11.1 The Unseen World
In Islamic theology, reality includes both the visible world and the unseen world.
Knowledge of the unseen is believed to come through divine revelation, particularly the Qur’an and the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad.
Belief in the unseen is considered one of the defining characteristics of Islamic faith. The Qur’an describes the faithful as those “who believe in the unseen” and trust that not all truths can be directly physically observed.
The Qur’an frequently refers to the unseen realm as al-ghayb, meaning “that which is hidden from human perception.”
Islamic scholars traditionally describe two categories of the unseen:
- Absolute Unseen: Knowledge known only to God. This includes things such as the exact timing of the Day of Judgment or the full reality of God’s essence.
- Relative Unseen: Realities that are hidden from some but known to others. For example, what is happening in a room you are not currently in is “unseen” to you but “seen” to those inside.
Islamic tradition also highlights three primary types of intelligent created beings, two of which are unseen to humans. The three primary types of beings are:
- Angels (Mala’ikah): Beings created from light. They are pure, do not have free will, and exist to carry out God’s commands.
- Jinn: Beings created from a smokeless flame of fire. Unlike angels, jinn have free will and can choose to be believers or disbelievers. They inhabit a parallel unseen world and can see humans, though humans cannot normally see them.
- Humans: The “seen” creation made from clay, endowed with intellect and the moral agency to choose their spiritual path.
According to a famous hadith (saying of the Prophet Muhammad), there are five hidden matters of the “unseen” that are known only to God (Qur’an 31:34):
- The Hour: When the Day of Judgment will begin.
- Rainfall: Exactly when and where it will rain.
- The Womb: The full reality of what is developing inside a womb.
- Tomorrow: What any soul will earn or what will happen the next day.
- Death: The place and time a person will die.
In section 11.2, we will look at what Muslims believe about angels.