Is the Unseen (Al-Ghayb) Created? What Is the Ruling on Saying That All of the Unseen Is Created?

What Is Meant by the Unseen (Al-Ghayb)?

The unseen (Al-Ghayb) refers to everything that is hidden from human beings and cannot be perceived through their senses, whether it concerns matters of this world, the Hereafter, or anything that Allah and His Messenger have informed us about.

Allah praised the believers by saying:

"Who believe in the unseen."
(Qur'an 2:3)

The unseen includes everything that Allah has informed us of which cannot be directly seen or witnessed.

Is All of the Unseen Created?

The answer is: No.

The unseen can be divided into two categories:

First: Created Unseen

This includes everything that Allah has created but remains hidden from people, such as:

• The angels.
• Paradise and Hell.
• The punishment and bliss of the grave.
• The Pond (Al-Hawd), the Scale (Al-Mizan), and the Bridge (As-Sirat).
• The events of the Day of Resurrection.

All of these belong to the unseen and are created by Allah.

Second: Uncreated Unseen

This refers to matters related to Allah, such as:

• Allah Himself.
• Allah's Most Beautiful Names.
• Allah's Perfect Attributes.
• Allah's Speech, including the Noble Qur'an.

These are not created, although they are unseen to people in this worldly life.

Is Allah Part of the Unseen?

Some scholars held that Allah is part of the unseen with respect to His servants because they do not see Him with their eyes in this world, even though they know Him through His signs, His proofs, and the manifestations of His power.

For this reason, many Qur'anic commentators stated that believing in the unseen includes believing in Allah, the angels, the Last Day, and everything that Allah has informed us about.

The Ruling on Saying That All of the Unseen Is Created

To state without qualification that "all of the unseen is created" is inaccurate, because the unseen includes realities that are not created, such as Allah, His Names, His Attributes, and His Speech.

However, if someone intends only the created aspects of the unseen, such as Paradise, Hell, and the angels, then the statement is correct in that limited sense. It is not correct to generalize it to all of the unseen.

Conclusion

• The unseen is everything hidden from human perception.
• Not all of the unseen is created.
• The created unseen includes the angels, Paradise, Hell, and the events of the Hereafter.
• The uncreated unseen includes Allah, His Names, His Attributes, and His Speech.
• Therefore, it is incorrect to state, without clarification, that all of the unseen is created.

And Allah knows best.