المعنى الاصطلاحي :

Knowledge that is peculiar to Allah and He did not reveal it to living creatures whether related to tangible or intangible things.

الشرح المختصر :

"Ghayb" (the Unseen) is everything that is hidden from human beings, like the angels, Paradise, Hell, and what will occur in the future. The human mind is not aware of the true nature of what belongs to the realm of the Unseen, and the human being does not perceive it or interact with it through the five senses. "Ghaybiyyah", or existence of the Unseen, is one of the tenetns of the Islamic creed, and it means: establishing belief upon acceptance of revelation about the unseen. The unseen is divided into two categories: First: The absolute or total unseen, which is hidden from all creation without exception and none has knowledge of it but Allah. This category is of two types: 1. What Allah has given humans the knowledge of by way of revelation, like Paradise and Hell. 2. What is peculiar to His knowledge and He did not impart it to any living being, which are the keys of the unseen, such as the time of the Hour (Day of Resurrection), what lies in the wombs, the timing of death, provision, and rain. Included in this type are some of the beautiful names of Allah that we do not know. Second: The relative or partial unseen, which is hidden from some people, like the occurrence of an earthquake in a country, so the people of that country know about it but it is unknown to others, therefore it becomes an unseen matter to the others. There are legitimate methods by which the relative unseen can become known, such as revelation to the prophets, a good vision (dream), "ilhaam" (inspiration) and "tahdeeth" (revelation to persons who are not prophets) which occur to some of the righteous; also, modern science, such as knowing the gender of the fetus in the mother's womb and knowing the weather conditions. There are also illegitimate methods to know about the relative unseen like fortune-telling, astrology, assistance from the jinn, illumination (Sufism), etc. The unseen is a locked door that can only be opened by the permission of Allah, so whoever claims that a human being has knowledge of the absolute unseen has fallen into polytheism, because that claim entails partnership with Allah, Exalted, in one of the attributes unique to Him, which is "`ilm-ul-ghayb" (knowledge of the unseen). Examples of the polytheism committed by claiming knowledge of the unseen are: 1. Believing that prophets or some righteous people have knowledge of the unseen. 2. Fortune-telling: a fortune-teller is the one who claims to have knowledge of the unseen. 3. Astrology (Zodiac signs), cup-reading, and similar practices claimed to foretell the future.

التعريف اللغوي المختصر :

"Ghayb" (pl. ghuyoob): what is screened, covered, and hidden. Opposite: "shahaadah" (what is witnessed) and "hudoor" (presence). Other meaning: what is far and distant.