God's Foreknowledge
Question:
In surah Tawbah 16 Allah(C.C) says: "do you think that you will be left alone while Allah has not yet known those of you who have struggled hard and have not taken any one as an adherent besides Allah"
How should we understand this verse when it says "Allah has not yet known" Could you please explain your understanding on this verse.
Answer:
Please consider the following points:
1. One of the names of God is 'Alim' (علیم). This name is mentioned 32 times in the Qur'an. In Arabic, from the linguistic point of view, it is called Sigha al-Mubaligha (صيغه المبالغه) which indicates a strong and extensive feature. Alim therefore means the All-Knowing.
It is therefore firmly established from the Qur'an that God is All-Knowing. This therefore should be the basis for understanding any verses of the Qur'an that refers to God's knowledge.
2. There is a philosophical point:
This point may not be specifically related to your question however it is good to appreciate it as it may help with understanding of other issues related to God's knowledge:
God being All-Knowing means that every thing that has happened, is happening or is going to happen is known by Him. In other words if He 'does not know' something it means that thing has not happened, is not happening and will not happen.
In other words, effectively there is no practically meaningful difference between God's knowledge and God's allowance for something to happen. When God allows something to happen God knows about it, and when God knows about something happening, that thing happens. In other words His Will (اراده) and Hid Knowledge (علم) are practically the same.
3. The word Alama (to know) in many languages, including Arabic, has a meaning other than "knowing something that one did not know before".One of the common usages of the word in a different meaning is "to allow something to emerge and stand up from other things".
For instance in English, a mother prepares the meal, then calls her naughty kids and says: "I want to know who starts his dinner first".
Every one who knows English appreciates that the concern of the mother is not to really get the knowledge about "who starts the dinner first". What she is really after is to encourage her kids to finish playing and start their dinner promptly and perhaps to praise the one who starts first. In fact the mother, being a mother, most probably knows who among her kids will start the dinner first.
Likewise in Arabic, we have this famous saying: ما علم اللّه منى ما قيل فىّ
If you want to translate it literally then it will mean: "God does not know in me that thing that you said about me"
However the real meaning, as any Arab would appreciate, is: ما وجد ذلك منى
"God does not find what you are saying about me in me", meaning, what you are saying about me is not true.
Conclusion:
I think you have now appreciated what I am trying to say. Based on the above, the correct meaning of the verse will be:
"do you think that you will be left alone while God has not separated those who have struggled hard and have not taken any one as an adherent besides God and His Messenger and the believers And God is aware of what you do" (9:16)
There are a few other verses of the Qur'an with the same usage of the root word of "Alama" for God which have the same or similar meaning.
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March 2013
In surah Tawbah 16 Allah(C.C) says: "do you think that you will be left alone while Allah has not yet known those of you who have struggled hard and have not taken any one as an adherent besides Allah"
How should we understand this verse when it says "Allah has not yet known" Could you please explain your understanding on this verse.
Answer:
Please consider the following points:
1. One of the names of God is 'Alim' (علیم). This name is mentioned 32 times in the Qur'an. In Arabic, from the linguistic point of view, it is called Sigha al-Mubaligha (صيغه المبالغه) which indicates a strong and extensive feature. Alim therefore means the All-Knowing.
It is therefore firmly established from the Qur'an that God is All-Knowing. This therefore should be the basis for understanding any verses of the Qur'an that refers to God's knowledge.
2. There is a philosophical point:
This point may not be specifically related to your question however it is good to appreciate it as it may help with understanding of other issues related to God's knowledge:
God being All-Knowing means that every thing that has happened, is happening or is going to happen is known by Him. In other words if He 'does not know' something it means that thing has not happened, is not happening and will not happen.
In other words, effectively there is no practically meaningful difference between God's knowledge and God's allowance for something to happen. When God allows something to happen God knows about it, and when God knows about something happening, that thing happens. In other words His Will (اراده) and Hid Knowledge (علم) are practically the same.
3. The word Alama (to know) in many languages, including Arabic, has a meaning other than "knowing something that one did not know before".One of the common usages of the word in a different meaning is "to allow something to emerge and stand up from other things".
For instance in English, a mother prepares the meal, then calls her naughty kids and says: "I want to know who starts his dinner first".
Every one who knows English appreciates that the concern of the mother is not to really get the knowledge about "who starts the dinner first". What she is really after is to encourage her kids to finish playing and start their dinner promptly and perhaps to praise the one who starts first. In fact the mother, being a mother, most probably knows who among her kids will start the dinner first.
Likewise in Arabic, we have this famous saying: ما علم اللّه منى ما قيل فىّ
If you want to translate it literally then it will mean: "God does not know in me that thing that you said about me"
However the real meaning, as any Arab would appreciate, is: ما وجد ذلك منى
"God does not find what you are saying about me in me", meaning, what you are saying about me is not true.
Conclusion:
I think you have now appreciated what I am trying to say. Based on the above, the correct meaning of the verse will be:
"do you think that you will be left alone while God has not separated those who have struggled hard and have not taken any one as an adherent besides God and His Messenger and the believers And God is aware of what you do" (9:16)
There are a few other verses of the Qur'an with the same usage of the root word of "Alama" for God which have the same or similar meaning.
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March 2013
