26 Preface عالِمُ الغَيبِ فَلا يُظهِرُ عَلىٰ غَيبِهِ أَحَدًاYusuf Ali“He (alone) knows the Unseen, nor does He make any one acquainted with His Mysteries,-1Mystery, or the Unseen, has two aspects. The relative Unseen is so with reference to a particular person, because of the intervention of Time, Space, or particular circumstances. For example: I cannot see today a house which I saw last year, because it has since been pulled down; or I cannot in Lahore see the “Gateway of India” in Bombay, although anyone in Bombay can see it; or I cannot see the satellites of Jupiter with the naked eye, though I can through a telescope; but the Absolute Unseen, the Absolute Mystery, or God’s Mystery, is something which no creature can know or see, except insofar as God reveals it to him; and God reveals such things to the extent that is good for men, through His chosen messengers, among whom the greatest is Muḥammad. The exact time of the Hour of Judgment has not been so shown, because we must not wait for it, but live as if it is to be at this minute. See last note and next note, and the references there.