (which can be true at the rate of 1%).
In a Hadith it is reported: "Good dreams are one portion out of the 46 portions of the Prophethood". Reported by Bukhari.
In another Hadith: " what is left from the glad tidings of Prophethood is only a good dream that a Muslim sees, or is seen for him/her in a dream by somebody else". Reported by Muslim.
In another Hadith: "Amongst the people before you there were inspirers, and if there were any amongst them in my Ummah it will be Omar Ibn al- Khattab." Reported by Bukhari and Muslim.
The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) described that Satans steal the hearing and inform the magicians and they do not report to them what they had heard only but they add to it many lies.
Besides, the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) said: " When Allah decrees a matter in heavens the angels move their wings as a sign of submission to His saying, its sound is as a chain moves on a smooth rock. When fear is banished from their (angels) hearts, they (angels) say: what is it that your lord said? They say: "The truth. And He is the Most High, the Most Great."
So when the one steals the hearing (and they are one above the other) would hear it, he passes it on to the one who is below him, and then it is passed on again to the one who is beneath, until it reaches the magician… .
The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) was asked about the magicians, and he replied: "They are (know) nothing. They said: "O' Prophet of Allah, sometimes they say something and it comes out to be true. Then the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) said: "That word is the truth that the jinn steals and puts in the ear of his magician, and they add to it more than 100 lies."
As regards the feeling of death, when one is breathing his last, then this is a matter that a dying person feels, as he feels that his legs are becoming numb.
The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) felt death when he was breathing his last, and he was saying, as reported by Al-Bukhari, "LA ILAHA ILLA Allah, indeed death has agonies."
Amr Ibn Al- Aas also felt death and informed his son about what he suffered, as reported by Al- Hakim in Al- Mustadrak, and Ibn Saad in Al-Tabaqat.
There is no harm for a person to feel death by one of he aforementioned things.
However, we could not determine that a specific person can know what is in the hearts of the people. But we can say that his insight, dream, or expectation could become true.
Allah knows best.