Table of Contents
Only Allah, be ever gloried His Majesty and Might, is Omniscient of time enwrapped in the veils of the Unseen. The future is one veil of the Unseen that many people try to uncover its events yet to come by seeking the help of the soothsayers, the fortunetellers and others. They spend lavishly on that end while ignoring the reality that it is out of the endless Mercy of Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, that He hid the future, keeping it unknown to all but Himself.
But people precipitate the events yet to come and are eager to know what Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, hides in the Fate He ordained. Simply, if they opened their eyes a little bit, they certainly would not run after knowing the future and they would thankfully prostrate themselves to Allah for veiling its events, otherwise life would be upset and would turn to a hell.
If Allah, Blessed and Exalted be He, unveiled to us the future, how a mother would feel if she were to learn that her son would die when he attains twenty? How would she feel while seeing her son each day and knowing what would happen to him? How could she live? What her life would be like when she sees her son night and day but knows that she would lose him on a certain day or in a certain year? Having him blooming before her eyes year after year, growing stronger and more mature, how the life of this mother would be like?
Is not it out of the Mercifulness of Allah towards her that He hid the future so that she may lead a blissful life until the destined Fate of Allah comes to pass. She is offered thus twenty years of happiness instead of twenty years of misery while awaiting the inevitable Fate.
How could a man look ahead to his future while knowing that he would lose his fortune and be reduced to poverty? Or that he would lose his job and become idle? Or that his children would desert him when he grows old and would cast him in an old people’s home? How the life of this man would be like and how would he be able to survive?
Truly, what inspires in us the hope in life and provides us with the power of endurance, perseverance and the ability to withstand hardships and other sufferance that life may involve is the cherished hope that tomorrow will be better than today and what is yet to come will wipe our troubles and open before us the closed gates. That hope keeps filling our hearts while life goes on with good and evil, sweet and bitter.
The hope in a better tomorrow is what pushes us to work, to cultivate the land and accomplish all what the life of this world requires.
But if we were to know the future events and the calamites they bear for us, we would do nothing. Perhaps it might lead us to commit suicide – Allah forbid – in order to avoid the future events we have learned and out of dreading to continue living until they do befall us.
Thus, we see that Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, hid the future out of mercifulness towards us and in order that we hopefully expect the life of this world instead of living it with pain, and to enjoy our lives instead of being miserable in them. That is the Mercy of Allah, which many reject while trying hard, even spending money, to know what will happen in the future!
There is always mercy in the Foredoom of Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, so what if we learned the prejudged and lose sight of the mercy intertwined with it? Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, has a wisdom in each predestination but sometimes we fail to grasp it. Hiding the future is certainly a mercy to all humanity.
How did the Noble Qur’an unveil the future?
We shall now move on to the future matters that the Noble Qur’an has unveiled. Our first example is the war waged between the Romans and the Persians. War broke out between the Romans and the Persians and ended with the victory of the latter. Persia, being a disbelieving nation made the disbelievers rejoice, on the other hand the Romans were people of the book, therefore, the believers were grieved.
War broke out between two great countries during that time and it had nothing to do with Islam or its tenets but Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, willed to prove a basic truth in the universe; that Allah grants victory to the one cherishing belief in his heart against the one whose heart is filled with disbelief. The Persians were disbelievers, who worshipped fire, whereas the Romans were Christians; they were people of the Book. Thereupon, noble Qur’anic verses were sent down upon the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) saying (what means):
“AlifÂLâmÂMîm. [These letters are one of the miracles of the Qur’ân, and none but Allâh (Alone) knows their meanings]. The Romans have been defeated. In the nearer land (Syria, Iraq, Jordan, and Palestine), and they, after their defeat, will be victorious. Within three to nine years. The decision of the matter, before and after (these events) is only with Allâh, (before the defeat of Romans by the Persians, and after, i.e. the defeat of the Persians by the Romans). And on that Day, the believers (i.e. Muslims) will rejoice (at the victory given by Allâh to the Romans against the Persians), with the help of Allâh, He helps whom He wills, and He is the AllÂMighty, the Most Merciful.†(ArÂ-Rûm, 30: 1-5)
These noble Qur’anic verses were revealed to announce that the Romans would achieve victory after some years. At that time, the disbelievers claimed that these were the words of Muhammad and negated that the Romans would ever triumph. But the believers affirmed that these were words sent down from Allah, Blessed and Exalted be He, and revealed to Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)…. the Romans would be victorious.
The conflict flared up and the challenge escalated to the disbelievers betting that the Romans would never be victorious, whereas the believers betted on the victory of the Romans. Among the bettors was our master, Abu Bakr As-Sadîk (may Allah be pleased with him) who betted four camels on the Romans achieving victory after seven years.
The seven years elapsed and neither a fighting took place nor did the Romans achieve victory. The disbelievers rejoiced and they started raising doubts in the Muslims against their Noble Qur’an and their religion.
Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) mentioned the matter to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), who asked him, ‘How much is some years in your estimation?’ Abu Bakr replied,‘Less than ten.’ Whereupon, the Messenger of Allah said (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) to Abu Bakr, ‘Go, bid up with them and add two more years to the appointed time.’
And it truly happened, for two years had hardly passed by before the Romans defeated the Persians and the believers rejoiced. Then the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) forbade Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and all the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them all) from betting and said to them that Islam neither acknowledges it nor sanctions it.
Here we have to question ourselves: who can decide the outcome of a war that would break out after nine years? Moreover, to decide the victor and the conquered party and have verses of the Noble Qur’an, whose recital is an act of worship and will never be altered or changed till the Day of Resurrection, revealed conveying that prophecy? Who can guarantee the future turn of events for nine whole years? Who can guarantee the continuation of enmity all along these years?
Was not there a possibility that the Roman and the Persian leaders would agree upon conciliation and no war would take place? Was not there a possibility that the battle is fought and the Persians achieve victory? They were two big countries and the preparation for war took nine years; was not there a possibility that, during these nine years, the Persians would upgrade their military preparations and enhance their weapons in a way that would enable them to defeat the Romans?
Further, wherefore does the Noble Qur’an, which is a doctrinal Book, discusses that battle which is remote from the doctrine? Because Allah comprehends in His Knowledge all things that happens in the universe, and The Sayer of the Noble Qur’an is The Creator of the universe, Whom nothing whatsoever in His Universe is beyond His Will. Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, says to anything ‘Be!’ – and it is, therefore the Noble Qur’an was sent down with revelations known only by Allah, Blessed and Exalted be He; matters He only reveals and certainly not originates.
The Noble Qur’an has given us the Judgment and Decree of Allah pertaining to a war that would take place after nine years, though nobody can predict the outcome of a war even after its beginning or while being fought. As every party engages in the battle while absolutely sure of achieving victory, otherwise they would not have undertaken it. Then runs the battle and the winner is the same decreed by Allah, The Exalted and Ever-Majestic.
This way, the Noble Qur’an unveiled the outcome of a war to be fought after nine years to learn well that Almighty Allah is The All-Knower of the secrets of the heavens and the earth and the Doer of whatever He wills.
The letter ‘س’ expressing futurity in the Noble Qur’an
The Noble Qur’an proceeds in unveiling the future; every Qur’anic verse beginning with the Arabic letter ‘س’ means that the stated events will happen in the future. When I express myself in the future tense, it follows that I have not yet done the thing, otherwise I would not have used the letter ‘س’ that indicates futurity. It simply means that the event will happen in the time yet to come; it happened neither in the past nor the present time but will come to pass in the future.
The Truth, Blessed and Exalted be He, says in His Perfect Book (the Noble Qur’an) with respect to changing the direction of the Qiblah (direction faced in prayers) [first it was towards Jerusalem then changed towards the Ka‘bah] what means:
“The fools (pagans, hypocrites, and Jews) among the people will say, ‘What has turned them (Muslims) from their Qiblah [prayer direction (towards Jerusalem)] to which they were used to face in prayer.’†(Al-Baqrah, 2: 142)
The Truth, all praise and glory be to Him, says what means, ‘The fools (pagans, hypocrites, and Jews) among the people will say,’ which signifies that at the time of the revelation of the noble Qur’anic verse they said nothing, but Allah informs us that in the future they would certainly say thus. Allah, Blessed and Exalted be He, described the speakers of these words as fools. By unfolding what the nonbelievers would say in the future, Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, had laid down one of the causes of that religion between the hands of the enemies of Islam, through which they might have destroyed this religion if they forbore uttering what Allah has told in advance.
The disbelievers and the people of the Book (the Christians and the Jews) could have refrained from saying anything about changing the Qiblah, then tell the believers that they said nothing, that the Noble Qur’an informed that they would say, but they have not.
But as the Noble Qur’an foretold the Unseen, they actually said these words whereby they served to affirm the cause of belief at the time they most craved to destroy it.
Afterwards, we proceed to the noble Qur’anic verse revealed in Mecca when Muslims were a minority, weak with neither might nor power, in which Allah, be ever gloried His Majesty and Might, says (what means):
“Their multitude will be put to flight, and they will show their backs.†(Al-Qamar, 54: 45)
Upon the revelation of that noble Qur’anic verse, ‘Umar bin Al-Khattâb (may Allah be pleased with him) wondered saying: ‘What multitude is that? When we are an oppressed minority?’
Years passed by and the believers migrated to Medina and the Battle of Badr took place; the first battle in which the disbelievers suffered defeat and Muslims achieved victory though the disbelievers formed great multitudes and the Muslims were a minority.
During that battle the disbelievers approached one thousand, whereas the believers were about three hundred. In spite of this, the disbelievers, the great hosts, were defeated and the Muslims won the battle though a minority. At that moment, ‘Umar bin Al-Khattâb (may Allah be pleased with him) cried and said, “O Lord indeed you uttered the truth: ‘Their multitude will be put to flight, and they will show their backs.’â€
To ascertain the Absolute Power of Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, not only did the Noble Qur’an unveil the events that Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, decreed and man has no choice in them but the Noble Qur’an has also unveiled the deeds wherein man enjoys the freedom of choice granted to him by Almighty Allah; to choose to do or not to do, as he pleases.
Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, willed that man has the power of free choice in having faith, he may believe as well as disbelieve. The tongue may testify that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah and may utter the word of disbelief, Allah forbid, just as its sayer will choose.
In this regard The Truth, Blessed and Exalted be He, says (what means):
“Then whosoever wills, let him believe, and whosoever wills, let him disbelieve.†(Al-Kahf, 18: 29)
But even in the optional issue of having faith the Noble Qur’an unveiled the Unseen. Recite the Qur’anic verses in which The Truth, be ever gloried His Majesty and Might, says (what means):
“Perish the two hands of Abû Lahab (an uncle of the Prophet), and perish he! His wealth and his children (etc.) will not benefit him! He will be burnt in a Fire of blazing flames! And his wife too, who carries wood (thorns of Sadan which she used to put on the way of the Prophet (Peace be upon him), or use to slander him). In her neck is a twisted rope of Masad (palm fibre).†(Al-Masad, 111: 1-5)
This Surah was revealed regarding Abu Lahab, the uncle of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), to inform that Abu Lahab would die a disbeliever and be cast into hellfire. It was revealed, as mentioned hereinbefore, concerning an optional issue, that of belief.
What would have happened if on the revelation of this Surah and after its recital by the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) on the believers, Abu Lahab gathered the tribes and told them, ‘Muhammad said in some Qur’anic verses he claims to be sent down from heaven that I shall die an unbeliever and shall be cast into hell. I declare my Islam before you and testify that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, so that you may learn that Muhammad is inspired nothing. That all this talk is from him, not from Allah.’
If Abu Lahab claimed thus hypocritically, dissemblingly or mendaciously he would have destroyed the cause of Islam right from its roots, especially if the speaker is such an archenemy of Islam. But although, Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, laid between the hands of a bitter enemy of Islam a case through which he might have entirely destroyed that religion, it never crossed the mind of Abu Lahab to act thus.
Thus, the Noble Qur’an unveiled the unseen future even in optional issues. Still, Abu Lahab could have been rightly guided as many disbelievers. For Allah, has guided ‘Umar bin Al-Khattâb (may Allah be pleased with him) to belief, as well as Abu Suffyân, Khalid bin Al-Walîd, ‘Amr bin Al-‘Âs and ‘Ikrimah bin Abu Jahl (may Allah be pleased with them all). All of them were leaders of disbelief, but Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, guided them to faith. Their Islam grew firm and they became from amongst the champions of that religion and they spread it throughout the whole world.
Unveiling future secrets of the human body
Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, has unveiled the secrets of the human body. The Noble Qur’an has described the embryonic development within the womb with amazing accuracy that left modern science speechless. Allah, Blessed and Exalted be He, says in His Noble Book (what means):
“And indeed We created man (Adam) out of an extract of clay (water and earth). Thereafter We made him (the offspring of Adam) as a Nutfah (mixed drops of the male and female sexual discharge) (and lodged it) in a safe lodging (womb of the woman). Then We made the Nutfah into a clot (a piece of thick coagulated blood), then We made the clot into a little lump of flesh, then We made out of that little lump of flesh bones, then We clothed the bones with flesh, and then We brought it forth as another creation. So blessed be Allâh, the Best of creators.†(Al-Mu’minûn, 23: 12-14)
The Noble Qur’an minutely described the process of creation, stating first that man was created from clay. Thus, the Noble Qur’an has specified the substance from which man was created: clay which is to be found everywhere on earth. Scientists took the clay and on analyzing it they found that it consists of eighteen elements, among them are: iron, potassium, sodium, and calcium, beside other elements. They have also found out that the human body consists of the same elements composing clay. After designing the highly developed scientific devices that can film what is within the womb, and through monitoring and taking photographs, they discovered that the embryonic development perfectly and accurately matches the phases stated in the Noble Qur’an.
Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, unveiled the mystery wrapping the phases of creation within the mother’s womb that none has ever known nor was able to discover them at the time of the revelation of the Noble Qur’an, because it needed highly complex magnifying scientific devices, which the world did not know fourteen centuries ago.
Also, among the miracles of the Noble Qur’an is the news Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, conveyed to us about the People of the cave and their long deep sleep within it. The Almighty says (what means):
“We turned them on their right and on their left sides.†(Al-Kahf, 18: 18)
Modern science then came to prove that a patient suffering from a disease that paralyzes him and confines him to bed for a long time must be turned to the right and to the left, otherwise his body will be afflicted with ulcers that will cause him severe physical complications. Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, has also imparted to us some secrets of the human body; that nerves lie directly beneath the skin and if the human skin gets totally burned, man will feel pain no more. The Almighty says in Noble Qur’an about the denizens of the hellfire while being tortured therein (what means):
“As often as their skins are roasted through, We shall change them for other skins that they may taste the punishment.†(An-Nisâ’, 4: 56)
The modern science has carried minute studies on the nervous system and proved that the sensory receptors exist directly beneath the skin, so when the skin is completely burned, man stops feeling pain.
Lengthy talk about the unseen future
In fact, the Noble Qur’an has discussed many issues related to the unseen future, and when the veils of the future time were lifted off them, and they became a present reality, it became evident to us the utmost accuracy of the secrets the Noble Qur’an has disclosed to us about the Unseen. Still, as time passes and Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, reveals to us more from the knowledge He alone possesses about His Universe, we further realize how the Noble Qur’an has already uncovered the future and foretold us what would come to pass beforehand, because Allah alone is the AllÂ-Knower of the secrets of the heavens and the earth.
Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, has drawn all the veils screening the Unseen in the Noble Qur’an for us to mind that Him alone possesses the keys of the Unknown and none other beside Him. Neither a creature nor some book has drawn near the secrets of the universe upon the revelation of the Noble Qur’an or after it.
Modern science has proved that there is no contradiction between the scientific facts and the Noble Qur’an and when we say scientific facts we mean the real truthful, not those built on falsehood, assumptions, guesswork…etc.
I still remember when California State University declared some years ago that it lighted upon the missing link between anthropoid apes and human beings. They excavated a skull of an ape having the face of a human being, but it turned out later that an ingenious imposter has brought the skull of an ape and the face of a human and fused them with utmost efficiency that was only discovered by highly complex devices.
When do the Noble Qur’an and science come into conflict?
The Noble Qur’an and science come into conflict for two reasons: first, because the scientific fact is false or the noble Qur’anic verse is misconceived or misinterpreted. The Almighty says in His Noble Book (what means):
“And the earth We spread out.†(Al-Hijr, 15: 19)
No conflict came on the revelation of this noble Qur’anic verse between what the eyes see and what the Noble Qur’an has stated, for man sees the land spread out before him. Allah, The Exalted and Ever-Majestic, then revealed to His creatures what He willed from the secrets of His Universe and science proved that the earth is globe-shaped. Soon after, space was explored and astronauts captured on film the earth, whereby they discovered that it is spherical.
But some religious scholars protested and accused those who said that the earth is globe-shaped of disbelief, and that is owed to their misunderstanding of the true meaning of the noble Qur’anic verse. Allah, all praise and glory be to Him says (what means), ‘And the earth We spread out,’ (Al-Hijr, 15: 19) meaning the land, whatever land.
On going to whatever place on earth you find the land spread out before you and that can never be except if the earth is spherical. Because if it had the shape of a hexagon, a square, a triangle or any other form you must reach an edge after which you would find no spread out land.
But the only shape through which you can move and still at whatever spot you find the land spread out in front of you is when the earth is globe-shaped. Moreover, if you took a plane from any location on the earth and flew in a straight line you would return to the place wherefrom you took off, and that can never happen except if the earth is spherical.
All the researchers, even in the West that try to cast doubts on the Noble Qur’an and spend fortunes on that end, none of them has been able to prove that there is a contradiction between the laws of the universe and the Noble Qur’an. In the meantime, many carried out researches have proved the contradiction exiting between the books revealed before the Noble Qur’an and universal facts, by reason of the distortion brought about in such books by the very hand of their people, inserting words of their own and claiming them to be Divine!!
What about the five Unseen matters?
Endless controversy has raged lately concerning the five Unseen matters, which Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, has kept for Himself and has concealed them from all His creatures. They are stated in the Noble Qur’an; in the noble verse in which Allah, Blessed and Exalted be He, says (what means):
“Verily, Allâh! With Him (Alone) is the knowledge of the Hour, He sends down the rain, and knows that which is in the wombs. No soul knows what it will earn tomorrow, and no soul knows in what land it will die. Verily, Allâh is AllÂKnower, AllÂAware (of things).†(Luqmân, 31: 34)
They claimed that some of the five Unseen matters have been revealed and have alleged that man can send down the rain. According to them, through the medical, science can now specify after pregnancy the sex of the baby, whether a male or a female. They also predicted the Day of Resurrection; that it would fall in the year 2000 or a little while after it!! They also have claimed that after the revolution witnessed in medicine it can now specify how long remains for man to live. They even have claimed that modern science can prolong life; in countries advanced in sanitary care the average life expectancy scored higher than in developing countries.
Moreover, they have claimed that by using computers they can specify the shopping habits of customers, and consequently specify the average income or earnings of any store by displaying the merchandise in a certain fashion that agrees with these shopping habits.
They spoke lots of other things beside this, all of which is empty talk; full of deception and reflects a lack of understanding the meaning of the noble Qur’anic verse.
In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
Chapter Four
With Him Alone Is The Knowledge Of The Hour
The five Unseen aspects of knowledge are the matters that Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, has kept to Himself; enclosed within the realms of His Knowledge, and known by none.
Nowadays, some ignorant people are trying to delude others by claiming that such hidden secrets are unveiled, or at least some of them are. First of the five Unseen matters they discussed its disclosure is the Time or Day of Judgment.
Some of the fortunetellers in America and India tried to name the time of Doomsday. In America and a few years ago, some fortunetellers predicted and determined the timing of Doomsday and many believed what they claimed. On the specified day many people set off to the mountains deserting their houses, as if the mountains would protect them from Fate although the mounts would be blown up when the Last Hour befalls.
Such a behavior of the disbelievers has not changed since the beginning of creation, because it arises from falsehood, and the ways of falsehood are finite, being of human contrivance.
Those who climbed to the summits of the mountains, acted like Noah’s son when the flood occurred, for he climbed to a mountaintop, and when Noah (peace be upon him) asked him to board the ark along with him – being the only means of deliverance from the floods – he said that he would take shelter from the floods up on the mountain as Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, relates to us through the noble Qur’anic verses saying (what means):
“So it (the ship) sailed with them amidst the waves like mountains, and Nûh (Noah) called out to his son, who had separated himself (apart), ‘O my son! Embark with us and be not with the disbelievers. The son replied: ‘I will betake myself to a mountain, it will save me from the water.’ Nûh (Noah) said: ‘This day there is no saviour from the Decree of Allâh except him on whom He has mercy.’ And a wave came in between them, so he (the son) was among the drowned.†)Hûd, 11:42-43(
Thus, we see the logic of disbelief versus that of belief. The unbeliever assumes that there is someone who can rescue him from the Decree of Allah, whereas the believer knows for sure that there is no escape from it.
Those who believed the claims of the American fortunetellers about the time of Doomsday acted same as the unbelievers during the era of Noah (peace be upon him), when they thought that the mountains would protect them from the Fate of Allah. Then follows the faithful logic spoken in Noah’s words related to us by the noble Qur’anic verse saying (what means):
“This day there is no saviour from the Decree of Allâh except him on whom He has mercy.†)Hûd, 11: 43(
The fortunetellers but lie
In India the fortunetellers have tens of times predicted the time of Doomsday, and none of their predictions was ever fulfilled. But what is going on newly nowadays among some people is the use of the Noble Qur’an in an attempt to figure out the time of Doomsday. Some of them gave dates based on the beginnings of Surahs, and said that it would be on the year 2000! While others predicted that it would be on the year 2113, and many other superstitions mirroring nothing but falsehood.
Regarding this Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, says (what means):
“Verily, Allâh! With Him (Alone) is the knowledge of the Hour, He sends down the rain, and knows that which is in the wombs. No soul knows what it will earn tomorrow, and no soul knows in what land it will die. Verily, Allâh is AllÂKnower, AllÂAware (of things)†(Luqmân, 31:34)
These are the five Unseen matters, which Allah, Blessed and Exalted be He, has kept to Himself alone, which we shall discuss in details throughout this chapter and the next one by the Will of Allah.
The question posed about the time of Doomsday is not new; rather it has been raised since the earliest times. The Prophets (peace be upon them all) were asked about the time of the Last Hour, and to this day people still wonder about its time, although man’s connection with worldly life ends in a matter of few years. In this regard, the Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said in a noble Hadith: “He who dies, his Day of Judgment has befallen.†Because the deceased sees Paradise, Hellfire, the Angels, and the invisible becomes visible to him. But the question never ends. Allah, all praise and glory be to Him says (what means):
“They ask you about the Hour (Day of Resurrection): ‘When will be its appointed time?’ Say: ‘The knowledge thereof is with my Lord (Alone). None can reveal its time but He. Heavy is its burden through the heavens and the earth. It shall not come upon you except all of a sudden.’ They ask you as if you have a good knowledge of it. Say: ‘The knowledge thereof is with Allâh (Alone) but most of mankind know not.’†(Al-A’râf, 7: 187)
Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, says (part of the Qur’anic verse saying what means) ‘They ask you.’ The speech here is addressed to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), but who are the questioners? Are they the nonbelievers? Of course not, since they do not believe in the Last Hour, how could they ask about it? Thus, the questioners must be from amongst those who believe in the Last Hour. They were the Jews, for they knew from their Book that Allah, be ever gloried His Majesty and Might, is the only One Who knows the time of the Last Hour, and none other.
