Bab fi Ilmihi Ta'ala

Allah's Knowledge

Every single one of us sees dreams. It sometimes happens in a dream that we are walking around, seeing, speaking, hearing. Some terrifying states leave such a deep impression that even after the eyes open, the heart continues to pound and the mind remains affected. But looking at this dream and worldly business is completely different. Although the events of a dream passing is absolutely correct, but there, the states are right, but their nature is quite separate. But the things of a dream and worldly things definitely have a resemblance and a similarity. These dreams have an interpretation, which is their reality. But remember! Knowing these realities is only the work of those who give interpretation of dreams. Only an interpreter can be aware of them. Every person cannot be aware of it. Otherwise, neither trade nor carpentry will remain. A monkey wanting to do a carpenter's work will ruin the wood, the tools will be spoiled differently. And he will end up getting his own hands and feet injured. In the same way, the reality of these verses is known only to specific honored scholars. Those who are aware of these subtleties, these secrets, people of secrets, religious scholars with rules, they possess training. Everyone has the right to this knowledge up to a certain extent. Is it necessary that everyone becomes aware of all matters, aware of all sciences? Not everyone can accompany the guide

Yes! The Glorious Qur'an is undoubtedly "Mubeen" (clear) and the scholars are also aware of its meanings. But is it necessary that the way one person is aware, another person should be completely aware in the same way? The Holy Prophet ﷺ and a few special personalities among the companions (RA) are completely aware of the secrets of the Qur'an. The Qur'an is undoubtedly "Mubeen", but its reality is known with certainty only to the Prophet (AS) and the scholars of truth. Yes! Then what is the harm in the Qur'an being "Mubeen" if some people do not know? And what is the harm in this? In any case, this is a difficult station. Here admitting one's lack of knowledge is not a defect. وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَابِ (And Allah knows best the right).

This chapter is about the Knowledge of Allah and its encompassing of all particulars and universals, and the Active Knowledge which is before creation and the Passive Knowledge which is after creation.

Some people only accept the Essence, not the Knowledge (of Allah). They say that His Essence is whatever you say. These people do not accept attributes. In reality, this is because they are unable to distinguish between abstracted (intizai) and annexed (indhimami) attributes. These people, in the meaning of "annexed attributes", bring denial of attributes. (Abstracted) An attribute which only comes to understanding from the Essence, and there is no ordinary presence of it apart from the Essence. Like heat in fire. And annexed (indhimami) attribute is that attribute which, apart from the weak essence, has an existence apart from it. Like the attribute of whiteness for a wall. This attribute is dependent on the wall and from it is the establishment of it. (For more details, refer to the book of Bahrul Uloom Hazrat Qibla "Hikmat-e-

