Lesson Content
The words
Ma bayna aydihim, literally "between their hands", means what is in front of them. Before them and behind them, main views:
- The Akhirah and the dunya.
- Before they were created and after.
Either way, the meaning is the same: His knowledge encompasses the past and the future of every creature.
Four kinds of things He knows
And even if they were sent back, they would return to what they were forbidden.al-An'am 6:28
This ayah is an example of the fourth kind: Allah tells us what the people of the Fire would do if they were returned, something that will never happen.
The atheist and the worms
An atheist claimed he could create. He sealed meat with dung inside in a jar for three days, then showed the worms: this is my creation. He was asked three questions and could answer none (al-Taymi, al-Hujjah 1/130):
He did not know his own "creation", so he was not its creator. He would have to study them to know, and the worms came from eggs already there. The Shaykh told this to a student from a formerly communist Muslim republic, who had been taught exactly this argument at school.
The one who creates knows what He created. The true and ultimate Creator is Allah.
Not an atom's weight escapes Him in the heavens or on the earth, nor anything smaller than that or greater, except that it is in a clear Record.Saba' 34:3
Our knowledge and His knowledge
| Our knowledge | His knowledge |
|---|---|
| Comes after the thing exists | Precedes its existence |
| Gained by observing, testing, asking (a clinic must test an embryo to know if it is a boy or a girl) | Known without investigation |
| Costs time, money and equipment, and stays incomplete | Complete, with no effort |
| Pursuing and applying it exhausts us: we tire, need sleep and forget | No drowsiness, no sleep, no fatigue |
Knowledge is grasping a thing decisively as it really is. Not grasping it at all is ignorance; grasping it with hesitation is doubt; grasping it firmly but wrongly is compound ignorance.
| Arabic | Term | Answer to "When was the battle of Badr?" |
|---|---|---|
| عِلْم | Knowledge | "The second year of the hijrah" |
| جَهْل | Ignorance | "I do not know" |
| شَكّ | Doubt | "The second or the third year" |
| جَهْلٌ مُرَكَّب | Compound ignorance | "The fifth year", said with confidence |
Allah's knowledge is knowledge in the complete sense, overall and in detail. When Fir'awn asked Musa about the former generations, Musa answered:
Its knowledge is with my Lord in a Record. My Lord neither errs nor forgets.Taha 20:51-52
He is not unaware of the future, and He does not forget the past.
Key points
- Ma bayna aydihim: what is in front of them; before and behind cover the past and future.
- He knows what happened, what is happening, what will happen, and what would have happened (6:28).
- The atheist did not know his "creation"; the Creator knows what He created (67:14).
- Our knowledge comes after, costs effort and stays incomplete; His precedes, is complete and effortless.
- Knowledge, ignorance, doubt and compound ignorance (Ibn 'Uthaymeen).
Quiz
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