Page 149 - Matter: The Other Name for Illusion

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 God's sight. However, God gives some of the knowledge kept in His sight to
the memories of people and makes it known. For example, when God gave
knowledge concerning the past in the Koran, He told the Prophet Muhammad
(may God 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)

God gave the Prophet Muhammad (may God 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 (Surat
al-Fath: 27) and the victory of the Greeks over the pagans (Surat ar-Rum: 3-4)
were revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (may God bless him and grant him
peace) before they happened. The Prophet's (may God bless him and grant him
peace) sayings about the signs of the day of resurrection and the end times

(which were news of the unseen to people of that time) show that God taught
these things to him.
The Koran explains that news of the unseen is given to prophets and some
devout believers. For example, it was revealed to Joseph that the trap set for
him by his brothers will come to nothing (Surah Yusuf: 15), and to the mother
of Moses it was revealed that her son would escape the cruelty of Pharaoh and
become a prophet. (Surat al-Qasas: 7)
Finally, all that we call past and future is news of the unseen hidden in the

Time is a Perception Too 147