unless He alone possesses that knowledge, as in His words:

“Say: None in the heavens and earth knows the unseen except Allah.”

And His words:

“None but He will reveal it at its appointed time.”

And His words:

“And none knows the hosts of your Lord except Him.”

The response is: That is not so. Rather, it depends on what knowledge is being denied to others. If it is knowledge Allah has reserved for Himself, that is stated; if it is knowledge He has taught some of His servants, He mentions that, as in His words:

“And they encompass nothing of His knowledge except what He wills.”

And His words:

“Knower of the unseen, He does not disclose His unseen to anyone,” up to His words: “guards.”

And His words:

“Say: Allah suffices as a witness between me and you, as does whoever possesses knowledge of the Book.”

And His words:

“Allah, upholding justice, bears witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Him, as do the angels and those endowed with knowledge.”

And His words:

“But Allah bears witness to what He has sent down to you; He has sent it down with His knowledge,” up to His words: “a witness.”

And His words:

“Say: My Lord knows their number best. None knows them except a few.”

He said to the angels:

“Indeed, I know what you do not know.”

And the angels said:

“We have no knowledge except what You have taught us.”

The Companions frequently said, “Allah and His Messenger know best.” And in the well-known hadith:

“I ask You by every name belonging to You, by which You have named Yourself, or which You have revealed in Your Book, or taught to any of Your creation, or kept to Yourself in Your knowledge of the unseen.”

Allah, Most High, has said:

“If you disagree over anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger.”

Foremost among disputes are disputes over the meanings of the Quran. So if the Messenger did not know its meanings