Ibn Khafif and al-'Aqidah al-Sahiha

[WaliRazi]

Who was Ibn Khafif? Is his ''al-'Aqidah al-Sahiha'' reliable? This work, according to Shaykh G. F. Haddad, states:

[The Prophet, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, ] is knower of what is and what shall be and he gave news of the Unseen (wa [ya`taqidu] annahu al-`âlimu bimâ kâna wa mâ yakûnu wa akhbara `an `ilmi al-ghayb).

[Abu_Tamim]

That statement is in Ibn Khafif's aqida. It does not mean that the Prophet's knowledge was equal to Allah or as detailed in the particulars as Allah's. Rather it is restricted to what Allah wished the Prophet to know. Similarly giving news of the Unseen is the reason that Prophets were sent to the people.
By the way, Haddad himself is unreliable.

[amr123]

On the topic, Difference between knowledge of Unseen and News of Unseen: http://www.sunniforum.com/forum/show...-of-the-Unseen.

Allahu Alam.

[SunniSeeker]

Isn't the above similar to what ml. rida khan states ie. The Prophet salAllahu alayh wassallam had knowledge of 'ma kaana wa ma yakun' that is, knowledge of all that was and shall be..which certain people have a problem about, but which I've never understood the reason for.

[WaliRazi]

Silly me, somehow I managed to miss this from Shaykh Haddad's article:

Our teacher the Faqîh Shaykh Adib Kallas said: “Note that Ibn Khafif did not say ‘He knows all that is and all that shall be.’”