Q - The Sunnis say that Allah informs the righteous about unseen matters. Is there evidence for this?
A - Yes, there are many instances where the righteous have spoken about unseen matters.
The Prophet ﷺ knew the devotion of those praying behind him. (Bukhari)
The day before the Battle of Badr, the Prophet ﷺ described where each enemy would fall. (Muslim)
Q - If the righteous know unseen matters, why didn’t Umar ﷺ know when an enemy came to kill him? If he knew and didn’t prevent it, wouldn’t that be suicide?
A - Allah did not grant Umar ﷺ the minor miracle of seeing the enemy because He wanted to grant him the greater miracle of martyrdom. Everyone dies when their time comes, but achieving martyrdom is a great honor.
Q - "If I had knowledge of the unseen, I would have increased in good, and no harm would have touched me." (Quran 7:188) Doesn’t this clearly indicate that the Prophet ﷺ did not know the unseen?
A - This verse means that the Prophet ﷺ did not know the unseen unless Allah willed or revealed it to him. This verse was revealed when the hypocrites claimed that the Prophet ﷺ did not know the unseen, and he then demonstrated his knowledge of it.
Imam Razi ﷺ mentioned an incident where the Prophet ﷺ, while returning from the Battle of Banu Mustaliq, informed his companions about the death of Rifa'ah in Medina. When the hypocrites mocked him, saying he couldn’t even locate his own camel, the Prophet ﷺ described exactly where it was, and it was found as he said. This led to the revelation of the verse.
لما رَجَعَ عَلَيْهِ الصَّلاَةُ وَالسَّلاَمُ مِنْ غَزْوَةِ بَنِي الْمُصْطَلَقِ جَائَتْ رِيحٌ فِي الطَّرِيقِ فَفَرَّتْ الدَّوَابُ مِنْهَا ، فَأَخْبَرَ النَّبِي صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِمَوْتِ رِفَاعَةَ بِالْمَدينةِ ، وَكَان فِيهِ غَيْظٌ لِلْمُنَافِقِين ، وَقَال انْظُرُوا أي نَاقَتِي ، فَقَال عَبْدُاللهِ بْنُ أُبَيٍّ مَعَ قَوْمِهِ أَلَا تَعْجَبُونَ مِنْ هَذَا الرَّجُلِ يُخْبِرُ عَنْ مَوْتِ رَجُلٍ بِالْمَد ينة وَلَا يَعْرِفُ أَيْنَ نَاقتَهُ ، فَقَالَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلاَةُ وَالسَّلاَمُ إِنَّ نَاسًا مِنَ الْمُنَافِقِين كالوُا كَيْتَ وَكَيْتَ ، وَنَاقَتِي فِي هَذَا الشَّعَبِ قَدْ تَعلَّقَ زِيامُهُ بِشَجَرَةٍ فَوَجَدَهَا عَلَى مَا قَال ، فَأَنْزَلَ اللهُ تَعَالَى قُلْ لا أَمْلِكُ لِنَفْسِى نَفْعًا وَلاَ ضَرًّا إِلاَّ مَا شَاء اللَّهُ (الرازي 15-68)
Q - What is the Sunni and Bid’ah view on the matter of the unseen?
A - The Bid’ah groups claim that Allah does not inform the righteous about unseen matters, as knowledge of the unseen is a unique attribute of Allah.
The Sunnis believe that Allah may inform the righteous about the unseen if He wills.
However, as part of Allah’s decree, the righteous may sometimes not be informed about certain unseen matters. This does not mean they never know the unseen. When Allah reveals it to them, they know it, and this has happened many times. There may be reasons why they are not informed at times, and even when they know, they may choose not to disclose it.
Q - The Quran and Hadith state that only Allah knows the unseen. What is the explanation for this?
A - Imam Nawawi ﷺ explained that this means no one knows the unseen on their own or fully unless Allah reveals it to them. (Fatawa Nawawi)