They wanted to test the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) with that question, thinking that he would give them an answer and state to them its time, thus they could seize the answer and use it as the means of impugning Islam. But only those who introduce a worldly way are the ones who try to make people believe that they know everything to draw them to their false way, but he who conveys a heavenly way, does not feel any harm in not knowing things, for he is a witness to the Omniscience of Allah alone.
The Last Hour and the Jews
The Jews asked the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) about the soul, and about Dhul-Qarnain, and his answer came one with what they had in the Taurâh (Torah), except for one point which is the story of the People of the Cave, where Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, says (what means):
“And they stayed in their Cave three hundred (solar) years, and add nine (for lunar years).â€(Al-kahf, 18: 25)
The Jews said that they knew about the three hundred years, but the other nine years were not known to them; actually these extra nine years are due to the fact that Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, chronicles the history of His Universe by the lunar calendar, which is the most accurate calculation. Allah willed for the lunar calendar to be born and become the calendar of the nation of Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). The lunar year is 11â…“ days shorter than a solar year. Thus, the three hundred solar years is equivalent to three hundred and nine lunar years.
The question laid here (in these noble Qur’anic verses) is about the Last Hour and when will it come to pass? The answer to this question is that the knowledge of the Hour is with Allah alone, and ‘None can reveal its time but He. Heavy is its burden through the heavens and the earth,’ (Al-A‘râf, 7: 187) – meaning no one can disclose it save Him. For revelation lies in exposing things, and Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, will not reveal it until its time has come, meaning at the very time of its occurrence.
‘Heavy is its burden,’ signifies that the carried load is greater than the force lifting it; if the mass or weight is less than the lifting force it will not be heavy. For instance, if you carried an item weighing a kilo (or two), it would not be heavy, because the force of your arm is far greater than the weight it lifts up. But if you tried to carry one hundred kilos, the weight would be heavy and you would be unable to carry it.
The burden in the aforesaid example is physical, then how does Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, says (what means), ‘Heavy is its burden through the heaven’ (Al-A‘râf, 7: 187)? How could the burden in the heavens be a physical one? We say that burdens can be physical, mental, and emotional. Exactly like asking a first-year engineering student to solve an exercise put to a student in his final year. He would not be able to solve it, and would say that it laid a burden on him; in other words, his mind was incapable of understanding it. A matter may also weigh down on your heart, as when you sit with someone you hate, you feel overburdened, and you say that the visit weighed heavy on your soul. That is spiritual burdens, which is the hardest kind of burdens.
Heavy is its burden through the heavens
The Truth, all praise and glory be to Him, says (what means), ‘Heavy is its burden through the heavens,’ (Al-A‘râf, 7: 187) and in the heavens are the angels, but they do not know the time of the Last Hour. Some angels are subjected to the service of humans. Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, made them prostrate themselves before Adam (peace be upon him), and made them serve mankind.
Those angels rejoice in the obedient servant, and are distressed by the disobedient servant. They anticipate the befalling of the Last Hour to see the reward of the obedient, and the punishment of the disobedient. The Last Hour thus weighs on them, for they see the sinner surrounded by the Blessings of Allah, and he only grows more disobedient to The Almighty, which fills them with rage, and they desire for him a speedy torture as a retribution for his sinning. On the other hand, they see the afflictions befalling the faithful in worldly life, so they wish to hasten the establishment of the Last Hour so that the faithful receives the reward of his obedience.
Thus, the Last Hour weighs heavily on the earth, owing to its horrifying events, and for being dreaded by each believer in its occurrence. It also weighs heavily in the heavens, because rage overwhelms the angels in anticipation of its occurrence.
The Last Hour will not come but abruptly, without notice; the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, “The Last Hour will not be established till the sun rises from the West. So when its rises and all the people see it (rising from the West) they will all believe (embrace Islam) but that will be the time when: (As Almighty Allah says in His Noble Qur’an what means,) ‘No good will it do to a soul to believe then, if it believed not before, nor earned good (by deeds of righteousness) through its Faith.’ (Al-An‘âm, 6: 158) And the Last Hour will be established while two men spreading their garment between them but neither will they be able to bargain its sale with each other, nor fold it up; and the Last Hour will be established when a man has gone away with the milk of his she-camel but he will not be able to drink it; and the Last Hour will be established while a man is luting his trough (for holding water or feed for his livestock) but he will not be able to water (his animals) in it; and the Last Hour will be established when a person has raised his morsel (of food) to his mouth but he will not be able to eat it.â€
The Last Hour will come suddenly, impossible to be predicted by anyone, even before its occurrence by a few seconds and all people will indeed be stunned by it.
Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, says to His Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace (in the Noble Qur’an what means), ‘They ask you as if you have a good knowledge of it.’ (Al-A‘râf, 7: 187)For people thought that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) insistently and continuously asked his Lord about the time of the Last Hour.
