1. It appears that the time of the coming of rain and the sex of the baby in the mother's womb can be known in advance. Are these then no longer to be counted among the "five mysteries" mentioned in the Qur'an?

2. God alone knows when and how the Hour, the Resurrection will happen. As the Qur'an states this as a fact and principle, it is improper for a Muslim to offer an opinion on the matter without saying "God knows." We affirm the truth of this from the well-known hadith[1] that tells when the archangel Gabriel came and asked the Prophet to explain iman, Islam, and ihsan. Gabriel confirmed the answers he got by saying "sadaqta" (he has spoken truth). Gabriel's last question was: "When will the Resurrection take place?" The Prophet answered, "The one asked does not know more than the one asking." Thereafter, he mentioned certain of the signs and portents of events that would occur close to the time of the Resurrection. Such was the courtesy of the Prophet when asked about one of the "five mysteries." Both the Prophet and Gabriel in fact had some certain knowledge of it, but only God knows when it will happen.

3. As for how the Resurrection may take place, in terms of likely physical causes, we may surmise many, any of which might suffice to bring it about: such as, a comet striking the earth, or the sun, according to the laws of thermodynamics, extinguishing or exploding, or people may unintentionally initiate some sort of chain reactions beyond their control, and so on and so forth. But, again, only God knows the when and how.

4. The Qur'an says it is God Who "knows what is in the wombs"; it uses the word ma here. It does not say it is God Who knows whether it is a boy or a girl in the womb. The "what" relates not merely to the sex of the unborn, but also to the question of whether it will be born at all, and if so, how long it will remain in the womb, whether it will be born alive, what its natural endowments and character will be, its merits or foibles, what sort of a new individual it will be, prosperous believer or wretched evil-doer, what role it will play in life, a blessing or a curse to its parents and society, and the whole entail and outcome of its existence in this world and the Hereafter. To know all these is unique and peculiar to God. So what is truly of the Unseen is here indicated by the inclusive word ma, and it is not just a matter of gender. What the Qur'an refers to is comprehensive, general, and universal. Only knowledge of this level could be rightly called knowledge of the Unseen. Claiming the same for anything that humans can and do know is sheer delusion and folly.

5. The fourth point in the verse is "no one knows what he will earn tomorrow." "Earn" here means not only "earn one's livelihood" in a physical and financial sense, but also to reap the consequences (good or ill) of one's conduct generally. Nobody knows what tomorrow may bring forth. All physical and spiritual enlightenment and solace are within this earning. What a scientist adds to his knowledge and experience is also an earning, and God alone knows when and how much it will be. Sometimes you read several volumes of book, but you do not gain a line's worth of knowledge; on the other hand, sometimes a single line may yield to you whole books' worth of knowledge and flood your sources of inspiration.

6. The five mysteries summed up in the verse are governed by God's Knowledge and Law. We know some things in ordinary life, but this amounts to nothing compared to Divine Knowledge. Our knowledge is made up from superficial acquaintance with certain things, signs and symptoms of which are given from the Unseen to the visible realm. We cannot answer with any precision questions as to when, how or where. This is particularly and acutely clear in the case of rainfall, and human life and death. These remain great mysteries, and full knowledge is with God only. • Verily, God [alone] is All-Knowing, All-Aware.