nawawi on ilm al-ghayb

Discussion in 'Aqidah/Kalam' started by faqir, Jul 17, 2008.

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  1. faqir

    faqir Veteran

    thanks abu Hasan.... that was useful.
     
  2. abu nibras

    abu nibras Staff Member

  3. abu Hasan

    abu Hasan Administrator

    it appears as a problem when you limit the knowledge of Allah ta'ala to only the maa kaana wa maa yakun which in other words is already written on the lawH as mentioned in the hadith.

    to quote al-busiri:
    wa min ulumika `ilm al-lawHi wa'l qalami
    AMONG the many kinds of knowledge that you have is the knowledge of the Tablet and the Pen.
    is the Supreme and Infinite Knowledge of Allah ta'ala confined to that which happened from the beginning of time until the last day? was there nothing before and after? so how do you classify the knowledge of what happens AFTER the last day into eternity when some enter paradise and some others hell...

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    Allah sub'Hanahu wa ta'ala has Existed prior to the beginning of creation and surely He has Knowledge of All things. this 'maa kaana wa maa yakun' is a small part of the All-Inclusive Knowledge of Allah sub'Hanahu wa ta'ala.

    it is that small part [compared to the Knowledge of Allah Ta'ala] which is given to RasulAllah SallAllahu alayhi wa sallam which is far extensive than any other in the creation.

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    Allah ta'ala knows best.
     
    Last edited: Jul 17, 2008
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  4. faqir

    faqir Veteran

    as-salamu `alaikum

    actually sidi I think I should have made clearer what i was after.

    what i am trying to do is get my head around reconciling the statements of some `ulema that he sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam was given knowledge of everything including knowledge of the Five with the fact that this knowledge of his sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is nevertheless not a complete, all-embracing knowledge.

    the two statements seem somewhat contradictory to me if taken literally which is why i am requesting further clarification. what is meant by 'everything' in this context and what is meant by 'complete'? i presume 'everything' here is not literal.... like the hadith kullu bid'atin dhalalah..., etc.

    I am just wondering if Imam Ahmed Ridha has elaborated on this point.
     
  5. azizq

    azizq Well-Known Member

    In ad-Dawlaat al-Makiyya p 58 of [Imam] Ahmad Rida Khaan it is written: "The Prophets know, rather they see and watch over all that which happened and all that which will happen from the first day to the last."


    This is proven by the verse: { But how (will it be with them) when we bring of every people a witness, and We bring you (O Muhammad) a witness against these} (4:41). Thus, each Prophet is the witness of his people, which means that he sees everything in connection with those people from beginning to end - which is the precondition of witnessing - and our Prophet [​IMG] is a witness over all of them put together.

    [Imam] Ahmad Rida Khaan al-Bareilawi said in Khalis al Itiqaad p 38: "The Knowldege of the guarded tablet, the knowledge of the pen, and the knowledge of whatever existed and of whatever will exist are part of the knowledge of the Prophet."


    This is proven by the fact that all of the above concern whats takes place until the Rising of the Hour, and al-Bukhari and Muslim narrated from Hudhayfa, Abu Zayd al-Ansari, and other Sahaba that "The Prophet e stood among us [speaking] for a long time and did not leave out one thing from that time until the rising of the Final Hour except he told us about it. Whoever remembers it remembers it and whoever forgot it forgot it. All those who are present know this."

    http://www.livingislam.org/n/riiz_e.html


    Answered by Shaykh Gibril. Hope that helped inshaAllah. (questions in red, and answers in black).
     
  6. faqir

    faqir Veteran

    as-salamu `alaikum.

    I would like brother abu Hasan's help on this. Imam Ahmed Ridha Khan states in his Izalah al-Ayb bi Saif al-Ghaib:


    وأعطى حبيبه صلى الله عليه وسلم علم جميع ما كان وما يكون أعني من يوم الأزل إلى اليوم الآخر، علم كل أمر​


    "Allah Ta'ala granted His Beloved sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam knowledge of everything that has happened and that will happen, ie. from the beginning of time until the Last Day, knowledge of everything."

    First of all, is this how you would translate this sentence? Secondly, could you please explain this statement further.

    JazakumAllahu khayran.
     
  7. abu Hasan

    abu Hasan Administrator

    Question:
    What is the meaning of the verse: ‘Say, nobody in the heavens or the earth know of the unseen except Allāh’ [An-Naĥl, v.65] and the saying of the Prophet şallAllāhu álayhi wa sallam : ‘Nobody knows what will happen on the morrow, except Allah’ and similar statements found in both the Qur’ān and the Ĥadīth even though it has occurred from the miracles of prophets – may Allāh bless them all and give them peace – and the miracles of saints that they imparted ‘knowledge of the morrow’ [mā fī ghadd]

    Answer:
    The [correct] meaning is nobody knows absolutely [istiqlālan]. And [nobody has] such absolute knowledge that is complete and all-encompassing except Allāh táālā.

    As for the miracles of prophets and saints, then it is by the informing of Allāh táālā, not independently by themselves. And this is – as we know – the sun rises and stays for six hours and then begins to wane; and then stays for another six and it sets; and then remains so for the next twelve hours and then rises again. Similar [prediction] can be made about the moon and other such event which are actually ‘news about the future.’

    This knowledge of unseen did not come to us independently, but rather by the informing of Allāh táālā through the constancy of such things [following the laws made by him].

    Fatawa Imam an-Nawawi, pg.173.

    ---
    note: The Ahlu’s Sunnah believe that only a part of knowledge of the unseen is given to the prophets and through them to the saints. Complete knowledge belongs only to Allāh táālā and anyone accusing sunnis otherwise is a liar and a slanderer.
     
    Last edited: May 6, 2007
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