Tweet
The Islamic Concept of the Unseen
By Islamtoday.net
The Importance of Belief in the Unseen
Classification of the Unseen
Some matters of the Unseen are absolute in that they can never be perceived by the human senses, while others are relative: They can be perceived after the passage of time or can be unseen with respect to certain people but not so with respect to others. The matters of the Unseen fall into three categories:
1. There are matters that are absolutely and categorically Unseen. These are matters that man has no way of perceiving with his intellect or his senses. These matters are further broken down into two categories:
a. The first category comprises those matters that Allah has informed man about through His Messengers. An example of this is what we know about the jinn.
b. The second category comprises those matters that Allah has not informed any of His creation about, not even His prophets and angels. This is what is meant by the following verse:
[He possesses the keys to the Unseen. None has knowledge of them except for Him.] (Al-An`am 6: 59)
This last category includes the knowledge of the Hour when the world will come to an end; the knowledge of when, where, and how a person is to die; and some of the names that Allah has given to Himself. Allah says
[Verily Allah has knowledge of the Hour. He sends down the rains. He knows what is in the wombs, and no soul knows what it will earn tomorrow, and no soul knows in which land it will die.] (Luqman 31:34)
Part of a supplication taught by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) reads
2. There are also matters that are Unseen with respect to some of creation, such as historical events. These events form part of the Unseen with respect to those who have no knowledge of them. For example, after relating to him the story of the family of `Imran, Allah said to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
[This is from the news of the Unseen that We reveal to you. You were not with them when they cast lots as to which of them will be the guardian of Mary, nor were you with them when they disputed.] (Aal `Imran 3:44)
3. There are matters that are undetectable by the senses because the matters are physically distant or because they occur in the future or because of some other obstruction. Such a matter remains unseen until the obstruction is removed. We see an example of this in the story of the death of Prophet Solomon: The jinn used to claim that they know the Unseen, but when the Prophet Solomon died, they did not know of his death and continued working in his service until he fell down because his stick had been undermined by an earthworm. So the death of Solomon was a matter of the Unseen in relation to the Jinn.
Examples of Unseen Matters
2. The signs of the Hour, both major and minor. These are the events that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) told will occur as signs that the end of the world is close at hand. For example, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said in one hadith that that time will come when the barefoot, destitute herdsmen compete in erecting lofty buildings. This is among the signs that have already occurred.
Among the major signs of the Hour are what is related in various hadiths about the antichrist and the coming of Jesus near the end of time.
Source:
http://www.islamtoday.com/showme.cfm?
cat_id=3&sub_cat_id=214
The Importance of Belief in the Unseen
Classification of the Unseen
Some matters of the Unseen are absolute in that they can never be perceived by the human senses, while others are relative: They can be perceived after the passage of time or can be unseen with respect to certain people but not so with respect to others. The matters of the Unseen fall into three categories:
1. There are matters that are absolutely and categorically Unseen. These are matters that man has no way of perceiving with his intellect or his senses. These matters are further broken down into two categories:
a. The first category comprises those matters that Allah has informed man about through His Messengers. An example of this is what we know about the jinn.
b. The second category comprises those matters that Allah has not informed any of His creation about, not even His prophets and angels. This is what is meant by the following verse:
[He possesses the keys to the Unseen. None has knowledge of them except for Him.] (Al-An`am 6: 59)
This last category includes the knowledge of the Hour when the world will come to an end; the knowledge of when, where, and how a person is to die; and some of the names that Allah has given to Himself. Allah says
[Verily Allah has knowledge of the Hour. He sends down the rains. He knows what is in the wombs, and no soul knows what it will earn tomorrow, and no soul knows in which land it will die.] (Luqman 31:34)
Part of a supplication taught by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) reads
2. There are also matters that are Unseen with respect to some of creation, such as historical events. These events form part of the Unseen with respect to those who have no knowledge of them. For example, after relating to him the story of the family of `Imran, Allah said to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
[This is from the news of the Unseen that We reveal to you. You were not with them when they cast lots as to which of them will be the guardian of Mary, nor were you with them when they disputed.] (Aal `Imran 3:44)
3. There are matters that are undetectable by the senses because the matters are physically distant or because they occur in the future or because of some other obstruction. Such a matter remains unseen until the obstruction is removed. We see an example of this in the story of the death of Prophet Solomon: The jinn used to claim that they know the Unseen, but when the Prophet Solomon died, they did not know of his death and continued working in his service until he fell down because his stick had been undermined by an earthworm. So the death of Solomon was a matter of the Unseen in relation to the Jinn.
Examples of Unseen Matters
2. The signs of the Hour, both major and minor. These are the events that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) told will occur as signs that the end of the world is close at hand. For example, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said in one hadith that that time will come when the barefoot, destitute herdsmen compete in erecting lofty buildings. This is among the signs that have already occurred.
Among the major signs of the Hour are what is related in various hadiths about the antichrist and the coming of Jesus near the end of time.
Source:
http://www.islamtoday.com/showme.cfm?
cat_id=3&sub_cat_id=214
Comment