He was also asked:

“Does the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, know the time of the Hour?”

He replied:

As for the report in question—that he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, “knows the time of the Hour”—it has no basis. There is no statement whatsoever from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, specifying the time of the Hour. Rather, Allah Most High has said:

“They ask you about the Hour: when will it take place? Say, ‘Knowledge of it rests only with my Lord. None but He will reveal it at its appointed time.’ It weighs heavily upon the heavens and the earth.”

That is, its time is hidden from the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth. Allah Most High also said to Moses:

“Indeed, the Hour is coming; I almost conceal it.”

Ibn ‘Abbās and others said: “I almost conceal it from Myself; how, then, could it be made known?”

In the two Sahīh collections, on the authority of Abū Hurayrah, and also in Muslim’s Sahīh, on the authority of ‘Umar, it is reported:

“The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was asked, ‘When is the Hour?’ He replied, ‘The one being questioned about it knows no more than the questioner.’”

Thus, he stated that he knew no more about it than the questioner. The questioner appeared in the form of a Bedouin, and he did not know that it was Gabriel until after he had departed. When he answered him, he thought he was simply a Bedouin. So if the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said of himself that he knew no more about the Hour than