Once the prophet (saws) reached a level of nearness to Allah in his self it is reported that the Prophet (saws) said: “I was given the keys to (the knowledge of) everything, except the five”. (Ahmad)
“A man from Banu Amir, after asking the Prophet certain questions, said: “Is there any knowledge left which you do not know?” whereupon the Prophet said: “Allah knows better than that, and there is a kind of Unseen knowledge which Allah alone knows: With Him is knowledge of the Hour. He sends down the rain, He knows what is in the wombs, no soul knows what it will earn tomorrow, and no soul knows in what land it will die (31:34).” (Ahmad narrated it and Ibn Kathir mentions it in his Tafsir for Sura Luqman.)
What he wasn’t given knowledge of related to knowing the future or when Allah will decide to decree something to occur, for example before deciding the fate of a people Allah will look at the situation of every person in that society and allow them to act before judgment is given, “On no soul doth Allah Place a burden greater than it can bear. It gets every good that it earns, and it suffers every ill that it earns”(2:286), only Allah knows when that process will finish.
The other matter it relates to are the variables that exist in fate, sometimes Allah will delay or bring things forward in life, these are matters that have variables meaning situations in them can change, which Allah allowed for in the Laws of the Universe. What is left for the prophet and people to know are things that can be known through the laws that govern the universe, because the laws themselves are constant and the pen was allowed to record everything that would occur through them.
If we consider all the different types of knowledge contained in the Qur’an, speaking about the many fields of knowledge such as law, astronomy, mathematics, nature and creation we can understand how Rasul Allah (saws) was given the keys to all the kinds of knowledge relating to creation. The Key to understanding and opening this knowledge for mankind was placed in his heart just as Allah placed the names of all things in the heart of Adam and mankind benefited from that, the keys to all knowledge were a part of the prophet’s (saws) personality, they were then passed on to his companions as He spoke and taught them and they followed his Sunnah in every regard, Sunnah doesn’t simply mean to copy something it means to embody it completely.
This is just as Abu Hurrah (ra) said, the prophet (saws) has passed on and the companions began to dig out those treasures, which is something Allah mentioned in the Quran “They (the Kufar) want to extinguish the light of Allah with their mouths (slander), but Allah will perfect His light (spread that knowledge), although the disbelievers dislike it” (61:8), the light of Allah in this verse is the Quran and the knowledge Allah placed in it, this verse is a reference to what would occur after the prophets death.
The verses in the Qur’an that where revealed to Him, opened the way for knowledge itself to be spread on earth in an unprecedented manner in history that changed this world. Since the Miracle of the Prophet (saws) was the Qur’an and it’s affect on societies and the world through out history, while the miracle of previous Prophets where more immediate in nature, like raising the Dead, Healing the Sick, and parting the Sea, this was something deliberate that Allah (Azza wa Jall) gave to mankind because we would not receive another messenger after the prophet (saws) so Allah’s last revelation and opening to us had to relate to what was left of creation that we did not know.
Ibn Mas`ud narrates: “He has received the keys to everything except the Five (which Allah alone knows).” (Ahmad)
The Prophet (saws) mentioned a type of knowledge which he did not know then gave examples of this kind of Knowledge. Having the Keys to all knowledge does not mean you perceive and know all knowledge at once, a person who holds multiple qualifications does not see all that knowledge at once. He (saws) was given the understanding of all types of Knowledge and the door to open that up to the rest of mankind. This is understood from the term key, to be given the key to something, or the key to open something means the path to gain that treasure, this capacity was placed in His chest and heart, “Which the True Spirit hath brought down,Upon thy heart, that thou mayst be (one) of the warners” (26:193-194), to warn people about what Allah revealed to him.
This means all the kinds of Knowledge mentioned in the Qur’an we know of today, He had to first have the key to understanding it to receive it.
The Messenger of Allah (saws) understood on a deeper level the meaning of every verse in the Qur’an, it is only now that we have a better idea the extent of that knowledge because as science advanced we also know more about the verses in the Qur’an that speak about almost every kind of science.
Adam (as) was given the names of everything, to know the name of something is the beginning of knowing it and the knowledge of it is the end of that process. This is because Adam (as) began mans Journey in the Universe and the prophet Muhammad (saws) would end it, between the point in time of each prophet lived on earth is everything that Allah wished to give to mankind.
We can see that the work man initially did on earth from the time of Adam was to know (mostly) the spiritual world and those things in it, Allah tests to this in the Qruan in surah al Shams (the sun, 91) Allah talks about how the tribe of Thamud understood the spiritual influence of the sun, moon and earths atmosphere had on the soul and shaped it “TO
This is what Allah gave to the prophets after Adam (as) and the Awliya (saintly men) as well, knowledge about creation and the spiritual turns behind it.
“And it is not Allah’s will to give you insight into that which is beyond the reach of human perception: but [to that end] Allah elects whomsoever He wills from among His apostles. Believe, then, in Allah and His apostles; for if you believe and are conscious of Him, a magnificent requital awaits you.”(3:179)
This is because not all men have the same intelligence, moral character and capacity to carry out what they are responsible for, many men are corrupt and unjust, the prophets are those from mankind who could carry out the responsibility they were given.
“He [alone] knows that which is beyond the reach of a created being’s perception, and to none does He disclose aught of the mysteries of His Own unfathomable knowledge, unless it be to an apostle whom He has been pleased to elect: and then He sends forth [the forces of heaven] to watch over him in whatever lies open before him and in what is beyond his ken (ability to perceive) so as to make manifest that it is indeed their Sustainer’s messages that these [apostles] deliver: for it is He who encompasses [with His knowledge] all that they have [to say], just as He takes count, one by one, of everything [that exists]”.(72:26-28)
“Allah Most High has told the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) to thank Him as He has informed the Prophet of what has already happened and what will happen in the future and this is a bestowal of great grace”(Tafsir Tabari, Sura an-Nisa, under verse 113)
The “Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) stood up in one meeting and he started to tell us about events from the beginning of this world to the end and he told us about Heaven and Hell and about the people who were going to Hell and who were going to Heaven and what will be their places in Heaven and Hell. Some people remembered what he told us and some people have forgotten”[Bukhari, chapter on ‘Bada al-Khalq]
When the last prophet (saws) to mankind was given the keys to everything, it meant that the understanding of both the spiritual world and the physical world where opened up for Him like no else before, our role on earth after Him (saws) and the work we were tasked with, was to discover the knowledge behind them in order to know Allah completely.
Allah as the prophet (saws) stated hired mankind to do this work, this is seen in the fact that Allah gave Adam (as) the names to everything but to the prophet Muhammad (saws) and His Ummah he gave the keys to knowing all these things.
The Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) said: “The example of Muslims, Jews and Christians is like the example of a man who employed laborers to work for him from morning till night for specific wages. They worked till midday and then said, ‘We do not need your money which you have fixed for us and let whatever we have done be annulled.’ The man said to them, ‘Don’t quit the work, but complete the rest of it and take your full wages.’ But they refused and went away. The man employed another group after them and said to them, ‘Complete the rest of the day and yours will be the wages I had fixed for the first group.’ So, they worked till the time of `Asr (afternoon) prayer. Then they said, “Let what we have done be annulled and keep the wages you have promised us for yourself.’ The man said to them, ‘Complete the rest of the work, as only a little of the day remains,’ but they refused. Thereafter he employed another group to work for the rest of the day and they worked for the rest of the day till sunset, and they received the wages of the two former groups. So, that was the example of those people (Muslims) and the example of this light (guidance) which they have accepted willingly. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 37, Hadith 11)
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْعَلاَءِ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو أُسَامَةَ، عَنْ بُرَيْدٍ، عَنْ أَبِي بُرْدَةَ، عَنْ أَبِي مُوسَى ـ رضى الله عنه ـ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ “ مَثَلُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ وَالْيَهُودِ وَالنَّصَارَى كَمَثَلِ رَجُلٍ اسْتَأْجَرَ قَوْمًا يَعْمَلُونَ لَهُ عَمَلاً يَوْمًا إِلَى اللَّيْلِ عَلَى أَجْرٍ مَعْلُومٍ، فَعَمِلُوا لَهُ إِلَى نِصْفِ النَّهَارِ فَقَالُوا لاَ حَاجَةَ لَنَا إِلَى أَجْرِكَ الَّذِي شَرَطْتَ لَنَا، وَمَا عَمِلْنَا بَاطِلٌ، فَقَالَ لَهُمْ لاَ تَفْعَلُوا أَكْمِلُوا بَقِيَّةَ عَمَلِكُمْ، وَخُذُوا أَجْرَكُمْ كَامِلاً، فَأَبَوْا وَتَرَكُوا، وَاسْتَأْجَرَ أَجِيرَيْنِ بَعْدَهُمْ فَقَالَ لَهُمَا أَكْمِلاَ بَقِيَّةَ يَوْمِكُمَا هَذَا، وَلَكُمَا الَّذِي شَرَطْتُ لَهُمْ مِنَ الأَجْرِ. فَعَمِلُوا حَتَّى إِذَا كَانَ حِينُ صَلاَةِ الْعَصْرِ قَالاَ لَكَ مَا عَمِلْنَا بَاطِلٌ، وَلَكَ الأَجْرُ الَّذِي جَعَلْتَ لَنَا فِيهِ. فَقَالَ لَهُمَا أَكْمِلاَ بَقِيَّةَ عَمَلِكُمَا، فَإِنَّ مَا بَقِيَ مِنَ النَّهَارِ شَىْءٌ يَسِيرٌ. فَأَبَيَا، وَاسْتَأْجَرَ قَوْمًا أَنْ يَعْمَلُوا لَهُ بَقِيَّةَ يَوْمِهِمْ، فَعَمِلُوا بَقِيَّةَ يَوْمِهِمْ حَتَّى غَابَتِ الشَّمْسُ، وَاسْتَكْمَلُوا أَجْرَ الْفَرِيقَيْنِ كِلَيْهِمَا، فَذَلِكَ مَثَلُهُمْ وَمَثَلُ مَا قَبِلُوا مِنْ هَذَا النُّورِ “.
The work mankind is doing is understanding and knowing Allah and His creation, but this work is not just for ourselves but Allah’s other creations as well like the Jinn who share this earth with us and the Angels who learn from what Allah decrees for us and grants us, Allah said to them that He alone knows the hidden realities of the Heavens and the Earth and as He reveals it for mankind they to learn from it as well, this why they were asked to prostrate to Adam it mean to follow his lead and take from Him as Allah gave Him in this life.
When Adam was taken out of Jannah and we descended from the highest of the High to the lowest of the low our sphere of investigation similarly changed over that time from the highest of the high, the spiritual world of Jannah (Heaven), to the lowest of the low which is the physical material world, both these designations are in relation to the state of matter, since physical objects are the end destination of all the sub atomic particles in the universe which the spiritual world is made from.
Eventually the complete knowledge of both spheres will be known when Isa (as) returns, He (saws) will continue the work of understanding both making everything clear for us and increasing our understanding of Allah and His Universe.
“Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties [in exchange] for that they will have Paradise. They fight in the cause of Allah, so they kill and are killed. [It is] a true promise [binding] upon Him in the Torah and the Gospel and the Qur’an. And who is truer to his covenant than Allah ? So rejoice in your transaction which you have contracted. And it is that which is the great attainment” (9:111).
It was said in front of Imam Ali “On that day tidings will be darkened for them,” whereby `Ali said: “Nothing was darkened for your Prophet except five matters from the secrets of the Unseen.” (cited in the chapter of Sura Luqman in Kanz al-`ummal, as a commentary for the verse 28:66).
The Prophet (saws) said “My Lord came to me in the best form” – the narrator said: “I think he said: `in my sleep'” – “and asked me over what did the Highest Assembly (al-mala’u al-a`la) vie [i.e. “the angels brought near” according to Ibn al-Athir in al-Nihaya and others]; I said I did not know, so He put His hand between my shoulders, and I felt its coolness in my innermost, and knowledge of all things between the East and the West came to me.”(Sahih, Tirmidhi)
Ibn Abbas said regarding this narration “the knowledge of all things in the heaven and the earth”, al-Razi and, before him, al-Bayhaqi, interpreted the placing of the Hand of Allah Most High as His extreme consideration and attention to the Prophet (Allah bless and greet him), or as His immense favor to him, while its specific placing between his shoulders refers to the pouring of divine kindness and mercy into his heart, and the coolness refers to the completion and perfection of his knowledge as shown by his words I knew all things between the East and the West. (Al-Razi, Asas al-Taqdis, as quoted by al-Kawthari in Daf Shubah al-Tashbih (p. 32-33 n.). Cf. al-Bayhaqi, al-Asma wa al-Sifat (p. 300-301).)
Ibn al-Humam said regarding the Form Allah took, “This is but the veil of form (hijb al-sra)”. It may also be, as is usually the case, Allah had sent an Angel to act with his Authority, when the Qur’an is revealed the prophet (saws) says, Allah has said such and such, not Jibril (as) has said, wallahu allam.