ALLAH IS NOT GHAIB (UNSEEN)

We have always assumed that God is ghaib (unseen) because we cannot perceive Him through our senses. The status of being “ghaib” (unseen) for an entity implies ignorance about anything that exists or happens in a particular time and place. For example, if we are ghaib (unseen) from the classroom, it means we do not see or know what is happening in the classroom when we are not there. Clearly, this cannot be applied to God, who is All-Seeing, All-Hearing, and All-Knowing about everything that exists and occurs anywhere and anytime.

From this, two questions arise:

1. Do we truly understand the meaning of the word "ghaib / unseen" ?
2. Is God truly ghaib / unseen ?

Literal meaning of "ghaib" refers to unseen. It is the opposite of "syahid," which means witnessing. Ghaib can be divided into three types:

1. Ghaib Fuadi (empirical unseen) This refers to material absent or empirical unseen, as in the case of Hud hud being absent when Prophet Solomon searched for him in Allah’s verse :

وَتَفَقَّدَ ٱلطَّيۡرَ فَقَالَ مَا لِيَ لَآ أَرَى ٱلۡهُدۡهُدَ أَمۡ كَانَ مِنَ ٱلۡغَآئِبِينَ

“And he inspected the birds and said, 'Why do I not see the hoopoe, or is he among the absent?” (Q.S. An-Naml: 20)

2. Ghaib Qalbi (scientific unseen) When we are in the state of ghaib fuadi, we can still know the existence of something, like the sun being ghaib (unseen) at night, but we know for sure it still exists at its coordinates, even though we cannot see it. This kind of ghaib also refers to our knowledge of the Day of Judgment, the Resurrection, and the afterlife because these events have not yet occurred. Likewise, our knowledge of past Prophets is considered ghaib unless Allah informs us about them, as stated in the Qur'an :

فَلَنَقُصَّنَّ عَلَيۡهِم بِعِلۡمٖۖ وَمَا كُنَّا غَآئِبِينَ

“Indeed, We will relate to them with knowledge, and We were not unseen.” (Q.S. Al-Araf: 7)

3. Ghaib Ilahi (Divine unseen) As human beings, our knowledge is limited by several factors. However, this is not the case with God, who sees, hears, and knows all entities and events in the heavens and the earth. This knowledge is called "ghaib" because it is beyond human knowledge, not because God is ghaib. It is our knowledge that is ghaib in our minds. Allah says :

إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَعۡلَمُ غَيۡبَ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِۚ وَٱللَّهُ بَصِيرُۢ بِمَا تَعۡمَلُونَ

“Indeed, Allah knows the unseen of the heavens and the earth. And Allah is All-Seeing of what you do.” (Q.S. Al-Hujurat: 18)

Conclusion:

Allah is not ghaib (unseen) because He sees, hears, and knows all entities and events in the heavens and the earth. What is ghaib (unseen) is our knowledge of Allah unless He informs us of His existence through His verses and names. In essence, Allah is not ghaib (unseen); we are just deceived into thinking that He has a physical form, and since we do not see Him, we assume He is ghaib (unseen). In reality, Allah does not have a physical form (as Allah says: "There is nothing like unto Him" (As-Syura: 11)

(Abu Musa)