The Messenger of Allah ﷺ does not know when the Hour will be

Allah commands His Messenger to say to the people that he has no knowledge of when the Hour will be and he does not know whether its time is near or far.

قُلْ إِنْ أَدْرِى أَقَرِيبٌ مَّا تُوعَدُونَ أَمْ يَجْعَلُ لَهُ رَبِّى أَمَداً

Difference between 'Knowledge of the Unseen' and 'Reports of the Unseen Events'

The exception made here is the response to the doubt raised by unintelligent people. The negation of the total knowledge of the Unseen does not necessarily entail absolute negation of every unknown secret. For the office of risalah, a Messenger needs a certain amount of knowledge of unseen things which Allah grants him through revelation. When Allah sends down the revelation to His Holy Prophet ﷺ ، He sends it down under His special protection, and is completely secure against being distorted or tampered with by devils. First of all, the word rasul [ Messenger ] determines the type of knowledge granted to a Prophet or a Messenger. Evidently, it is the knowledge of the sacred laws and injunctions in its totality, and of the unseen events according to the exigency of time. The next statement states the heavily protected manner in which the unseen knowledge is granted. It is sent down through angels around whom are posted other angels as sentinels. This explanation clarifies the point that the exceptive sentence that affirms the unseen knowledge granted to a Holy Prophet ﷺ and a Messenger is a specialized unseen knowledge which is essential and relevant to the proper functioning of a Prophetic office.