Al-Ghaib

Al-Ghaib is an Arabic expression used to convey that something is concealed (unseen). It is an important concept in Islam, encompassing not only the realm of the divine, including angels, paradise, and hell, but also future events, which only God knows. Jinn (daemons), who are also generally invisible but bound to earthly lives, are thought be restricted from the unseen as humans are. In the Quran it has 6 forms and 3 meanings. But it can also be used in a general sense to refer to something that is known to some but concealed from others. In Arabic, al-Ghaib refers to anything that is hidden in some manner. The term is composed of two words (a definitive article and an adjective), "al" and "Ghaib", literally translating to "the" and "unseen" respectively. It possesses multiple intricate meanings stemming out from the figurative translation "the depth of the well." Given that the bottom of the well is visually concealed as a result of its depth, its contents are generally undeterminable. Al-Ghaib therefore refers to that which is absent, hidden, or concealed. Like majority of adjectives in the Arabic language, al-Ghaib has a triliteral or triconsonantal root. It is composed of three root letters غ ي ب (gaain, yaa, baa), roughly tantamount to g-y-b respectively in the English language. In the Islamic context, al-Ghaib refers to transcendental or divine secrets. It is mentioned in sixty different places in the Qur'an, in six different forms. It has three primary meanings: Absent – "That is so al-'Azeez will know that I did not betray him in [his] absence and that Allah does not guide the plan of betrayers." (12:52) The Unknown or Hidden – "[Allah is] Knower of the unseen and the witnessed, the Grand, the Exalted." (13:9) The Future – "Say, "I hold not for myself [the power of] benefit or harm, except what Allah has willed. And if I knew the unseen, I could have acquired much wealth, and no harm would have touched me. I am not except a warner and a bringer of good tidings to a people who believe.