Tafsir of Al-Hashr 59:22

(The Unseen) is that which no created being’s knowledge or sense has ever grasped; it is the absolute Unseen.

(And the Witnessed) is that which a created being perceives. Al-Raghib said: "Witnessing (al-shuhud) and testimony (al-shahadah) denote presence accompanied by observation, whether by physical sight or by insight. Presence alone may be considered, but al-shuhud is more properly applied to pure presence, while al-shahadah is more properly applied to presence with observation."

The interpretation of "the Unseen" as the "Absolute" is what is immediately understood. The alif and lam [in al-ghayb] are for generalization (istighraq), as there is no evidence for a specific reference (‘ahd), and the context of praise requires it, alongside the Almighty’s saying: "The Knower of the Unseen." Thus, it encompasses every Unseen, whether it be necessary, possible, existent, non-existent, or impossible, which no created being’s knowledge has grasped.

"The Unseen" is also applied to that which a specific created being’s knowledge has not reached, which is the relative Unseen—that is, the Unseen in relation to that specific created being. This is, as has been said, what the jurists mean by their statement: "Whoever claims knowledge of the Unseen is an infidel." This [relative Unseen] may even be from the realm of the Witnessed, as is not hidden.

The mention of "the Witnessed," despite the fact that if every Unseen is known to Him, then every Witnessed is known to Him a fortiori, is in the vein of the Almighty’s saying: "It leaves not a small thing nor a great one, but has recorded it." It is also said: "The Unseen is that upon which the senses do not fall, whether it be non-existent or existing but imperceptible; the Witnessed is that which falls under sensory perception."

Imam Abu Ja’far—may Allah be pleased with him—said: "The Unseen is that which has not yet been, and the Witnessed is that which has been." Al-Hasan said: "The Unseen is the secret, and the Witnessed is the public." It is said: "The former is the world and all that is in it, and the latter is the Hereafter and all that is in it." Another view is: "The former is the abstract substances (al-jawahir al-mujarradah) and their states, and the latter is the physical bodies and their accidents." In this, however, is the firm refutation of the existence of abstract substances, as the majority of the Salaf denied them.

The Unseen is mentioned first because knowledge of it is like the proof for knowledge of the Witnessed. It is also said it is mentioned first due to its precedence over the Witnessed, for every Witnessed was once Unseen, and nothing has emerged except from the treasuries of the Unseen. The proponent of this last view says that the Unseen is mentioned first because of its precedence in existence and the attachment of eternal knowledge to it.

The verse is used as evidence that He, the Exalted, is All-Knowing of all knowables. Its orientation is what we have indicated. It also contains, as it has been said, another proof for this, because it indicates that there is no deity worthy of worship except Him, and it necessitates that He, the Exalted, is the Creator of all things by choice, as is the reality in the nature of things. Creation by choice is impossible without knowledge; hence it is said that deriving this point from this verse is more appropriate than deriving it from the Almighty’s saying: "And Allah is All-Knowing of everything."

(He is the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful)

(With a mercy befitting His Essence, the Exalted. Interpretation—even though it is mentioned by illustrious scholars among the Maturidis and Ash’aris—is not needed by the Salafi, as has been verified in al-Tamyiz and elsewhere.)