َ عَالِمُ الْغَيْبِ فَلَا يُظْهِرُ عَلَى غَيْبِهِ أَحَدًا ﴿۲۶﴾ إِلَّا مَنِ ارْتَضَى مِنْ رَسُولٍ فَإِنَّهُ يَسْلُكُ مِنْ بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِ رَصَدًا ﴿۲۷﴾ لِيَعْلَمَ أَنْ قَدْ أَبْلَغُوا رِسَالَاتِ رَبِّهِمْ وَأَحَاطَ بِمَا لَدَيْهِمْ وَأَحْصَى كُلَّ شَيْءٍ عَدَدًا ﴿۲۸﴾

﴾26﴿ Aalimul ghaibi falaa yuzhiru alaa ghaibiheee 'ahada
﴾27﴿ Illaa manir tadaa mir rasoolin fa innahoo yasluku min baini yadaihi wa min khalfihee rasada
﴾28﴿ Liya'lama an qad ablaghoo risaalaati rabbihim wa ahaata bi maa ladaihim wa ahsaa kulla shai'in 'adada

﴾26﴿ He is aware of all hidden words, but He does not reveal His unseen knowledge to anyone
﴾27﴿ But the one whom He chooses for His messengership, He surely sends guardians before and behind him
﴾28﴿ So that He may know that they have indeed conveyed the messages of their Lord, and He has encompassed all that is with them and has counted everything with perfect precision

[26] (‘Ālimu al-ghayb fa-lā yuẓhiru ‘alā) – This affirms that knowledge of the unseen (‘ilm al-ghayb) belongs solely to Allah, and He does not disclose it to anyone.
(Aḥadan) – This is an indefinite noun in the context of negation, which makes it general. It includes prophets, saints, soothsayers, astrologers—everyone.
(Ghaybihī) – The possessive construction emphasizes exclusivity. Allah’s unseen is true unseen (ghayb ḥaqīqī)—meaning there is no means through which it can be known.
For created beings, knowledge requires one of three sources: the senses, the intellect, or revelation.
But Allah’s knowledge of the unseen is without means—it is purely His, unshared and unrestricted.
[27] This verse is similar to the one in Sūrah Āl-‘Imrān (3:179), and the exception here is munqaṭi‘ (disconnected).
This is because the knowledge given to the messengers is through waḥy (revelation), and such knowledge is not classified as true ghayb (absolute unseen).
Therefore, the knowledge of the prophets (peace be upon them) is not called ‘ilm al-ghayb in the absolute sense. Likewise, the knowledge of saints (awliyā’) gained through kashf (unveiling) or ilhām (inspiration) is also obtained through intermediaries, and thus not considered true unseen either—because knowledge, in its real sense, implies certainty, while kashf and ilhām do not produce certainty (yaqīn). Hence, such knowledge is not called ghayb.
Similarly, the news given by soothsayers and astrologers comes through satanic means or calculations based on star movements. This also is not considered knowledge, because true knowledge implies certainty, and these things are speculative (ẓannī) and based on indirect causes.
So, anyone who refers to the knowledge of prophets, saints, soothsayers, or astrologers as ‘ilm al-ghayb is ignorant of the terminology of the Sharī‘ah. And if someone believes that their knowledge is similar to the knowledge of Allah—making only a distinction between inherent (dhātī) and granted (‘aṭā’ī)—then this is clear shirk.
(Fa-innahu yasluku min bayni) – This answers an implicit question: If the Prophet does not possess knowledge of the unseen, then what is his perfection? And how is his revelation protected?
The answer: His perfection lies in the fact that Allah Himself protects every prophet and his revelation.
[28] This verse mentions the perfection of divine protection over revelation.
(Li-ya‘lama an qad ablaghū) – There are several interpretations of this phrase: 1. First interpretation: The pronoun in li-ya‘lama refers to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), and the pronoun in ablaghū refers to the other messengers. The implied meaning is: “We informed the Prophet (peace be upon him) of the protection of revelation so that he may be assured that the previous messengers had also fully conveyed their messages.”
2. Second interpretation: The pronoun li-ya‘lama refers to the Prophet (peace be upon him), and ablaghū refers to the angels. Meaning: “He is informed that the angels have fully delivered the revelation as commanded.”
3. Third interpretation: Li-ya‘lama refers to Allah, and the meaning of ‘ilm here is manifestation or distinction (not acquisition of knowledge, since Allah already knows everything). Ablaghū then refers to all the messengers. So, the verse means: “So that it becomes manifest that the messengers have indeed conveyed the message.”
(Wa aḥṣā kulla shay’in ‘adadā) – This expression is more general and expansive than the earlier clause. Kulla shay’in (everything) includes even the tiniest particles on land and sea, every drop of rain—everything.
This is a clear statement that Allah’s knowledge encompasses all that was and will be, for eternity.
This attribute of perfect and eternal knowledge belongs to Allah alone and is possessed by no prophet, saint, or soothsayer.