ভূমিকা

The first group are those verses which limit this knowledge strictly to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) and negate it for all others such as verse 59 of Suratul An`am: وَعِنـدَهُ مَفٌاتِحُ الْغَيْبِ لاٌ يَعْلَمُهٌا إِلاَّ هُوَ… “And with Him are the keys of the unseen treasure - none knows them except He…” Also, we have in the Qur'an, that which has been mentioned about the Prophet (blessings of Allah be upon him and his progeny) in Suratul An`am, verse 50: قُـلْ لاٌّ أَقُولُ لَكُمْ عِنـدِي خَزٌآئِـنُ اللٌّهِ وَلاٌ أَعْلَـمُ الْغَيْبَ “Say (O' Muhammad): I do not say to you that I have with me the treasures of Allah, nor do I know the unseen.” In verse 188 of Suratul A`raf, we read the following: وَلَوْ كُنتُ أَعْلَمُ الْغَيْبَ لاَسْتَكْثَرْتُ مِنَ الْخَيْرِ “Had I known about the unseen, I would have gained much good.'” The last verse in this discussion is found in Surah Yunus, verse 20, we read: فَقُلْ إِنَّمٌا الْغَيْبُ لِلٌّهِ “Say (O' Muhammad): Certainly the (Knowledge of the) Unseen is solely reserved for Allah.” There are many more verses such as these in the Qur'an, however, we will suffice with these.

The second group of verses are those which clearly indicate that the Prophets and intimate friends (Awliyah) of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) have a general knowledge of the Unseen as has been mentioned in verse 179 of Surah Ale `Imran which states: وَمٌا كٌانَ اللٌّهُ لِيُطْلِعَكُمْ عَلَى الْغَيْبِ وَلٌكِنَّ اللٌّهَ يَجْتَبِي مِن رُّسُلِهِ “ And Allah does not inform you of the unseen.