Is Saying “واللہ ورسولہ اعلم” Permissible?

الجواب بعون الملك الوهـــاب

Absolute denial of the Prophet’s knowledge of the unseen amounts to denying prophethood itself. Among the commonly used Arabic dictionaries, Al-Munjid is very well known. It defines “prophet” as: ” النبيئ و النبي المخبر عن الغیب“, meaning the prophet is one who gives news of the unseen. In Misbah al-Lughat, a Deoband book, it says: ” النبیئی والنبی“, meaning a prophet is one who tells matters of the unseen through divine inspiration from Allah Almighty, and who foretells the future (Misbah al-Lughat, p. 847). One who has no knowledge of the unseen cannot give news of it. The Quran, the Hadith, and the sayings of the righteous elders are all reliable witnesses to the Prophet’s knowledge of the unseen.

Allah, the Lord of Honour, says: “ وَ عَلَّمَكَ مَا لَمْ تَكُنْ تَعْلَمُؕ-وَ كَانَ فَضْلُ اللّٰهِ عَلَیْكَ عَظِیْمًا “ (An-Nisa: 113). Beloved! Allah has taught you everything you did not know, and Allah’s grace upon you is great.

Another verse says: ” وَ مَا هُوَ عَلَى الْغَیْبِ بِضَنِیْنٍ“ (At-Takwir: 24). And that Prophet (صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم) is not stingy in telling matters of the unseen.

In Sunan al-Tirmidhi, it is narrated from Sayyiduna Mu’adh ibn Jabal (رضی اللہ تعالی عنہ) that the Messenger of Allah (صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم) said:

 ”فَإِذَا أَنَا بِرَبِّي تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى فِي أَحْسَنِ صُورَةٍ، فَقَالَ: يَا مُحَمَّدُ، قُلْتُ:” لَبَّيْكَ رَبِّ"، قَالَ: فِيمَ يَخْتَصِمُ الْمَلَأُ الْأَعْلَى؟ قُلْتُ:" لَا أَدْرِي"، قَالَهَا ثَلَاثًا، قَالَ:" فَرَأَيْتُهُ وَضَعَ كَفَّهُ بَيْنَ كَتِفَيَّ حَتَّى وَجَدْتُ بَرْدَ أَنَامِلِهِ بَيْنَ ثَدْيَيَّ، فَتَجَلَّى لِي كُلُّ شَيْءٍ وَعَرَفْتُ“

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, vol. 3, p. 221, Hadith 3235).

Translation: Suddenly I was with my Lord in the most beautiful form. The Lord said, “O Muhammad (صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم)!” I replied, “My Lord, I am present.” Allah, the Lord of Honour, said, “What do the angels of the highest assembly (Mala’ A’la) dispute about?” I said, “I do not know.” The Lord asked this three times. The Prophet said: I saw that the Lord placed His hand of power between my shoulders, until I felt the coolness of its fingertips in the middle of my chest. Then everything became manifest to me, and I recognized all of it.

In Al-Mawahib al-Laduniyyah, it is narrated from Tabarani on the authority of Ibn ‘Umar (رضی اللہ تعالیٰ عنہما):

 ”قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ:”إنّ الله قدْ رَفَعَ لِيَ الدُّنْيا فَأَنا أنْظُرُ إلَيْها وإِلَى مَا هُوَ كائِنٌ فِيهَا إِلَى يَوْم القيَامَةِ كأنَّما أنْظُرُ إِلَى كَفّي هذِهِ“

(Al-Mawahib al-Laduniyyah by al-Qastallani (d. 923 AH), vol. 3, p. 129, Chapter 3 , Al-Maktabah al-Tawfiqiyyah, Cairo, Egypt).

Translation: The narrator said that the Messenger of Allah (صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم) said: Indeed, Allah has raised the world before me, so I am looking at it, and at everything that is going to happen in it until the Day of Resurrection, as though I were looking at this palm of my hand.

Shaykh Mawlana ‘Abd al-Haqq Muhaddith Dehlawi (رحمۃ اللہ تعالیٰ علیہ), in Ash’at al-Lama’at, explains the phrase ”فَعَلِمْتُ مَا فِي السَّمَوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ“ as follows: ” عبارت است از حصول تمامہ علوم جزوی و کلی واحاطہ آں“ . That is, the hadith means: “I came to know whatever is in the earths and the heavens”, which refers to the attainment of all particular and universal knowledge and the encompassing of it.

‘Allamah Busiri (رحمۃ اللہ تعالیٰ علیہ) says in his Qasidah Burdah Sharif:

فَإِنَّ مِنْ جُودِكَ الدُّنْيَا وَضَرَّتَها وَمِنْ عُلُومِكَ عِلْمَ اللَّوحِ وَالقَلَمِ

O Messenger of Allah (صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم)! Indeed, this world and the hereafter are among your bounties, and the knowledge of the Preserved Tablet and the Pen is part of your knowledge.

Regarding the Preserved Tablet (Lawh Mahfuz), the Quran says: ”وَ كُلُّ صَغِیْرٍ وَّ كَبِیْرٍ مُّسْتَطَرٌ“ (Al-Qamar: 53). Every small and great thing is written in it. Since everything small and great is written there, and that is only a part of the Prophet’s (صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم) knowledge, who other than Almighty Allah can estimate the full extent of his knowledge?

In short, from these verses and hadiths and the sayings of the elders of the Ummah, it has become clearly evident that Allah Almighty has granted the Master of both worlds (صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم) "علم ما کان و ما یکون" (knowledge of what has been and what will be). Only a misguided person devoid of true religion could deny this.

Since the Prophet’s knowledge of the unseen, granted by Allah’s bestowal (bi-‘ata’-i Ilahi), is established through the Quran, the Hadith, and the sayings of the elders, there is no harm at all if Muslims say in any matter, “Allah and His Messenger know.” On many occasions the noble Companions replied to the Prophet (صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم) with: ”الله و رسوله اعلم “, meaning “Allah and His Messenger know best.”

The imam in question is a Wahhabi, and he is in no way fit to lead prayers. It is necessary for Muslims to remove him from the position of imam and appoint another correct-creed Sunni who is familiar with the rulings of prayer and purification.