Page 90 - Timelessness and the Reality of Fate

88 TIMELESSNESS AND THE REALITY OF FATE

memories, but all human pasts and futures are in His eternal memory. This,
as we said before, is like observing a human life as if it were already wholly
depicted and completed in a film. A person cannot advance the film and
sees his life as the frames pass one by one. He is mistaken in thinking that
the frames he has not yet seen constitute the future.

Past And Future Are News Of The Unseen
In the verses, Allah reveals that the only One Who knows what is
secret, invisible, unseen and unknown is He Himself:
Say: "O Allah, Originator of the heavens and the earth, Knower of the
Unseen and the Visible, You will judge between Your servants regarding
what they differed about." (Surat az-Zumar: 46)
Say: "Death, from which you are fleeing, will certainly catch up with you.
Then you will be returned to the Knower of the Unseen and the Visible
and He will inform you about what you did." (Surat al-Jumu'a: 8)
He said, "Adam, tell them their names." When he had told them their
names, He said, "Did I not tell you that I know the Unseen of the heavens
and the earth, and I know what you make known and what you hide?"
(Surat al-Baqara: 33)

Generally, the word "secret" is thought to refer only to something
unknown about the future; however, both the past and the future are secret.
Those who have lived in the past and those who will live in the future are
kept in Allah's Sight. However, Allah gives some of the knowledge kept in
His Sight to the memories of people and makes it known. For example,
when Allah gave knowledge concerning the past in the Koran, He told the
Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) that this
was news of the unseen:
That is some of the news of the Unseen which We reveal to you. Neither
you nor your people knew it before this time. So be steadfast. The best end
result is for those who do their duty. (Surah Hud: 49)
This is news of the Unseen which We reveal to you. You were not with
them when they decided what to do and devised their scheme. (Surah
Yusuf: 102)
Allah gave the Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant
him peace) information about some things that had not yet happened which
was news of the unseen about the future. For example, the taking of Mecca