---

Islamia". Academy) (This is an explanation given by Hazrat Qibla - meaning his scholarly term). Other people say, "Allah is not the Knower of particulars, He is the Knower of universals. Because they do not know that when we say 'Juzwi' (particular) it becomes 'Juziyat' (particulars). 'Qadeem' (eternal) is 'Kulli' (universal). And the 'Juziyat' which belong to 'Qadeem' or which we have attributed from His power, they are 'Juz'i' (particular)." They say that "He is Kulli, and whatever is in Him is Kulli." Ascribing a particular to Him makes that thing partial too. (This is the theory of Allama Zamakhshari). Is He truly the One for whom people establish knowledge and who is apart from God? Until when will water not emerge from a pool? Will all creations emerge? In the attributes of God Almighty, all things are manifested. All the perfections and attributes of things are the granting of God Almighty. By means of slaves, some perfections of God Almighty become manifest. In short, the knowledge of Allah Ta'ala encompasses all creations, particulars, and universals. اِنَّ اللّٰهَ عَلِيْمٌۢ بِذَاتِ الصُّدُوْرِ (Indeed Allah is All-Knowing of what is in the breasts). Knowledge of Allah Ta'ala (Knowledge regarding creations) occurs at two times. One is before creating, the other is after creating. It should be known that the knowledge of Allah Ta'ala for everything is "Active Knowledge" (Ilm-e-Fili) and also "Passive Knowledge" (Ilm-e-Infa'ali). 1. Active Knowledge (Ilm-e-Fili): That knowledge which is related to the creation of a thing before it is created, about its essence. 2. Passive Knowledge (Ilm-e-Infa'ali): That knowledge which occurs after a thing has been created. 3. Personal Knowledge (Ilm-e-Zati): Besides this, Allah Ta'ala has His own "Personal Knowledge", the rank of which is before all. (In this way, the knowledge of Allah Ta'ala is of three kinds). قَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى: وَاَنَّ اللّٰهَ قَدْ اَحَاطَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عِلْمًا ۞ (Ayat 12 - At-Talaq) Translation: Allah Ta'ala says: "Indeed Allah Ta'ala encompasses every single thing with His knowledge." Allah has encompassed everything in His knowledge. وَقَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى: وَعِنْدَهٗ مَفَاتِحُ الْغَيْبِ لَا يَعْلَمُهَاۤ اِلَّا هُوَ ۭ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا فِى الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ ۭ وَمَا تَسْقُطُ مِنْ وَّرَقَةٍ اِلَّا يَعْلَمُهَا وَلَا حَبَّةٍ فِيْ ظُلُمٰتِ الْاَرْضِ وَلَا رَطْبٍ وَّلَا يَابِسٍ اِلَّا فِيْ كِتٰبٍ مُّبِيْنٍ ۞ وَهُوَ الَّذِيْ يَتَوَفّٰىكُمْ بِالَّيْلِ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا جَرَحْتُمْ بِالنَّهَارِ ثُمَّ يَبْعَثُكُمْ فِيْهِ لِيُقْضٰٓى اَجَلٌ مُّسَمًّى ۚ ثُمَّ اِلَيْهِ مَرْجِعُكُمْ ثُمَّ يُنَبِّئُكُمْ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُوْنَ ۞ (Ayat 59, 60 - Al-An'am) Vocabulary: مَفَاتِحُ (Mafatihu): keys. Plural of مِفْتَاح (Miftah). اَلْبَرِّ (Al-Barri): dryness, land. اَلْبَحْرِ (Al-Bahri): sea. تَسْقُطُ (Tasqutu): it falls, drops. وَرَقَةٍ (Waraqatin): leaf, piece of paper. حَبَّةٍ (Habbatin): grain, tablet. يَابِسٍ (Yabisin): dry. رَطْبٍ وَّيَابِسٍ (Ratbin wa Yabisin): everything, good and bad, small and large, every single thing. ظُلُمٰتِ (Zulumati): darknesses, plural of ظُلْمَة (Zulmah). يَتَوَفّٰىكُمْ (Yatawaffakum): gives you full death. تُوُفِّيَ (Tuwuffiya): He was given death, he died, or death was put upon him. يَتَوَفّٰى (Yatawaffa): (1) to put to sleep in slumber, (2) to kill. جَرَحْتُمْ (Jarahtum): you wounded, جَرْحًا (Jarhan) وَ (Wa) جِرَاحَةً (Jarahatan): to wound, to earn, to acquire. مَرْجِعُ (Marji'u): returning, place of return. يُنَبِّئُكُمْ (Yunabbi'ukum): He will inform you. * The residence of Bahrul Uloom Hazrat Qibla was in Hyderabad Deccan.

---

will inform you. **بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ**: what you were doing. Translation: - And Allah Almighty says: And with Him are the keys of the Unseen (the treasures of the Unseen), none knows them but He (i.e., He Himself, by His essence, knows; no one else knows). And whatever is in the land and the sea, He has knowledge of it. Not a leaf falls (does not drop) but He has absolute knowledge of it. And there is not a grain in the darkness of the earth but He knows it, and whatever is wet or dry, all is in a clear book. (All this is in the Ilm-e-Ilahi). And He it is Who takes your souls at night a sort of taking (He takes you fully, making you sleep) and He is aware of whatever you do by day (earning, working for livelihood). He has full knowledge of it. Then He wakes you up in it (awakens, makes you rise) so that an appointed term may be fulfilled, and your days of life may be completed. Then to Him is your return (you will go to His court), then He will inform you of all those deeds which you used to do.

وَقَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالَى: ۞ اَلَا يَعْلَمُ مَنْ خَلَقَ ؕ وَهُوَ اللَّطِيْفُ الْخَبِيْرُ ۞ (آیت ۱۴ - الملک) *And Allah Almighty says: Would He not know, the One Who created? And He is the Subtle, the Acquainted.* Lughat: **اَللَّطِيْفُ**: One who has a subtle vision, One who sees the smallest things. **اَللَّطِيْفُ الْخَبِيْرُ**: More aware. Translation: - And it is the divine decree: "Would He not know, the One Who created? And He is the Subtle, the Acquainted."

وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: ۞ قُلْ اِنْ تُخْفُوْا مَا فِیْ صُدُوْرِكُمْ اَوْ تُبْدُوْهُ يَعْلَمْهُ اللّٰهُ ؕ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا فِى السَّمٰوٰتِ وَمَا فِى الْاَرْضِ ؕ وَاللّٰهُ عَلٰى كُلِّ شَیْءٍ قَدِيْرٌ ۞ (آیت ۲۹ - آل عمران) *And Allah Almighty says: "O Prophet! Tell them, whether you hide what is in your hearts or you manifest it, in any case Allah Almighty knows it. Not only this, but whatever is in the heavens and the earth, He knows all, and Allah Almighty is All-Powerful over everything."* Lughat: **تُخْفُوْا**: You hide. **خَفِیَ یَخْفٰی**: To hide. From this is "Makhfi" and "Khufiyyah". **صُدُوْرٌ**: Plural of Sadr, chest. **مَا فِیْ صُدُوْرِكُمْ**: Whatever is in your chests. **تُبْدُوْا**: You manifest. Translation: - Allah Almighty says: "O Prophet! Tell them, whether you hide what is in your hearts or you manifest it, in any case Allah Almighty knows it. Not only this, but whatever is in the heavens and the earth, He knows all, and Allah Almighty is All-Powerful over everything."

وَقَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالَى: ۞ اِنَّهٗ يَعْلَمُ الْجَهْرَ وَمَا يَخْفٰى ۞ (آیت ۷ - الاعلیٰ) *And Allah Almighty says: "Verily, He knows the apparent and what is hidden."* Lughat: **اَلْجَهْرَ**: To call out, apparent. **يَخْفٰى**: Hides, keeps hidden, says softly.

۳۵

---

Translation: - And Allah Almighty's decree is also: "Certainly He knows well, whether it is apparent or hidden, He knows every open, covered, apparent, and hidden matter. He has knowledge of all these things." وَقَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالَى: اَمْ حَسِبْتُمْ اَنْ تَدْخُلُوا الْجَنَّةَ وَلَمَّا يَعْلَمِ اللّٰهُ الَّذِيْنَ جَاهَدُوْا مِنْكُمْ وَيَعْلَمَ الصّٰبِرِيْنَ ۞ (آیت ۱۴۲ - آل عمران) *And Allah Almighty says: Or did you think that you would enter Paradise, while Allah has not yet known those who strive among you and known those who are steadfast?* Lughat: **اَمْ**: Or, what? **حَسِبْتُمْ**: You thought. Translation: - And Allah Almighty says: "Have you thought this, that you will go to Paradise, while Allah Almighty has not yet known (i.e. made it known to His Prophet) who among you is a Mujahid, and who is patient? (Allah Almighty has not seen those among you who strove, nor has He seen those who remained steadfast. Here, Allah seeing means the Messenger of Allah seeing. As it is stated in Surah Al-Fath: يَدُ اللّٰهِ فَوْقَ اَيْدِيْهِمْ (Allah's hand is over their hands) although there it was the hand of the Noble Messenger). وَقَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالَى: وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُمْ حَتّٰى نَعْلَمَ الْمُجَاهِدِيْنَ مِنْكُمْ وَالصَّابِرِيْنَ ۙ وَنَبْلُوَاْ اَخْبَارَكُمْ ۞ (آیت ۳۱ - محمد) *And Allah Almighty says: And We will surely test you until We make evident those who strive among you and the patient, and We will test your affairs.* Lughat: **وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُمْ**: And certainly We will test you, examine you. **اَخْبَارٌ**: Plural of khabar. State. Translation: - And Allah Almighty says: "And We will surely test you, put you through trials, so that We may know those of you who strive and who are steadfast, and so that We may test your states." Gentlemen! Regarding the knowledge of Allah Almighty from these verses, a few points are worthy of attention. It should be known that Ilm-e-Ilahi is of three types: 1. Ilm-e-Zati. 2. Ilm-e-Fi'li. 3. Ilm-e-Ilqai. (1) When Allah Almighty Himself saw everything, it encompassed all. Allah encompasses everything by essence and by knowledge. وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ مُّحِيْطٌ (And He encompasses everything), each atom is within His essence and within His knowledge. The details of the essence of Allah Almighty (that His Ilm-e-Zati encompasses all details), something of this conciseness will be explained by the following example. Suppose a person's name is Abdullah. Apart from the name Abdullah, the point worthy of attention is what things are included in it and what are not? For example: "Abdullah", from head to foot, is the name of a collection of all organs. "Abdullah", along with his entire form, comes to mind. That is, there is a head, a trunk, a head has two eyes, there are two eyebrows on them. There are two ears, a nose, a mouth, then teeth, tongue in the mouth. In the trunk there are hands, there is a neck, stomach is there, back is there. Then in the legs there are thighs, knees, ankles, toes, etc. In short, not a single hair of his is excluded from it. This apparent "Abdullah" is a single entity. But if you ponder,

