Tafsir of Al-Jinn 72:26

(He is) the Knower of the unseen; it is in the nominative case as the predicate of a deleted subject, meaning: He, glory be to Him, is the Knower of the unseen. Abu Hayyan suggested it could be in apposition (badal) to "my Lord," and others suggested it is an explanatory clause (bayan). Both these views are rejected by the fa (the particle "so") in His saying, "So He does not disclose His unseen to anyone." For in that case, the structure would be: "Or does he make for him a limit for the Knower of the unseen, so he does not disclose his unseen to anyone?"—which contains an obvious deficiency.

Attributing "Knower" to "the unseen" is intended to establish constancy therein. Thus, the definition of both parties (the subject and the predicate) implies exclusivity, and the definition of "the unseen" implies total inclusion (istighraq). Al-Radi stated that a generic noun—meaning that which applies to the few and the many using the singular form—when used without a contextual indicator restricting it to some of what it applies to, is outwardly for the inclusion of the whole genus, based on the induction of their speech. Thus, the meaning of "Earth is dry and water is cold" is that everything containing these two essences is in that state. If you were to say in their statement "Sleep invalidates purity," that "sleep while sitting does not invalidate it," you would be contradicting that expression. This supports intending that meaning here, for "the unseen" is like "water"; it applies to the few and the many by one word. It is not harmed by its pluralization into ghuyub (unseens), just as it is not harmed by the pluralization of "water" into miyah (waters).

Likewise, the intended meaning of "His unseen" is all of His unseen. Azmi Zadeh explicitly stated this, reasoning that a generic noun that is possessed (mudaf) is equivalent to one defined with the definite article (al-), especially if it was originally an infinitive (masdar). This is also attributed to the Sharh al-Maqasid. Perhaps it may be said that this is also understood from considering the attribution as referring to the established agreement (‘ahd), and that the agreed-upon subject is the all-encompassing unseen; or from considering the attribution as one of specialization, meaning that the unseen which is exclusive to Him, glory be to Him—in the sense that knowledge of it is exclusive to Him—is every unseen.

Attention to the matter of exclusivity is why the manifest noun was used in place of the pronoun. The sentence is an isti’naf (commencement) to dispel the illusion of deficiency in the one who denies knowledge. The fa is for ordering the lack of disclosure upon His uniqueness in the knowledge of the unseen.

The "disclosure" that is negated is the complete الاطلاع (itli’)—the acquaintance—by which the reality of the situation is revealed in the most perfect manner, as indicated by the preposition of superiority (‘ala). It is as if it were said: "If I say I do not know if that promised time is near or far, then God Almighty is the Knower of every unseen alone; so He does not disclose that—which is exclusive to His knowledge—to any of His creation in a complete disclosure," so that it is more fitting for His uniqueness and further from the illusion that the knowledge of His creation is equal to the knowledge of Him, the Almighty. Rather, He, Majestic and Exalted is He, discloses—when He discloses—to whom He wills, of some of it, that which is required by the wisdom that is the orbit of all His actions, the Almighty and Majestic.

What I have negated regarding my knowledge of what God Almighty has not disclosed to me is because disclosing it is not required by the legislative wisdom upon which the sphere of Prophethood revolves; rather, it is disruptive. If you wish, consider the sentence as occurring in the position of providing a rationale for the previous denial of knowledge. And since the discourse is such that one might imagine from it that he, upon him be peace and prayer, was not disclosed any of the unseen, the Almighty followed the speech with a detached exception (istithna' munqati’)—as narrated in al-Bahr from Ibn Abbas—which has the meaning of a rectification (istidrak) to dispel that in the most eloquent way, by generalizing the matter to the chosen messengers and replacing the manner of disclosure with the disclosure itself, while pointing to some of what they were disclosed, which is appropriate for the station of the call, as He, the Almighty and Powerful, said: