In my previous articles, prophets that appear in the Qur’an were listed. It should have drawn your attention. Almost all of Allah’s prophets that are elected to notify the divine mercy are males. For some reason, women are not assigned as prophets. This situation is stated in the verse from Quran as:

"And before thee We sent none but men, to whom We granted inspiration:"  [Nahl, 43]

But throughout history, some female figures appear such as Rabia al-Adawiyya who was spiritually and morally superior. She was a saintly dame who was raised in Basra.

# Door to Grace is always open

One day, Rabia al-Adawiyya tells to a praying person who asks Allah to open the doors to grace and mercy: “Oh ignorant, why do you ask Allah to open the doors to mercy? They are already wide open. But, not every heart is open to enter there. Pray for your heart to be open for it”.

Dear readers; truthfully, the door to grace and mercy of Allah (s.w.t) are always open. Yet, only those who are predestined are granted to this.

Many people are interested in reading the tabloid news and gossip topics of magazines every day, but they never care to read even two verses from the Qur’an in which the word of Allah is preached. Many people are not curious about the word of Allah who created us; who provides us with the air we breathe; who gives us our daily bread and grants us our welfare and well-being with tens of thousands of physiological events that occur to our body. Many people usually skip TV channels in which a religious conversation is going on, and instead prefer to watch entertainment shows in another channel that lasts for hours and hours.

# What guides us towards divine mercy

Dear readers; “faith” is what guides us towards our Rab and towards His divine mercy. If you are reading these lines right now, be assured that you are faithful. Those who do not have faith in them turn their face and leave the place right away once Allah (s.w.t) is being mentioned as if an ordinary commodity was in question. It is ordered in the verse of Qur’an that:

"Believers are those who, when Allah is mentioned, feel a tremor in their hearts,"  [Anfal, 2]

Nobody, including our Prophets, can help those who lack faith as can be recalled in the cases of Noah (a.s.) to his son, David (a.s.) to his wife, Rasulullah (s.a.w.) to some of his uncles. Therefore, Allah (s.w.t) ordered to our Prophet who exerted every effort for the salvation of the people around him:

"If thou art anxious for their guidance, yet Allah guideth not such as He leaves to stray, and there is none to help them."  [Nahl, 37]

"It is true thou wilt not be able to guide every one whom thou lovest; but Allah guides those whom He will and He knows best those who receive guidance."  [Qasas, 56]

# Salvation is from Allah

Dear readers; salvation comes from Allah. Nobody can help those who are not granted salvation by Allah. The duty of our prophets are not to grant salvation to people, but to tell them about Allah (s.w.t) and spread them His word by letting know of the divine grace; in short, to notify Islam. It is ordered in the verses from the Qur’an that:

"O Messenger! proclaim the (message) which hath been sent to thee from thy Lord. If thou didst not, thou wouldst not have fulfilled and proclaimed His mission."  [Maida, 67]

"But if they turn away, thy duty is only to preach the Clear Message."  [Nahl, 82]

"Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger, and beware (of evil): if ye do turn back, know ye that it is Our Messenger's duty to proclaim (the message) in the clearest manner."  [Maida, 92]

"The Messenger's duty is but to proclaim (the message)."  [Maida, 99]

"Thy duty is to make (the Message) reach them: it is Our part to call them to account." [Rad, 40]

# Prophets do not know of  Al-Ghaib (The Unknown)

Dear readers,

The term “Prophet” refers to “Paigambar” in English. This term also has the meaning of “diviner”. As I have noted earlier, prophets of Allah born with extraordinary qualities; but they are not diviners as Englishman regard. They are the Man of Haq (Truth). Whatever Allah (s.w.t) reveals to them from the Truth, they know it and they explain it to people. It is ordered in the verses from the Qur’an that:

"Say: I tell you not that with me are the Treasures of Allah, nor do I know what is hidden, nor do I tell you I am an angel. I but follow what is revealed to me."  [An'am, 50]

"They say: Why is not a sign sent down to him from his Lord? Say: The Unseen is only for Allah (to know), then wait ye: I too will wait with you."  [Yunus, 20]

"Say: None in the heavens or on earth, except Allah, knows what is hidden:"  [Naml, 65]

Dear readers; Al-Ghaib refers to the knowledge about the spiritual organization of Allah or about the past and present that mankind cannot reach to as well as to visible and invisible realms that Allah (s.w.t) has created. This knowledge can neither be learned through observation and experimentation nor can be calculated through quantitative data. Knowledge about the invisible and visible realms is only limited to what Allah (s.w.t) grants us.

# Man can only know to the extent Allah permits us to learn

It is ordered in the verse from the Qur’an that:

"He knoweth what (appeareth to His creatures as) before or after or behind them. Nor shall they compass aught of His knowledge except as He willeth."  [Bakara, 255].

Just like other man, our prophets do not know more than Allah (s.w.t) allows us to apprehend. It is ordered in the verses from the Qur’an that:

"Say: I have no power over any a course in miracles or harm to myself except as Allah willeth. If I had knowledge of the unseen, I should have multiplied all good, and no evil should have touched me: "  [Araf, 188]

"Nor will He disclose to you the secrets of the Unseen. But He chooses of His Messengers (for the purpose) whom He pleases. "  [Al-i Imran, 179]

"He (alone) knows the Unseen, nor does He make any one acquainted with His Secrets. Except an messenger whom He has chosen:"  [Jinn, 26-27]

It is ordered in the Hadith that:

"None has the knowledge of the unseen but Allah” [Tabarani].

# None has the knowledge of the unseen but Allah

Again in another hadith narrated by Khalid al-Madani Abu Husain (r.a) it is transmitted that the daughter of Muauwidh, ar-Rubai has claimed:

“Rasulullah (s.a.w.) was with me on the mid-morning of my wedding day. In the meantime, some girls were beating the tambourine and recalling the memories of their fathers who were martyred in the Battle of Badr. One of them said: “There is a Prophet among us who knows what will happen tomorrow”. After that Rasulullah (s.a.w.) ordered: “Do not say so. Because nobody knows what will happen tomorrow except Allah”. [Bukhari, Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah]

Dear readers; it is understood that nobody can know "the Unseen" except Allah who has the ultimate and infinite knowledge about everything, including the prophets. But Allah (s.w.t) has enlightened His elected messengers through revelations. The divine revelation is only a small drop that is granted for us from the unknown, from the Creator’s sea of infinite knowledge. Human knowledge is limited, but Almighty Allah keeps extending the limits of knowledge to the caliphs He appointed. The developing man, with the will of Allah, figures out many dark and complicated questions in life. With the development of information technologies, the level of human knowledge pushes the limits of libraries. But still, this knowledge is nowhere near to this sea of infinite knowledge that Allah holds.