۳۶---

then dozens of things will emerge from this very thing. To the extent that you will get tired of counting, but nothing will be excluded from "Abdullah". In this manner, since this knowledge (i.e. the knowledge of details in a concise manner) is the origin of the divine essence, therefore this knowledge is called Ilm-e-Zati.

(2) Allah Almighty, knowing all things, creating them while having their knowledge. It could not be that He wanted to make something else and a donkey was made! Therefore, the level of this knowledge is prior to the level of power. And compared to "Ilm-e-Zati", there is detail in it. But still, no thing has come into existence, it has not become apparent. It will appear when Allah Almighty commands things with "Kun" (Be). Therefore, the knowledge of this level is called "Ilm-e-Fi'li" because its effect is known after it.

(3) Just now we have explained that before creation, all things were in the Ilm-e-Ilahi. The knowns of Allah are commanded with "Kun" and the manifestation of the names of Allah happens, then all things become present in the apparent and the external. So the name of the knowledge of this level is "Ilm-e-Infi'ali". This level is after "Kun".

Some people are of the opinion that "Ilm-e-Zati" and "Ilm-e-Fi'li" are both Qadeem (eternal), but "Ilm-e-Infi'ali" is jadeed (new) and hadith (originated). Accordingly, Shaykh Mohiuddin Ibn Arabi says that knowledge is Qadeem in the Qadeem and hadith in the hadith. Just as existence, it is Qadeem in the Qadeem and hadith in the hadith. His thought is that except for God, there is nothing. If it is Qadeem, it is Him, if it is hadith, it is Him, if it is good, it is Him, if it is bad, it is Him. The opinion of other people is that Allah Almighty is outside the circle of possibility. How can huduth (origination) grasp Him? Thus, Maulana Nizamuddin's student Bahrul Uloom gives the example that if you place a picture on a wheel and make it spin, one picture appears after another. This "before" and "after" is with respect to the pictures. The one spinning it is outside of this wheel and is free from the words before and after. This jadeed or hadith that you are calling is with respect to God, no new or hadith. They say that "Ilm-e-Infi'ali" is not the knowledge of Allah. It happened from the relation of slaves (i.e. creation) to one another. This is the knowledge of the slaves.

The fact is that Allah created a thing. Upon creating, two relationships occurred, towards Allah and towards His created thing. If you look at this knowledge relating it to Allah Almighty, then its origin is Qadeem. When you look relating it to someone's creation, its origin is hadith, lo it is produced. This is hadith, hadith is an assumed thing, where is reality? These are all thoughts of Allah Almighty. If you relate one thought to another thought, it seems like this. Good and bad, before and after. The essence of God and His knowledge is Qadeem. No huduth reaches the court of His majesty. From pre-eternity to post-eternity, whatever things are to be created are all in front of Him. Therefore, the huduth of creations does not have any effect on the divine essence and knowledge.

Some people think that in the verses above, in **وَلَمَّا يَعْلَمِ اللّٰهُ الَّذِيْنَ جَاهَدُوْا مِنْكُمْ**, Allah Almighty calls the knowledge of His Prophet His own knowledge. Meaning **وَلَمَّا يَعْلَمِ اللّٰهُ** actually means **وَلَمَّا يَعْلَمِ الرَّسُوْلُ وَ خَلِيْفَتِيْ** (And when the Messenger and My caliph has not yet known). Just like the meaning of **يَدُ اللّٰهِ فَوْقَ اَيْدِيْهِمْ** is actually **يَدُ النَّبِيِّ فَوْقَ اَيْدِيْهِمْ**. Some say that in this verse **وَلَمَّا يَعْلَمِ اللّٰهُ** means actually **وَلَمَّا يَعْلَمِ النَّاسُ**. Allah Almighty attributes the works of the people to Himself because He has no connection with particulars. In any case, the knowledge of Allah Almighty as Allah Almighty is Qadeem. Huduth has no entry there, nor does non-existence. وَالْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ اَوَّلًا وَّ اٰخِرًا وَّ ظَاهِرًا وَّ بَاطِنًا۔

۳۷ ---