The Blower of the Trumpet and the Last Hour
Allah, be ever gloried His Majesty and Might, has hidden the time of the Last Hour from all His creatures even the close angels. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, “When Allah, Blessed and Exalted be He, finished the creation of the Heavens and the Earth, He created the Trumpet and gave it to Isrâfîl [Israfel, the angel who will sound the Trumpet on the Day of Judgment], ever since he is placing it on his mouth, his eyes fixedly staring at the Throne, waiting for the time he is ordered to blow the Trumpet.†Allah, The Exalted and Ever-Majestic, says in the Noble Qur’an about the Day of Judgment (what means):
“And the Trumpet will be blown, and all who are in the heavens and all who are on the earth will swoon away, except him whom Allâh will. Then it will blown a second time and behold, they will be standing, looking on (waiting)†(Az-Zumar, 39: 68)
We thus learn that even Isrâfîl, the angel assigned to blow the Trumpet announcing the beginning of the Day of Judgment, does not know the time of the Last Hour. Ever since Isrâfîl was assigned this duty, he has been standing, his eyes frozen towards the Throne, waiting for the Divine Order to blow the Trumpet. If that is the state of Isrâfîl, how can a fortuneteller or a charlatan, or a false interpreter of the Noble Qur’an claim that the Last Hour will occur on such day or in such year!! Surely, all are only lies.
Portents of the approach of the Last Hour
The fact that Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, has concealed the time of the Last Hour does not mean that He has concealed the time tolling the bell of its approach. Allah, be ever gloried His Majesty and Might, says in the Noble Qu’ran (what means):
“Verily, the Hour is coming and My Will is to keep it hidden that every person may be rewarded for that which he strives.†(TâÂ-Hâ, 20: 15)
Allah willed to keep the time of the Last Hour hidden but He did not hide everything about it; total concealment is with respect to its time only, but as for the approach of the Last Hour and its portents, whether the major or the minor, they were all disclosed to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) informed us about the approach of the Last Hour, he said, “I have been sent and the Hour (is at hand) as these two (fingers),†pointing with his middle and index fingers, which indicates the imminence of the Last Hour, as all the minor portents of the Last Hour that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) foretold us have been fulfilled.
Almighty Allah says in His Noble Qur’an (what means):
“The Hour has drawn near, and the moon has been cleft asunder.†(Al-Qamar, 54: 1)
This noble verse either speaks about the splitting asunder of the moon during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace); when the disbelievers called him to ask Allah, The Exalted and Ever-Majestic, to split the moon for them so that they could believe him, but when this miracle occurred, and Allah did cleave the moon asunder for them, they believed not. Or it is about the splitting of the moon upon the approach of the Hour, thus serving as a sign of the imminence of the Day of Judgment. Almighty Allah says in the Noble Qur’an (what means):
“Draws near for mankind their reckoning, while they turn away in heedlessness.†(Al-Anbiyâ’, 21: 1)
However, it means that the time of the Last Hour has drawn near, not that it would be tomorrow or after a couple of days, rather it signifies that its due time has approached, because its minor portents have occurred. We should also carefully mind the noble Qur’anic verse saying (what means):
“The angels and the Rûh [Jibrael (Gabriel)] ascend to Him in a Day the measure whereof is fifty thousand years†(Al-Ma‘ârij, 70: 4)
This noble Qur’anic verse instructs us that to Almighty Allah this Day is differently judged from ours, for we may see matters still faraway from happening, but for Allah they are imminent. Recite the noble Qur’anic verse in which The Truth says (what means):
“Verily! They see it (the torment) afar off, But We see it (quite) near. The Day that the sky will be like the boiling filth of oil, (or molten copper or silver or lead, etc.).†(Al-Ma‘ârij, 70: 6-9)
We have tackled so far the first of the five Unseen matters, which is the Hour, and we have clarified that only Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, knows the time of its befalling, and none else has knowledge of it; so if any came and professed to know it, he is definitely a liar.
We shall now move on to the second of the five Unseen matters. The noble Qur’anic verse says (what means):
“He sends down the rain.â€(Luqmân, 31: 34)
This issue has lately raised many controversies, as scientists have officially claimed that they are capable of sending down the rain after having discovered that clouds are positively or negatively charged; upon joining together rain falls. Further, they have discovered the chemical substances that cause the clouds to send down the rain if fertilized with them.
All these claims are nothing but lies uttered against Allah, all praise and glory be to Him. Rain falling from the sky is a highly complicated process that no human can ever bring it about however knowledgeable he may be. Even if the entire humanity gathered to make rain fall over a certain place, or prevent it from falling elsewhere, they could never and would never be able to.
