188. Say: ‘I do not own any benefit for myself, nor any harm, except what Allah may wish. If I had known the Unseen (of my own accord), I would have acquired abundant benefit, and no trouble would have (ever) touched me. I am only a Warner and a Bearer of glad tidings to a people who believe.’

* The warnings and glad tidings also belong to the matters of the Unseen. Allah Almighty enlightens His Messenger (blessings and peace be upon him) on these matters. Without such information on the unseen, neither would the Prophethood be validated, nor could this duty be performed. So, in the glory of the Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him), it has been revealed: ‘And this Messenger is not ungenerous in informing about the unseen.’ (al-Takwir, 24:81). This Verse of the Holy Qur’an signifies that not being ungenerous in informing about the unseen is only possible if Allah has informed the Messenger (blessings and peace be upon him) of the knowledge and glad tidings of the unseen. On the contrary, if the knowledge of the unseen had not been imparted to the Messenger (blessings and peace be upon him) at all, informing about the unseen and not being ungenerous in this regard would have been meaningless. This denotes that the Messenger’s being knowledgeable of the unseen has not been negated. The negation refers only to self-acquisition of control over profit and loss and knowledge of the Unseen because that is attributable only to Allah Most High.

قل لا أملك لنفسي نفعا ولا ضرا إلا ما شاء الله ولو كنت أعلم الغيب لاستكثرت من الخير وما مسني السوء إن أنا إلا نذير وبشير لقوم يؤمنون