God is acquainted with everything. In the definition of his main attributes , nothing is hidden to him. According to religious dogma, there is a book of decree where everything that will happen has been recorded before being brought into existence in the physical world. One of the greatest dream of humans has always been the desire to foresee future events. It is commonly acknowledged that everything that will happen to anyone is a consequence of his own deeds or actions. And it is obvious that some of our actions will cause us happiness and other actions will cause us to suffer. There are various passages in the scriptures to testify that God knows everything that is to happen. “All my days were written in your book and planned before a single one of them began.’’.(psalm 139:16). One of the manifestation of divine gift is the capacity to foresee some events through good dreams that come true as a proof of divine guidance. `
Except prophets and a few men very closed to God, no one can recognize which action will cause him happiness and which action will harm him. God has endowed prophets with the capacity to foresee some events as a proof of their guidance. The prophets receive messages through angels who are in the service of God. Prophets have brought good news to mankind though revelations and scriptures so that no one can say that he did not know about the the world to come. Prophets were sent to all people.
We sent a messenger to every community,saying, ‘Worship God and shun false gods.”(quran 16:36) . The Torah, the Psalm, the Gospel, the book of the prophets and the glorius quran are all the word of God. Among the well-known prophets are Adam ,Ibrahim (Abraham) ,Ismail (Ishmael) ,Ishaq (Isaac) Yaqub (Jacob) ,Ayyub(Job),Shu’aib (Jethro) , Yusuf(Joseph), Musa (Moses) ,Harun (Aaron), Dawud (David) ,Ilias (Elias) Zakariya (Zachariah) ,Yahya (John the Baptist), Isa (Jesus) ,Muhammad(the last prophet). Almost all the prophets are common to Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Prophets were granted miracles as a proof of their prophet-hood and their stories are full of wisdom and understanding of the divine law and the omniscience of God.
Abraham for example is known as the father of monotheistic religions. God bestowed on him the criteria of right judgment so that he taught his father and his people about the unity and uniqueness of God. He taught his people that the true God is the Lord of heaven and earth and is the one who created everything. He broke all the statues they were worshiping and invited them to worship the true one God. Abraham also had a vision that he should sacrifice his son to God and when he was about to do that Gabriel came and gave him a sheep to sacrifice. To commemorate this all Muslims sacrifice sheep or calves to draw near to God on the day of Eid al adhaa. But above all Abraham was blessed with the progeny of believers in the one true God.
The story of the prophet Ayyub (Job) is one of adversities in which his faith is constantly put to the test. But his love for God is only growing. He remains true to himself and does not question or doubt God’s will for a second. We can learn from the prophet Ayyub to be more patient and trusting, an attitude that is absolutely necessary even in solving worldly matters. Because God sometimes put us in trials but knows the outcome of every action.
Prophet Yusuf (Joseph) dreamed that he was destined for greatness. Yet his life was filled with adversity and difficulties. It seemed that not everything would go in his direction, he was betrayed by his brothers, sold as a slave and unjustly imprisoned. Yusuf could have chosen to be bitter and question his fate by asking God, what happened to my dream destined for greatness? He could have easily complained “why do these things keep happening to me” as many of us would. But he knew better.
There is evidence in the story of Joseph in scriptures that God speaks to his beloved ones through good dreams. But dreams can also be a mean of trials. When Joseph told his father about his dream his father warned him not to relate it to everyone as Satan is to Mankind a plain enemy. The will of God must happen but the dreamer must be cautious as exposing oneself to temptations can be fatal.
Joseph and the other prophets are recognized by all the three world’s monotheistic religions and this is the common point that is to be enhanced in comparative religions. The prophet Muhammad(pbuh) said, “Both in this world and in the Hereafter, I am the nearest of all the people to Jesus, the son of Mary. The prophets are paternal brothers; their mothers are different, but their religion is one.” [ Sahih Al-Bukhari:The conflicts between religion doctrines are mainly based on institutionalization of the religions ans interpretation than on the fundamental teachings that are the basics of ethical values. Thus the prophets were never completely welcome by the people to whom they were send but their reputation rested on solid achievements with the help of God. Prophets know what is to happen but they are also bound to the omniscience of God and to his decree. It is a common spiritual knowledge that the decree of God can be altered by supplications but that this alterations are part of the divine decree. The consequences of actions create sets of possibilities so much so that the creatures of God remain as variables in the complexity of cosmical happenings. Prophets are always truthful in their predictions of future events but soothsayers or charlatans might predict sometimes accurately but will most of the time fail in their prediction of future events.
It is a basic Islamic knowledge that soothsayers and magicians work with jinns(spirits) who have the capacity to listen to some of the plans of the angels about events decreed. It is said that before the revelation of the glorious quran , jinns will steal information about future events and deliver it to those who worship them as partners with God. But since the revelation of the quran, those jinns are chased by fire and stones and cannot stealth all the information they need anymore. However it is acknowledged that a few people are endowed with supernatural aptitude to foresee some events.
Ibn Masuud reported :‘’He who has hired a clairvoyant, a sorcerer or a soothsayer, and has believed in what they came up with, has in fact disbelieved in the Message sent to Muhammad’’. Since only God is acquainted with the future, it is good to put our trust in him and face trials bravely to gain the best reward, in this world and in the hereafter.
