The Rain Is One Of The Keys To The Unseen
Selections from the Book The Story of The Beginning of Creation and The Creation of Adam, peace be upon him …
Written by Dr. Ali Muhammad al-Sallabi...
Episode (29)
On the authority of Salim bin Abdullah, on the authority of his father, that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “The keys of Unseen are five which none knows but Allah: {Indeed, Allah [alone] has knowledge of the Hour and sends down the rain and knows what is in the wombs. And no soul perceives what it will earn tomorrow, and no soul perceives in what land it will die. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Aware.} [Luqman: 34].
{Indeed, Allah [alone] has knowledge of the Hour}; Allah Almighty has made the Hour a matter of the unseen, known only to Him, so that people remain constantly vigilant, ever anticipating and striving to prepare for it. They do not know when it will come; it could come suddenly at any moment, and there is no opportunity to delay in making provisions and accumulating deeds.
{and sends down the rain}; Allah sends down the rain according to His wisdom in the measure He desires. People may predict its arrival through experience and measurements, but they cannot create the causes that generate it. The text confirms that it is Allah who sends down the rain, for He is the Creator of the cosmic causes that produce and regulate it. Thus, Allah’s role in sending the rain is a matter of His power, as clearly indicated in the text, with Allah’s knowledge encompassing and surrounding everything. Allah’s knowledge is the only complete, perfect, and constant knowledge, unaffected by any increase or decrease.
{and knows what is in the wombs.}; This is an exclusive knowledge, similar to the exclusive knowledge of the Hour. Allah Almighty alone has absolute knowledge of what is in the wombs at every moment and stage, including whether there is a pregnancy, even when it is still in its initial, imperceptible form, and whether the fetus will be male or female. No one else can know these details at the moment of conception when the cell and egg merge, nor the features, characteristics, and conditions of the embryo. All of this is known solely to Allah Almighty.
{And no soul perceives what it will earn tomorrow,}; This refers to the uncertainty of what one will gain or lose, whether good or bad, beneficial or harmful, ease or hardship, health or illness, obedience or sin. "Earning" here encompasses more than just financial gain; it includes all that one may experience in the future. The future is concealed and hidden, and the human soul stands before the curtain of the unseen, unable to see what lies beyond it.
{and no soul perceives in what land it will die.} [Luqman: 34]; This is a matter beyond the thick, closed veils through which neither hearing nor sight can penetrate. The human soul stands before these veils, helpless and humbled, recognizing the limits of its knowledge and its evident inability. The illusion of claimed knowledge and understanding falls away, and it becomes clear before the curtain of the unseen that people have been given only a little knowledge. There is much beyond the veil that remains unknown to them. Even if they knew everything else, they would still stand before these veils, uncertain of what will happen tomorrow or even the next moment. At that point, the human soul is humbled and submits to Allah.
The Quranic context presents these profound influences on the human heart across a vast expanse, encompassing a broad range of time and space. It includes the present reality, the foreseeable future, the distant unseen, the thoughts of the soul, and the leaps of imagination: from the far-off Hour and the distant source of rain, to what is hidden in the wombs, the gains of tomorrow, which are close in time but hidden in the unknown, and the place of death and burial.
{Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Aware.}: No one other than Him is Knowing and Aware.
- Ali Muhammad al-Sallabi, The Story of The Beginning of Creation and The Creation of Adam, peace be upon him, pp. 194-196.
- Sahih Al-Bukhari, Book of Interpretation, Chapter: {And with Him are the keys of the unseen, none knows them except Him}, No.: (4627). Ibn Hajar, Fath Al-Bari, previous reference, 8/514.
- In the Shade of the Qur’an, Qutb, 5/2799.
For further information and review of the sources for the article, see:
The Book of The Story of The Beginning of Creation and The Creation of Adam, peace be upon him on the official website of Sheikh Dr. Ali Muhammad al-Sallabi:
