Did Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) Know the Future?
Question
I read the following article few days ago in which based upon the references in Qur'an the author contends that Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) did not know the future and any idea that the Prophet (pbuh ) did know the future is against Islam. What is your opinion? One of the criteria that God gave us to judge the truth about His words is the fact that, God's words do not contradict themselves. [4:82] If it were from other than GOD, they would have found in it numerous contradictions. While Qur'an has no contradictions, the sincere student of Islam (Submission in English), will find so many contradictions in the Hadiths books that will make him/her realize beyond any doubt that these books cannot be authored by the prophet Muhammed or approved by God Almighty. One of the issues that always comes up when we discuss this great religion with some of the traditional Muslims, e.g. Sunni, Shia, Ahmadiyya, Ismaili, etc., is the issue of future telling that fills the hadiths books. These books have so many hadiths in which the prophet Muhammed told of future events. It is interesting to know also that the same books contradict themselves and carry other hadiths that inform the reader that the prophet cannot tell the future. It does not surprise us that these books that were never authorized by God or the Prophet contradict themselves and contradict the Qur'an. The Qur'an emphatically confirmed that the Prophet Muhammed did not know the future. Even when God told us that he may gave some of the future knowledge to some of His messengers, God insisted on proving to us that Muhammed did not. The Qur'an did that in a systemic approach. God told us that Muhammed is ONLY a human being like us. [18:110] Say (O Muhammed), "I am no more than a human like you, being inspired that your god is one god. We humans, and all those like us DO NOT KNOW THE FUTURE. Then God informs us that al the messengers do not know what happened to the people who came after their death (future). [5:109] The day will come when GOD will summon the messengers and ask them, "How was the response to you?" They will say, "We have no knowledge. You are the Knower of all secrets." To emphasize that fact and give it to us straight forward, God tells us in 46:9 [46:9] Say (O Muhammed), "I am not different from other messengers. I have no idea what will happen to me or to you. I only follow what is revealed to me. I am no more than a profound warner." To confirm it even more God repeat this information in 7:188; [7:188 ] Say (O Muhammed), "I have no power to benefit myself, or harm myself. Only what God wills happen to me. If I KNEW THE FUTURE, I would have increased my wealth, and no harm would have afflicted me. I am no more than a warner, and a bearer of good news for those who believe." [6:50] Say (O Muhammed), "I do not say to you that I possess the treasures of GOD. Nor do I know the future. Nor do I say to you that I am an angel. I simply follow what is revealed to me." Say, "Is the blind the same as the seer? Do you not reflect?" Despite these straight forward verses, many traditional Muslims refuse to believe the Qur'an and insist that the prophet Muhammed told of future events. One of their famous fabrications is a hadith in which there is a prediction of those who will uphold the Qur'an ALONE with warning to do like them. Another famous fabrication is the hadith telling about future sects and their number. Please review our hadith section on our web site to see for yourself. We need no more proof than the Qur'an and when faced with those who claim to be Muslims but refuse to believe God in His own book, we remember 18:57: [18:57] Who are more evil than those who are reminded of their Lord's proofs, then disregard them, without realizing what they are doing. Consequently, we place shields on their hearts to prevent them from understanding it (the Quran), and deafness in their ears. Thus, no matter what you do to guide them, they can never ever be guided. Danyal USA
Answer
I fully agree with you that the Qur'an has clearly refuted the idea a prophet of God knows any part of "Al-Ghaib" [1] , on his own. Nevertheless, this does not by itself refute the fact that God may, Himself, inform any of His prophets about something which is hidden from ordinary men. Keeping the foregoing point in perspective, the belief that the Prophet (pbuh) has knowledge of even any part of "Al-Ghaib" on his own is clearly against the teachings of the Qur'an. Nevertheless, on the other hand, the belief that the Omniscient God may have informed the Prophet (pbuh) about any part of "Al-Ghaib" is not against the teachings of the Qur'an. Thus, the mere existence of narratives in which the Prophet (pbuh) is reported to have told people about something related to the future (or any other form of Al-Ghaib ) does not sufficiently prove these narratives to be incorrect, as these narratives do not necessarily imply that the Prophet (pbuh) was aware of the future on him own. Muslims have generally interpreted these reports as narrations of what the Prophet was informed by the All-Knowing God. However, the above does not imply that I consider all narrations ascribed to the Prophet (pbuh) as accurate. There can, undoubtedly, be errors in the transmission and reporting of these narratives over time. Obviously, even if the Prophet (pbuh) was, in fact, informed by the Almighty about anything related to the future, it would still not guarantee that the reporting of the Prophet's actual saying remained clear of all human errors in understanding as well as in reporting. A faulty understanding of a narrator and even an incorrect shift in the emphasis entailed in the saying may distort the whole saying of the Prophet (pbuh). To summarize, I do not consider the narratives in which the Prophet (pbuh) is reported to have mentioned something about the future to be against the teachings of the Qur'an and, therefore, incorrect merely on the grounds that these reports entail information about the future. Nevertheless, on the other hand, these reports may not accurately relate the actual saying of the Prophet (pbuh), even if they were included in the most acclaimed books of narratives like Bukhariy and Muslim etc. All those narratives, which we consider to be mutually contradictory or contradictory with anything stated in the Qur'an would not be accepted as accurately representing the actual saying of the Prophet (pbuh) till such time as an acceptable explanation is presented for any apparent contradiction in these narratives. I hope this helps. Regards, Moiz Amjad June 9, 2002 [1] Lit: 'The hidden'. The Qur'an has used this word to imply, among other things, the knowledge of the future and the knowledge of things, which is known to be hidden from man. Answer published by Moiz Amjad
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