The Prophet Muhammad A simple Guide to his Life
The Prophet in the Qur’an
~ 38 ~
not at all like the extraordinary person that he is
described as in today’s high-flown terms. The first
picture of the Prophet is the real one. The rest is the
addition of history. The credit of believing in the
prophet can be given, in the real sense of the word,
only to a person who eliminates the additions of
history and recognizes him as he actually was.
THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE UNSEEN
We learn from the Qur’an that God alone has
knowledge of the Unseen. As the Qur’an states:
‘‘He alone has knowledge of what is hidden: His
secrets He reveals to none.” (72:26)
The Qur’an has repeatedly made it clear that the
Prophet of Islam was not given full knowledge of
the world unseen. On certain occasions God
revealed something of the unseen world in advance
to the Prophet through the angel Gabriel, for
instance, the result of the Hudaybiya treaty in the
form of a ‘clear victory’ (chapter 48). But he was not
given the power to acquire knowledge of the
unseen on his own. This is demonstrated by the
following verses from the Qur’an:
