Epigraph

مالی دا کم پانی دینا، بَھر بّھر مشکاں پاوے
مالک دا کم پَھل پُھل لانا، لاوے یا نہ لاوے
نیکاں دے سنگ نیکی کرئیے نَسلاں نہیں بُھلاندے
بُریاں دے سنگ نیکی کرئیے اُلٹا ضُعف پُہنچاندے
مُورکھ نُوں کِیہ پند نصیحت، پَتھر نُوں کیہ پالا
دُودھاں اندر کاگ نُوہائیے، اَنت کالے دا کالا
بُرے بندے دِی صُحبت ایویں جویں دکان لوہاراں
چُھنگھ چُھنگھ کے لکھ کپڑے بَہیے چِنگاں پین ہزاراں
جِنہاں درد عشق دا ناہیں، کد پھل پان دیداروں؟
جے رب روگ عشق دا لاوے لوڑ نئیں کوئی داروں

Mian Muhammad Bakhsh

Written and collected by Zia H Shah MD

Abstract:
Qur’an 31:34 is a profound verse highlighting the exclusive and all-encompassing knowledge of God. It enumerates five “keys of the unseen” known only to the Almighty, epitomizing the omniscience of the transcendent God in Islam. This raises an age-old question: If God knows everything – even the future – how can human free will be genuine? In this commentary, we explore Qur’an 31:34 through multiple lenses. First, we examine its theological context and classical interpretations, showing how scripture and hadith affirm God’s total knowledge without negating our responsibility. Next, we discuss philosophical perspectives (from Islamic scholars and also Christian and Jewish thinkers) that reconcile divine foreknowledge with free will, proposing that God’s knowledge exists beyond time and thus does not force human choices. We then incorporate scientific insights – particularly Einstein’s relativity and modern physics – to illustrate how a timeless, all-knowing viewpoint is conceivable without violating causality or freedom. Throughout, evidence from the Qur’an, Hadith, and even the Bible is presented to demonstrate a consistent Abrahamic understanding: God’s omniscience is absolute yet compatible with human free will. We conclude that a transcendent, omniscient God can know the entire tapestry of time and possibility without robbing us of the moral freedom to choose, a harmony that inspires both intellectual reflection and spiritual humility.

Qur’an 31:34 – Meaning and Divine Omniscience in Islamic Tradition

“Indeed, Allah [alone] has knowledge of the Hour. He sends down the rain and knows what is in the wombs. No soul knows what it will earn tomorrow, and no soul knows in what land it will die. Indeed, Allah is All-Knowing and All-Aware.” (Qur’an 31:34) myislam.org. This verse, the last ayah of Surah Luqman, declares five realms of knowledge that belong exclusively to God: (1) the timing of the Hour (Day of Judgment), (2) the sending of rain, (3) what lies in the wombs, (4) what a person will earn tomorrow, and (5) in which land a person will die. These five matters are presented as examples of “‘ilm al-ghayb,” the knowledge of the unseen, to emphasize human limitations and God’s all-encompassing knowledge islamicstudies.info islamicstudies.info. In Islamic theology, they are famously known as the “Mafātīḥ al-Ghayb” (Keys of the Unseen) mentioned also in Qur’an 6:59: “With Him are the keys of the unseen – no one knows them except Him. He knows whatever is on land and in the sea; not a leaf falls but He knows it…” thequran.love. These keys signify that certain knowledge is entirely God’s domain. As one classical commentary notes, although many unseen things exist, these five are highlighted because people are most eager to predict them and “no one in the heavens and earth has the knowledge of the unseen except Allah” islamicstudies.info. In other words, the verse underscores Allah’s omniscience in contrast to human ignorance.

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