Knowledge of the Unseen belongs exclusively to Allaah
Fatwa No: 262183

Question

Assalamualaikum sheikh ....how authentic is this hadeeth nd does it apply that we can from the people who are absent Maymuna bint Harith, the blessed wife of Prophet (Peace be upon her) narrates: The Prophet (Peace be upon him) was doing Wudhu for Tahajjud Salaah at the home of Hazrat Maimuna (radi Allahu anha). He suddenly called out three times, "Labbaik, Labbaik, Labbaik!" (Here I am) and "Nusirta, Nusirta, Nusirta!" (You have been saved). Hadhrat Maimuna (Radhi Allaho anha) further asked him why he had called out those words". He replied: "Raajiz (a sahabi from far) was calling me because Quraish wanted to kill him"[Imam Tabarani in Mu’jam as-Sagheer, Volume No.2, Hadith # 968]

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and messenger.

This Hadeeth was reported by Al-Haythami in his book Majma‘ Az-Zawaa’id. He said, “The Hadeeth was narrated by At-Tabaraani in Al-Mu‘jam Al-Kabeer and Al-Mu‘jam As-Sagheer. Its chain of narration includes Yahya ibn Sulaymaan ibn Nadhlah who is a weak narrator.”

Dear brother, you inquired, “Does it apply that we can from the people who are absent?” Our reply is: If you mean that people know the Unseen, this is untrue because only Allaah knows the Unseen, as stated in the Sharee'ah texts. Allaah, The Exalted, says (what means): {Say, "None in the heavens and earth knows the unseen except Allaah, and they do not perceive when they will be resurrected."} [Quran 27:65]

Moreover, ‘Aa’ishah said: “Whoever claims that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, foretells the future, has fabricated the gravest lie against Allaah; Allaah, The Exalted, says (what means): {Say, "None in the heavens and earth knows the unseen except Allaah…} [Quran 27:65]” [Muslim]

Whoever believes that anyone other than Allaah, The Almighty, knows the Unseen is considered a disbeliever according to scholarly consensus. However, Allaah, The Exalted, may reveal part of of His exclusive knowledge of the Unseen to some of His slaves as an honor for them.

An example of that is what happened with ‘Umar . ‘Abdullah ibn Wahb reported on the authority of Ibn ‘Ajlaan from Naafi‘ that Ibn ‘Umar said: “‘Umar sent an army and he put at the head of them a man called Saariyah. While ‘Umar was delivering the Khutbah (Friday sermon), he began to cry out, 'O Saariyah, the mountain!' three times.' Then, later, the messenger of the army came and ‘Umar asked him about the news. The man said, 'O Commander of the Believers; we were defeated and in that situation we heard a voice crying out, "O Saariyah, the mountain!" three times. We took shelter in the mountain, and Allaah defeated them.' Someone said to ‘Umar 'You cried out with those words.'” This report has been narrated with a sound and good Isnaad (chain of narration) as Ibn Katheer highlighted in his book Al-Bidaayah wa An-Nihaayah (1317).

For more benefit, please refer to Fataawa 5721 and 122694.

This is an example of the extraordinary abilities that Allaah confers upon His pious and righteous slaves in any given time or place.

It is worth highlighting that you should beware of the sorcerers who practice fortune-telling or soothsaying, and claim that they know the Unseen and that this is a supernatural ability which is granted to them by Allaah, despite the fact that they are not upright in the first place. On the contrary, they may hold corrupt and deviated beliefs, practice religious innovations, and believe in superstitions.

Allaah Knows best.

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