Question:
As salaam alaikum wa rahmatullah,
Beloved Shaykh, I need some urgent advice regarding an issue which is causing me great confusion. Shaykh Muhammad al-Ya’qoubi (hafizahullah) stated publicly that the Messenger (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) had knowledge of the Hour (as-Saa’ah) and that many scholars agreed that he (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) had knowledge of the 5 things mentioned at the end of Surah Luqman.
Also, I heard him mention a comment of Shaykh al-Akbar ibn ‘Arabi that the verse ‘He is the all hearing, the all seeing.‘ referred to the Messenger (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam).
What is the correct position according to the majority of Ahlus Sunnah? And which scholars held such an opinion? Also, how do we explain the following statements in light of what Shaykh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi had said.
The Statements of the Sahabah and Tabi‘in on the Tafsir of the Verse at the end of Surah Luqman
Amir al-Mu’minin Imam al-Muslimin Hazrat ‘Ali (Allah be pleased with him) said in shedding light on this hadith:
Only five from the secrets of ghayb are hidden to your prophet which is mentioned in the last verse of Surah Luqman.”(Transmitted by Ibn Mardawayh – al-Durr al-Manthur 5:170)
Faqih al-Ummah Hazrat ‘Abd Allah ibn Mas‘ud said:
Your prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) was given knowledge of all things besides these five. (Narrated by Imam Ahmad – Fath al-Bari 1:65; Abu Ya‘la, Ibn Jarir, Ibn al-Mundhir and Ibn Mardawayh also transmitted it –al-Durr al-Manthur 5:170)
Habr al-Ummah Sayyiduna Hazrat ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Abbas (Allah be pleased with them) said in shedding light on this verse:
These five are not known to an angel brought near or a prophet chosen, so whoever claims to know any of them, he has disbelieved in the Qur’an because he opposed it. (Tafsir Khazin 5:183)
And Hazrat Qatadah (Allah be pleased with him), the Tabi‘i, said in the commentary of this verse:
Five [things] from the ghayb which Allah has taken exclusive possession of, so will not disclose them to an angel brought near or a prophet sent: ‘Verily, Allah, with Him is knowledge of the Hour,’ so no one from man knows when the Hour will commence, in which [exact] year, or in which [exact] month, or night and day, ‘and He sends down rain,’ so no one knows when rain will come in the night or day, ‘and He knows what is in the wombs,’ so no one knows what is in the wombs, is it male or female, red or black, and what it is, ‘and no soul knows what it will acquire tomorrow,’ whether good or bad, and you O son of Adam, do not know when you will die perhaps you will be dead tomorrow, perhaps you will be afflicted tomorrow, ‘and no soul knows in which land it will die,’ i.e. none of man knows where his resting place is from the earth, in see or land, soft land or rough. (Ibn Jarir narrated it and Ibn Abi Hatim – al-Durr al-Manthur 5:170; also Ibn Kathir mentioned it in his Tafsir 8:25, and al-Khatib al-Shirbini in al-Siraj al-Munir 3:200)
A Statement of Hazrat Imam Abu Hanifah on the Tafsir of this Verse
It is mentioned under the tafsir of this verse in Tafsir Madarik al-Tanzil:
Al-Mansur saw in his dream the form of the Angel of Death, and he asked him about his lifespan, so he indicated with his five fingers. The interpreters interpreted it as five years, or five months, or five days, so Abu Hanifah (Allah be pleased with him) said, ‘He is indicating to this verse, because none knows these five sciences besides Allah. (Madarik al-Tanzil 3:219)
Tafsir of this verse from the Imams of Tafsir
‘Allamah ‘Ali ibn Muhammad Khazin in his Tafsir Lubab al-Ta’wil explained the verse in a similar way to how it was explained in the transmission from Hazrat Qatada, which is why there is no need to include his passage here (Tafsir Khazin 5:183).
And in Tafsir Jalalayn the verse is explained as follows:
Allah, with Him lies knowledge of the Hour, when it will come to pass; and He sends down (read yunzilu, or yunazzilu) the rain, at times which [only] He knows; and He knows what is in the wombs, whether it is a male or a female; and not one of the three things is known by anyone other than Allah, exalted be He. And no soul knows what it will earn tomorrow, of good or evil, but Allah, exalted be He, knows this; and no soul knows in what land it will die, but Allah, exalted be He, knows this. Truly Allah is Knower, of all things, Aware, of the inward and outward aspects thereof.
‘Allamah al-Nasafi’s tafsir of this verse is approximately the same as this (see Tafsir al-Madarik 3:219).
Furthermore, ‘Allamah Abu al-Su‘ud’s and Qadi Baydawi’s words in this place have the same meaning (Abu al-Su‘ud 7:31, Baydawi 2:156).
Imam al-Razi’s words in this place is that:
According to some commentators of the Qur’an, Allah Most High in this verse negated knowledge of the five matters for anyone besides Him. This is true, but it is not the objective [of the verse], because Allah knows [even] the single grain that was in the pile of sand at the time of the flood [of Nuh (peace be upon him)] and which was swept by the wind from the east to the west, time and time again. Allah knows where it is and no one besides Him knows it.” (al-Tafsir al-Kabir 6:503)
After this, he explained the reason why these five were specifically mentioned, but since this is not related to our objective, I will not quote it.
[1] Abu al-Hasan ibn ‘Abd al-Hadi al-Hanafi al-Sindi (d. 1138 H), the famous and recognised commentator of the six well-known collections of hadith and Musnad Ahmad, wrote regarding this hadith, echoing the points made by the author:
It is apparent that the intent thereby is restriction even though [grammatically] the requirement of the exception is generality; for otherwise, it would imply his (Allah bless him and grant him peace) knowledge is unending [which is impossible for creation] and that he is knower of the ghayb, whereas He (Exalted is He) has said: ‘Say none in the heavens and earth know the ghayb besides Allah.’ Hence, this should be carefully considered.” (Quoted in Musnad Ahmad, Shu’ayb al-Arna’ut ed. 6:173-4).
Answer:
`Alaykum Salam,
Allah Most High is able to grant that knowledge of the five things even to non-believers, such as through technology today.
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.
[See also “Explanation (sharh) of the Hadith Regarding Prophet’s Knowledge of the Unseen “except five” by Shaykh `Abdullah al-Ghumari at sunnah.org]
Hajj Gibril Haddad
