In the Name of Allah The Most Beneficent, The Most Merciful!
The Unseen is anything that is kept hidden from us, for the seen is no longer unknown! This means that what the eyes behold is not considered unseen, but it simply has to be away from our perception. Thus, that which is witnessed does not fall under the hidden or the unknown.
If man were to examine his life he would discern that his knowledge is but trivial and what is kept beyond it is far greater. To us the seen merely constitutes our lives, which is a very limited sphere, even when added to it the events we see on television or in other media transmitted to us from lands afar. All what we gain through them, in spite of their multiplicity, is a mere fraction compared to what happens in the entire universe.
Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, says in His Noble Book, (what means):
“And of knowledge, you (mankind) have been given only a little.”
(Al-Isra’, 17: 85)
As Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, is the Sole Legislator, and because nothing is hidden from Him, His Knowledge is Eternal and fully comprehends everything in the universe even before He brought it into being. Indeed, not even the weight of an atom (or a small ant) or less than that or greater, escapes His Knowledge in the heavens or in the earth.
Indeed, what is hidden from us is great and what is seen is so petty. That is regarding this world, apart from the other worlds that Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, has kept hidden from us, unseen, unknown. The world of jinn is hidden from us, whether the righteous among them or the devils. Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, says in the Noble Qur’an (what means):
“Verily, he and Qabiluhu (his soldiers from the jinns or his tribe) see you from where you cannot see them.”
(Al-A‘raf, 7: 27)
Moreover, the world of angels is hidden from us, as we do not see the angels, together with the other worlds that only Allah knows and we know nothing about.
So, can see that our knowledge is very limited regarding all that exists in this universe, whether of the material or the unseen world. There exists a present seen world; that is the world of Dominion, the visible world that we all share. And there also exits the world of the Greatest Kingdom; the invisible world that Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, only shows to whom He wills from His Messengers or righteous servants. Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, says in the Noble Qur’an (what means):
“Thus did we show Ibrahim (Abraham) the kingdom of the heavens and the earth that he be one of those who have Faith with certainty.”
(Al-An‘am, 6: 75)
Hence, we realize that there exists Kingdoms known only to Allah, which He shows to whomever He wills of His servants. The Ghaib (all that is hidden, unseen or unknown) in its comprehensive essence is divided into two: a relative unseen world and an absolute unseen world. The absolute Unseen is only possessed by Allah, and has not yet emerged to perform its duty in life, for everything in this universe is assigned a duty and has a beginning and an end. Even the progress that humans achieve has a beginning; a feature in fact not exclusive to man alone but everything in the universe has both a beginning and an end.