What Is “Al-I‘jaz Al-Ghaybi” (the Miracles of the Unseen) in the Quran?
Answered by Shaykh Anas al-Musa
Question
What is the concept of “al-I‘jaz al-Ghaybi” (the miracles of the unseen) in the Quran?
Answer
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all worlds. Peace and blessings be upon the Messenger sent as a mercy to the worlds, our Master and Prophet, Muhammad, and his Family and Companions.
The concept of the “inimitability of the Quran” (i‘jaz al-Quran) refers to the inability of creation to produce anything like what Allah (Most High) challenged them with to demonstrate that this book is true and that the Messenger to whom it was revealed is an honest prophet.
Among the various forms of the Quran’s inimitability is its “Ghaybi Miracles” or miracles of the unseen, which encompasses all that was unknown to the Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace), events he did not witness, and times in which he was not present, but which the Quran accurately informed about.
These (ghaybi) miracles cover the unseen of the past, the present, and the future.
Future Unseen Events
These are events that the Quran spoke of as occurring in the future, which had not yet taken place at the time the verses were revealed. An example is the Quran’s foretelling of the fate of certain disbelievers, declaring that they would die in a state of disbelief and be eternally in Hellfire.
This is reflected in the verse:
“May the hands of Abu Lahab perish, and he (himself) perish! Neither his wealth nor (worldly) gains will benefit him. He will burn in a flaming Fire, and (so will) his wife, the carrier of (thorny) kindling, around her neck will be a rope of palm-fiber.” [Quran, 111:1-5]
Past Unseen Events
These are events related to previous nations, which Allah (Most High) referred to as part of the unseen.
For example, after mentioning the story of Mary and the guardianship of the Prophet Zakariya (peace be upon him), Allah (Most High) says:
“This is news of the unseen that We reveal to you (O Prophet). You were not with them when they cast lots to decide who would be Mary’s guardian, nor were you there when they argued (about it).” [Quran, 3:44]
This verse points out that this type of knowledge was not known to the Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace); it was unseen to him, but the Quran revealed it.
Present Unseen Events
This refers to events that occurred during the lifetime of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), which he was not present for, and the Quran later clarified the truth of those events.
An example of this is the verse:
“Do not let those who rejoice in their misdeeds and love to take credit for what they have not done think they will escape torment. They will suffer a painful punishment.” [Quran, 3:188]
The reason this verse was revealed was that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) asked the Jews about something, which they concealed and provided false information about. They appeared to have been praised for what they informed the Prophet while hiding the truth. [See: Bukhari; Ramadan Buti, Min Rawa’i‘ al -Quran; Mustafa Muslim, Mabahith fi I‘jaz al-Quran]
I‘jaz and Mu‘jizat
The Quran contains both “i‘jaz” and “mu‘jizat”, and there has been some confusion between these two terms. Various types of miracles found in the Quran have been labeled as forms of i‘jaz, resulting in terms like “scientific inimitability,” “historical inimitability,” and “ghaybi inimitability,” among others.
In reality, these are miracles that go beyond the concept of i‘jaz. Referring to them as i‘jaz is a figurative way of speaking, as i‘jaz differs from mu‘jizat (miracles).
The motivation behind this confusion is likely that those who called these miracles i‘jaz intended to prove that the Quran could not possibly be of human origin. [Sa‘id Hawwa, al-Asas fi al-Sunna wa Fiqhuha (al-‘Ibadat fi al-Islam); Tayyar, al-I‘jaz al-‘Ilmi]
And Allah knows best.
May Allah bless the Prophet Muhammad and give him peace, and his Family and Companions.
[Shaykh] Anas al-Musa
Shaykh Anas al-Musa, born in Hama, Syria, in 1974, is an erudite scholar of notable repute. He graduated from the Engineering Institute in Damascus, where he specialized in General Construction, and Al-Azhar University, Faculty of Usul al-Din, where he specialized in Hadith.
He studied under prominent scholars in Damascus, including Shaykh Abdul Rahman al-Shaghouri and Shaykh Adib al-Kallas, among others. Shaykh Anas has memorized the Quran and is proficient in the ten Mutawatir recitations, having studied under Shaykh Bakri al-Tarabishi and Shaykh Mowfaq ‘Ayun. He also graduated from the Iraqi Hadith School.
He has taught numerous Islamic subjects at Shari‘a institutes in Syria and Turkey. Shaykh Anas has served as an Imam and preacher for over 15 years and is a teacher of the Quran in its various readings and narrations.
Currently, he works as a teacher at SeekersGuidance and is responsible for academic guidance there. He has completed his Master’s degree in Hadith and is now pursuing his Ph.D. in the same field. Shaykh Anas al-Musa is married and resides in Istanbul.