The process of rainfall does not start with clouds, but ends with them. As aforesaid, it is a very huge process and it occurs with neither the interference nor the knowledge of man; it is by means of sunlight that water is vaporized from the sea.
Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, has made the seas constitute four-fifths of the total area of the earth, and made the land constitute one-fifth, so that the process of rainfall may take place. The greater the water area is, the easier and faster becomes the evaporation process, and the smaller the area, the lesser and slower the evaporation. For instance, if we spilled a glass of water over the floor, it would evaporate after a short while, but if we left the water in the glass for several days, the water would decrease by a small amount because the small surface area extremely slows down the evaporation process. Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, says (what means):
“See you not that Allâh drives the clouds gently, then joins them together, then makes them into a heap of layers, and you see the rain comes forth from between them. And He sends down from the sky hail (like) mountains, (or there are in the heaven mountains of hail from where He sends down hail), and strike therewith whom He will, and averts it from whom He wills. The vivid flash of its (clouds) lightning nearly blinds the sight.â€(An-Nûr, 24: 43)
In this noble Qur’anic verse, Allah, be ever gloried His Majesty and Might, reveals to us some of the secrets behind the process of rainfall. The vapor rising from the seas through sunrays ascends to the sky, forming by the Will of Allah, the clouds. High there are also found the cumulus clouds heavy with water, upon colliding against each other lightning flashes, and upon colliding against the mountains rain falls. Therefore, heavy rain falls over the mountain chains all over the world.
Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, says (in Surat An-Nûr what means), ‘Strike therewith whom He will, and averts it from whom He wills.’ (An-Nûr, 24: 43) Thus, Almighty Allah binds the process of rainfall with His Will. To whoever professes that man can send down the rain we say, ‘Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, has created in His Universe many deserts, if you can truly send down the rain, why do not you turn these deserts to rainy areas? Drive the rain to such places where it may come down and turn them into green valleys, verdant and pulsing with life.’
Mankind, with all the knowledge it has been given, cannot do that. Moreover, Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, has filled the land with rivers, and made their water running continuously, with heavy rain falling each year. If they can really send down the rain, why do not they make a small river in the middle of the desert? We do not ask for a big river like those that Almighty Allah has created, and we will not ask for several rivers, just a small one as a proof of their ability, but they will never be able to.
Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, has willed by His Omnipotence that years of drought strike some rainy regions, and that is for us to learn that rain does not fall by the earthly causes known to mankind, but by the Power of the Causer, all praise and glory be to Him.
We say to them that if they can send down the rain, why not prevent the seasons of drought over rainy areas, but they stand powerless. We also witness the catastrophes occurring in the drought-stricken regions, and the harm that is inflicted on plants, animals, and mankind; where plant dies, cattle perish, and people suffer from famine. No human power can put an end to the seasons of drought or cause rainfall.
It happened lately that the United States, the country that possesses the highest technology in the modern world, suffered from a season of drought and no human power was able to bring a water droplet. Moreover, heavy rains pour forth on certain parts of the world and flood them, but none can drive the clouds from these areas to others suffering drought.
We can see how helpless mankind is before the Power of Almighty Allah in sending down the rain. Humanity at large cannot drive a cloud from one place to another to make it rain there or move a single cloud from a place flooded by torrents of rain to another that is rainless.
Humanity at large is helpless
The entire humanity cannot control the wind but Allah sends it wherever He wills, for clouds are not self-driven but are pushed by the winds from one place to another. Winds do not submit to the will of humans, either in its motion, force or course.
Who can dare claim that one of the Unseen matters is revealed and man can send down the rain. These are simply lies stated against Allah, all praise and glory be to Him.
The process of rainfall is a prodigious cosmic process that happens only by the Will of Allah and man has no hand in it. Man is neither capable of controlling the evaporation process from the seas, nor the sunrays that cause evaporation, nor the vapor that raises to the sky then condenses to form the clouds, nor the winds that carry them to certain place, willed by The Almighty to be carried there.
But if there is a chemical process through which clouds are seeded to produce rain, it is an exceedingly minor process, liable to success or failure. If what the scientists claim is true, let them show us how they can control the action of evaporation from the seas or the action of forming the clouds or their movement around the earth. The One Who sends down the rain, is Allah, praise be to Him, a truth to last till the Day of Resurrection.
We have thus proved that only Allah knows the time of the Last Hour; its knowledge is even withheld from the closest angels to The Almighty, including the angel assigned to blow the Trumpet. Further, the process of sending down the rain totally submits to the Will of Allah alone, all praise and glory be to Him, and none can send down the rain but Him.
It remains for us to discuss the Qur’anic statement of Allah, praise and glory to Him, (which means):
“And knows that which is in the wombs. No soul knows what it will earn tomorrow, and no soul knows in what land it will die.†(Luqmân, 31: 34)
To prove that only Allah possesses this knowledge that only happens by His Might and Power, all praise and glory be to Him.
In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful