Ayaat 25-28 ― The Messenger Does Not Know the Unseen
In these ayaat Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala clears a misconception that Muslims have even today. The Messenger salAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam only knew as much as Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala chose to inform him about. He did not know about the ghayb [unseen]. Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala says,
Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala commands His Messenger salAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam to say to the people that he has no knowledge of when the Hour will be and he does not know whether its time is near or far.
Whenever the Messenger of Allah salAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam was asked about the time of the Hour he would not respond. When Jibreel [Gabriel] ‘alayhi salaam appeared to him in the form of a Bedouin Arab, one of the questions he asked the Prophet salAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam was, “O Muhammad! Tell me about the Hour?” The Prophet salAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam replied,
مَا الْمَسْؤُولُ عَنْهَا بِأَعْلَمَ مِنَ السَّائِل
“The one questioned about it knows no more than the questioner.”
Only Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala knows the Unseen and the Seen. No one of His creation can attain any of His knowledge except that which Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala allows him to have. “Except to a Messenger whom He has chosen,” (72: 27) this includes the angelic Messenger and the human Messenger. The Messenger by himself is no knower of the Unseen, but when Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala chooses him to perform the mission of Prophethood, He grants him the knowledge whatever He seems fits. “…and then He makes a band of watching guards to march before him and behind him,” (72: 27), the guards referred here are the guardian angels protecting the Prophet salAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. When Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala sends down the knowledge of the Unseen realities to the Messenger salAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, He appoints angels on every side to safeguard it so that the knowledge reaches the Messenger in a safe condition, free from every kind of adulteration. This is the same thing as we read in earlier ayaat (8-9) where the jinns found the doors of heavens to be closed and strict security measures adopted.
About this ayah Ibn Jareer reported from Sa’eed ibn Jubayr that he said ‘a band of watching guards’ referred in the ayah are four guardians among the angels along with Angel Jibreel [Gabriel] ‘alayhi salaam.
“…till He sees that they have conveyed the Messages of their Lord (Allah),” (72: 28) can have three meanings:
1. that the Messenger may know that the angels have delivered the messages of Allah to him precisely and accurately;
2. that Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala may know that the angels have conveyed the messages of their Lord to His Messenger salAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam precisely and accurately; and
3. that Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala may know that the Messenger salAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam has conveyed the messages of his Lord to His servants precisely and accurately.
The words of the ayah are comprehensive and may possibly imply all the three meanings. Besides, the ayah also points out two other things: first, that the Messenger salAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam is given that knowledge of the Unseen, which is necessary for him to perform his mission of Prophethood; second, that the angels keep watch that the Revelation reaches the Messenger salAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam safely and also that the Messenger conveys the messages of his Lord to His servants accurately.
We can conclude by saying that the meaning of this is that He protects His Messengers through His angels so that they will be able to convey His Messages. He protects what He reveals to them of revelation so that He will know that they have indeed conveyed the Messages of their Lord.
Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala ends the Surah by saying, “And He surrounds all that which is with them, and He keeps count of all things,” (72: 28). Such is the power of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala! That He encompasses the Messenger salAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam as well as the angels that if they swerve even a little from His will, they can be detected immediately. Moreover, a complete record has been kept of each letter of the messages sent down by Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. The Messengers and the angels cannot dare add or subtract even a letter from them.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala allow us to give His Book the haq [right] that it deserves. May we not be of those who learn the meaning of His Book and then ignore the lessons learnt until we forget them completely. May we not become those who read His Book from cover to cover and are not moved by its message. May we submit to the commands of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala as the believing jinns did upon hearing the truth, aameen.
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