Commentary
It is narrated that a man from the tribe of Muharib, and he is Al-Harith ibn Amr ibn Harithah, came to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, and said: O Messenger of Allah, inform me about the Hour, when will its establishment be? I have sown my seeds in the ground, and the sky has delayed its rain, so when will it rain? And inform me about my wife, for she is pregnant; is it a male or a female? And I have learned what I learned yesterday, so what should I do tomorrow? This is my birth, and I have recognized it, so where will I die? [Thus it was mentioned by Al-Wahidi and Al-Thalabi without a chain. Al-Tabari and Ibn Abi Hatim narrated it through Ibn Abi Nujaih from Mujahid, who said, 'A man from the Bedouins came and said, O Muhammad, my wife is pregnant, so inform me when she will give birth? He mentioned it.'] Then the following was revealed: And from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: 'The keys of the unseen are five' [Narrated by Al-Bukhari from the hadith of Ibn Umar] and he recited this verse. And from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him and his father: Whoever claims knowledge of these five has lied. Beware of divination, for it leads to polytheism, and polytheism and its people are in the Fire. And from Al-Mansur, he was concerned about knowing the duration of his life. He saw in a dream as if a figure extended its hand from the sea and pointed to him with five fingers. He sought the opinion of scholars regarding that, and they interpreted it as five years, five months, and other interpretations, until Abu Hanifa, may Allah have mercy on him, said: Its interpretation is that the keys of the unseen are five, which only Allah knows, and that what you sought to know has no way for you to reach it. Knowledge of the Hour, when its establishment will be, and He sends down the rain in its time without advance or delay, and in a land which it does not surpass. And He knows what is in the wombs, whether male or female, complete or incomplete, and likewise what is besides that from conditions. And no soul knows what it will earn tomorrow of good or evil, and perhaps it is determined to do good but does evil, and determined to do evil but does good. And no soul knows where it will die, and perhaps it has settled in a land, set up its tent, and said: I will not leave it and will be buried here, yet it is cast by the arrows of fate until it dies in a place it never thought of, nor did its thoughts ever suggest it. It is narrated that the Angel of Death passed by Solomon and kept looking at one of his companions. The man said, 'Who is this?' He said: The Angel of Death. He said: It seems he wants me. Solomon asked him to carry him on the wind and drop him in the land of India, and he did. Then the Angel of Death said to Solomon: My continuous gaze at him was out of amazement, for I was commanded to take his soul in India while he is with you. [This is a stopped narration. Narrated by Ahmad in Al-Zuhd and Ibn Abi Shaybah, they said: Abdullah ibn Numayr narrated from Al-Amash from Khaythamah from Shahr ibn Hawshab, who said: 'The Angel of Death entered, and he mentioned it.'] Knowledge belongs to Allah and understanding belongs to the servant, for understanding carries the meaning of deceit and trickery. The meaning is that it does not know - even if it employs its tricks - what is attached to it and is specific to it and does not bypass it, and nothing is more specific to a person than his earnings and consequences. So if he has no way to know them, he is further from knowing what is besides them. It was read: 'In which land.' Sibawayh likened the femininity of 'which' to the femininity of 'all' in their saying: 'I have included them all.' About the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him: 'Whoever recites Surah Luqman will have Luqman as a companion on the Day of Resurrection and will be given ten good deeds for each person who acts with what is good and forbids what is wrong.' [Narrated by Al-Thalabi, Ibn Mardawayh, and Al-Wahidi with their chains from Abu ibn Kab.]
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