Among the miracles with which Allaah The Almighty honored the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was his relating many matters of the unseen which occurred either before or after the Bi’thah (commissioning of prophethood), in addition to those relating to the life of Al-Barzakh (beyond the grave), the events of the Day of Resurrection, Paradise and Hell, or to the other worlds such as the Jinn and others.
The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, related the story of Jurayj, the worshipper, as an example of the unseen matters which occurred to people from previous nations. It was narrated on the authority of Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said:
There was a man from Bani Isra`eel called Jurayj. Once, while he was praying, his mother came and called him, but he did not respond to her. He said [to himself], ‘Should I continue the prayer or reply to her call?’ She came to him again, called him and said [in anger], ‘O Allaah! Do not let him die until he sees the faces of prostitutes.’
Jurayj would ive in a hermitage. A woman once said, ‘I wish to seduce Jurayj.’ So she went to him and presented herself [for adultery] to him, but he refused. She then went to a shepherd and allowed him to commit adultery with her, and later gave birth to a boy. She alleged that the father of the baby was Jurayj. People therefore went to Jurayj and broke down his hermitage, pulled him out of it and abused him. He performed wudhu’ and offered a prayer, then he went to the boy and asked him, ‘O boy! Who is your father?’ The baby replied, ‘The shepherd.’ So the people said, ‘We will rebuild your hermitage with gold.’ Jurayj said, ‘No. Only with mud.’[Al-Bukhaari and Muslim]
Also, the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, told his Companions about unseen things which were related to their abodes in Paradise. This was the case with the Rightly-Guided Caliphs and the rest of the Companions who received glad tidings about entering Paradise, as well as many other Companions . We will not provide details here for the sake of brevity.
The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, also gave glad tidings to some of his wives. It was narrated that he said: “Give Khadeejah, the glad tiding of having a house in Paradise built of pearls, wherein there is neither noise nor troubles.“ [Al-Bukhaari and Muslim]
In addition, the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, gave his caller for prayer, Bilaal glad tidings, saying: “I heard your footsteps in front of me in Paradise.” [Al-Bukhaari and Muslim]
Also, the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, informed us that some people would enter Hell. Sahl ibn Sa‘d As-Saa‘idi said:
Muslims under the leadership of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, once engaged in a fight with the disbelievers. When the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, returned to his camp and the disbelievers returned to their camp, somebody talked about a man from the Companions who had followed and killed with his sword any disbeliever he met. He said, “Nobody did his job [i.e. fight] as properly today as that man.” The Messenger, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said:“He is certainly amongst the people of Hell.”A man said, “I shall accompany him [to watch what he does].”
Thus he accompanied him, and wherever he stood, he would stand with him, and wherever he ran, he would run with him. Then the [brave] man was seriously wounded and he decided to hasten his death. He planted the blade of the sword in the ground directing its sharp end towards his chest between his two breasts. Then he leaned on the sword and killed himself.
The other man came to the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and said, “I testify that you are the Messenger of Allaah.” The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, asked:“What happened?”He replied, ‘It is the man about whom you said that he is one of the people of Hell – and then he related his story – the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said:“A man may seem to people that he practices the deeds of the people of Paradise while in fact he is from the people of Hell. Another man may seem to people that he practices the deeds of the people of Hell, while in fact he is from the people of Paradise.”[Al-Bukhaari and Muslim] This is the wording of Al-Bukhaari .
The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, also foretold about the unseen trials and signs of the Hour. Usaamah said: “Once, the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, stood at the top of one of the fortresses of Madeenah and said:’Do you see what I see? [No doubt] I see the spots where afflictions will take place among your houses [and these afflictions will be] as numerous as the spots where rain-drops fall.’” [Al-Bukhaari and Muslim]
In another example, it was narrated on the authority of Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “Shall I not tell you about the anti-Christ something which no Prophet told his nation? The anti-Christ is one-eyed and will bring with him something that will resemble Hell and Paradise. Anything that he will call Paradise will actually be Hell, so I warn you [against him] as Nooh [Noah] warned his nation against him.” [Al-Bukhaari and Muslim]
Yet another example is that ‘Awf ibn Maalik said: “I went to the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, during the Ghazwah [battle] of Tabook while he was sitting in a leather tent. He said:’Count six signs that indicate the approach of the Hour: my death, the conquest of Al-Quds, a plague that will afflict you [and kill you in great numbers] like the plague that afflicts sheep, the increase of wealth to such an extent that one will remain dissatisfied even if he is given one hundred dinars, and then an affliction which no Arab house will escape, and then a truce between you and Banu Al-‘Asfar [i.e. the Romans] who will betray you and attack you under eighty flags. Under each flag will be twelve thousand soldiers.’” [Al-Bukhaari]
Also, it was narrated on the authority of ‘Abdullaah ibn ‘Umar that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “You will fight the Jews until a Jew hides behind a stone which will say, ‘O servant of Allaah, there is a Jew behind me, kill him.” [Al-Bukhaari and Muslim]
Furthermore, the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, told us about some unseen matters which are related to the other worlds, such as the Jinn, the angels and others. It was narrated on the authority of Ibn Mas‘ood that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “Every one of you certainly has a companion from the Jinn.”They (the Companions) said, ‘You too, O Messenger of Allaah?’ He said:“Yes, but Allaah helped me against him until he embraced Islam. So, he does not command me to do anything except what is good.“ [Muslim]
Finally, it was narrated on the authority of ‘Aa’ishah that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “The angels were created from light, the Jinn were created from a smokeless flame of fire, and Aadam was created as described to you [in the Quran].”[Muslim]
These and other matters which are related to the unseen had great benefits and implications, which distinguished the message of Islam from other laws, and granted it divine support and protection. Anyone who learns it well shall submit to it, and anyone who is fair will follow its guidance. It is indeed the final and comprehensive message which came to all of the worlds.
