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EntityQ1977474· pop 17· linked from 51 articles

Also known as Ghaib, Ghayb

Al-Ghayb () is an Arabic expression used to convey that something is concealed (unseen). In Islam, it is a technical term referring to the secrets only known by God. It is an important concept in Islam, encompassing what cannot be perceived or known by humans. This includes God, the attributes of God, the Last Day and its events, and the heart (qalb). Beyond the theological implications, it can also mean something "unseen" relative to an observer, in the sense that someone acts behind the perceiver's back.

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The Quranic Arabic Corpus - Quran Dictionary

corpus.quran.com

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Encyclopedic overview

5 sections
Contents
  • Meaning
  • In Islam
  • Types
  • Examples in Islamic texts
  • References

Al-Ghayb () is an Arabic expression used to convey that something is concealed (unseen). In Islam, it is a technical term referring to the secrets only known by God. It is an important concept in Islam, encompassing what cannot be perceived or known by humans. This includes God, the attributes of God, the Last Day and its events, and the heart (qalb). Beyond the theological implications, it can also mean something "unseen" relative to an observer, in the sense that someone acts behind the perceiver's back.

In general, creatures classified as supernatural in Western scholarship, such as Jinn, are not considered to be part of al-Ghayb. Since „supernatural beings“, though unseen relative to humans, belong to the category of created beings and not to God‘s secrets. Jinn do not know the God’s secrets and rely on prophets for revelation. Angels likewise have only limited knowledge and know „only what God taught“ them.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Al-Ghaib” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.