• DOES ANYONE FROM AMONG THE MESSENGERS AND PROPHETS OF ALLAH POSSESS THE KNOWLEDGE OF ABSOLUTE UNSEEN, HIDDEN THAT BEYOND THE REACH OF A CREATED BEINGS PERCEPTION (GHAYB)? ANSWER: No One. The Prophet Muhammad (swalla-Allaahu Alayhi wa-sallam) himself categorically denied any possession or knowing such knowledge of unseen and hidden beyond the reach of a created beings perception. TEXTUAL PROOF 1: Allah said in the Qur’an: قُل لَّا أَقُولُ لَكُمْ عِندِي خَزَائِنُ اللَّهِ وَلَا أَعْلَمُ الْغَيْبَ وَلَا أَقُولُ لَكُمْ إِنِّي مَلَكٌ إِنْ أَتَّبِعُ إِلَّا مَا يُوحَىٰ إِلَيَّ Say: I do not say to you that Allah’s treasures are with me; nor do I know what is hidden or unseen beyond the reach of human perception; nor do I say to you that I am an angel. I only follow what is revealed to me. (Al-Qur’an: Surah 6: 50) A number of false prophecies were commonly held in pagan and ignorant societies, claimed by false people and believed by those deceived by them. These included prophecies with origins based in sorcery, fortune- telling, astrology and hallucination. Such false prophets claimed access to withheld information through contact with, angels, the jinn and other spirits. They further claimed an ability to influence natural phenomena through prayers, supplications, charms or other methods. Falsehood is a common feature of all these, although they may differ in type, form, rites and methods. It is understood that in their successive generations, they were similar to the Sufi shaikhs of modern times. They used similar methods to those used nowadays by Sufis who aspire to being possessed, through physical mortification or through listening to music. Ignorant communities, including those that deviated from the proper concept elaborated by the divine messages, were rife with such false ideas about the nature of prophethood and prophet. People expected anyone who claimed to be a prophet to come up with such miracles. They required him at times to make prophecies and at other times to influence natural phenomena, either through fortune-telling or sorcery. Indeed, it was in this vein that the pagan Arabs in Makkah made their demands of the Prophet Muĥammad (swalla-Allaahu alayhi wa-sallam). To rectify such misconceptions, the Qur’ān makes repeated statements on the nature of the divine message and the Messenger conveying it. The Prophet (swalla-Allaahu alayhi wa-sallam) is commanded by his Lord to introduce himself as an ordinary human being who entertains nothing of the misconceptions that prevailed in pagan ignorant communities about the nature of prophets and prophethood. He follows nothing but divine revelations received from Allah informing him of things that he has not known. He does not possess Allah’s treasures in order to make rich gifts to those who follow him. Nor does he know what has been hidden in order to inform his followers of what may happen in the future. Nor is he an angel. He is simply a human Messenger and a human Prophet of Allah preaching a faith that is clear, pure and simple based on true Monotheism and Oneness of Allah and on Straight Path of True Guidance from Allah. TEXTUAL PROOF 2: Allah said in the Qur’an, قُلْ إِنَّمَا أَنَا بَشَرٌ مِّثْلُكُمْ يُوحَىٰ إِلَيَّ أَنَّمَا إِلَٰهُكُمْ إِلَٰهٌ وَاحِدٌ Say: I am but a human being like yourselves, (but) it has been divinely revealed to me that your God is the One and only God. [Al-Qur’an: Surah Al-Kahf 18:110] TEXTUAL PROOF 3: Allah said in the Qur’an قُل لَّا أَمْلِكُ لِنَفْسِي نَفْعًا وَلَا ضَرًّا إِلَّا مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ وَلَوْ كُنتُ أَعْلَمُ الْغَيْبَ لَاسْتَكْثَرْتُ مِنَ الْخَيْرِ وَمَا مَسَّنِيَ السُّوءُ إِنْ أَنَا إِلَّا نَذِيرٌ وَبَشِيرٌ لِّقَوْمٍ يُؤْمِنُونَ Say: It is not within my power to bring benefit to, or avert evil from, myself, except as Allah may will. Had I possessed knowledge of absolute unseen, hidden that lies beyond the reach of human perception, I would have availed myself multiplied all good and no evil would have ever touched me. I am no more than one who gives warning, and a herald of good news to people who believe. (Al-Qur’an Surah Al-A’raaf 7: 188) This rule applies to everything in the realm which lies beyond the reach of human perception. It is Allah alone who knows all that there is in that realm. He does not give knowledge of any of it, except to someone He chooses, at the time and in the measure He determines for the purpose of only conveying His divine message to the mankind in the form of divine revelation wayh during their lifetime only. Once they died, such type of knowledge and revelations through wayh has been ceased forever. Hence, they themselves or any other people do not have the ability to cause themselves any benefit or harm after their death. In his great position of honour and his closeness to his Lord, the Prophet (peace be upon him) is commanded to declare to mankind that when it comes to the realm that lies beyond our perception, he is only a human being who can cause himself neither benefit nor harm. This is because he is not given that knowledge, nor is he one to know the destination before starting the journey, or the consequences of actions before they take place. Hence, he cannot choose his actions on the basis of their consequences, because these are withheld from him. He has to choose his actions, and then the result takes place as Allah has determined With this declaration, the monotheistic faith of Islam is completely and absolutely purged of every trace of idolatry of whatever shape or form. Allah has His ‘unique attributes in which no human being has any share, not even Muhammad, Allah’s chosen and beloved Messenger (swalla-Allaahu alayhi wa-sallam). Human power and knowledge stop at the point of ghayb, which is the Islamic term for what lies beyond the reach of human perception. Within the limitations of humanity, Allah’s Messenger (swalla-Allaahu alayhi wa-sallam) himself stands, and his role is well-defined Allah’s Messenger (swalla-Allaahu alayhi wa-sallam) is indeed a warner and a bearer of good news to all mankind. All other Prophets and Messengers of Allah (peace be upon them all) also are human beings and they do not possess the knowledge of absolute unseen, hidden that lies beyond the reach of human perception. Quoting the statement of Nuh (Noah – peace be upon him), TEXTUAL PROOF 4: Allah said in the Quran: وَلَا أَقُولُ لَكُمْ عِندِي خَزَائِنُ اللَّهِ وَلَا أَعْلَمُ الْغَيْبَ وَلَا أَقُولُ إِنِّي مَلَكٌ I do not say to you that Allah’s treasures are with me, nor that I know whatis unseen and hidden that lies beyond the reach of human perception. Nor do I say: I am an angel.” (Al-Qur’an Surah Hud 11: 31) Prophet Nuh (Noah – peace be upon him) urges is that he is not a mere vulgar soothsayer pretending to reveal secrets not worth knowing, nor an angel living in another world, with no ties to them. He disowns all superficiality and states his message as it is, pure and simple, with no false claims. He is not making any claim of any super-human status or allege that his relationship with Allah exceeds the fact that he has been entrusted with this message. Thus Nuh (Noah - peace be upon him) disowns all false values and assumed pretenses. He presents his message clearly: real, great, free of all falsehood. No presence, no flattery, no attempt to win any favour with anyone at the expense of the message and its simple nature.
Posted on: Wed, 24 Dec 2014 14:08:15 +0000
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