Making fuss regarding the knowledge of Imams from Aale Muhammad
(a.s.) from those, who harbor malice for the Shia and the Imams is great and
clear; each of them have issued strange and false statements. Like the blind feels
a camel and expresses views; as if from all Islamic sects, only the Shia have this
view and the followers of other sects do not have such viewpoints, from this
aspect they became deserving of every condemnation and allegation.
Sufficient for you is what Qaseemi has invented in As-Sara Bainul Islam wal
Wathniya:
“In view of Shia, Imams have knowledge of everything and whenever they
want to know about something, Allah Almighty informs them. They know the
time of their death, they die at their own discretion and have knowledge of pastand future; nothing is concealed from them. (Pg. 125 & 126 of Kulaini’s Al-Kafi).”
Then he writes:
“Another tradition is also present in Al-Kafi regarding this. Thus, Imams are
imbued with the quality of knowing the unseen and they are aware of past and
future; nothing is concealed from them; they are partners of Almighty Allah and
all Muslims know that prophets are not partners of God in this quality and verses
of Quran and reports of Prophet and Imams regarding the fact that only Allah
knows the unseen, are widely narrated to such an extent that it is not possible to
mention all of them in this book.”
Reply: Knowledge of unseen – that is awareness of supernatural and
speaking about past and future, like intuition, is a matter, possible for every
human being. From the past, which he has not seen, he is informed of it and in
the condition of being aware that it is source of unseen or gained through another
rational being.
As for specialty of believers, thus they are more aware of the unseen, like
belief in God, angels, divine books, prophets, Judgment Day, Paradise, Hell,
meeting Almighty Allah, life after death, rising up on Judgment Day, blowing of
the bugle, accounting, Hourul Ein, palaces and pages (youths)1, what will occur
on Judgment Day and all the things the believer has faith in, and for which he
testifies, are unseen and in the Holy Quran they are called as unseen and
Almighty Allah says in the verse:
ٱلَّذِينَ يَخْشَوْنَ رَبَّهُم بِٱلْغَيْبِ
“Those, who believe in the unseen…”2
The believers are indentified through these qualities.
Also the verse:
ٱلَّذِينَ يَخْشَوْنَ رَبَّهُم بِٱلْغَيْبِ
“(For) those who fear their Lord in secret.”3
…and the verse:
إِنَّمَا تُنذِرُ ٱلَّذِينَ يَخْشَوْنَ رَبَّهُم بِٱلْغَيْبِ
“You warn only those who fear their Lord in secret.”4
And so on…
The position of prophethood and messengership demands that the prophet should have knowledge of unseen from some aspects, in addition to what
believers know, and the verse:
وَكُلًّۭا نَّقُصُّ عَلَيْكَ مِنْ أَنۢبَآءِ ٱلرُّسُلِ مَا نُثَبِّتُ بِهِۦ فُؤَادَكَ ۚ وَجَآءَكَ فِى هَـٰذِهِ ٱلْحَقُّ وَمَوْعِظَةٌۭ وَذِكْرَىٰ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ (١٢٠)
“And all we relate to you of the accounts of the apostles is to
strengthen your heart therewith; and in this has come to you the
truth and an admonition, and a reminder to the believers.”5
…hints at this point only.
That is why Almighty Allah narrates stories to Prophet and after narrating the story of Maryam, says:
ذَٰلِكَ مِنْ أَنۢبَآءِ ٱلْغَيْبِ نُوحِيهِ إِلَيْكَ
“This is of the announcements relating to the unseen which We reveal to you.”6
And after the incident of Nuh (a.s.), He says:
تِلْكَ مِنْ أَنۢبَآءِ ٱلْغَيْبِ نُوحِيهَآ إِلَيْكَ
“These are announcements relating to the unseen which We reveal to you.”7
After the story of brothers of Prophet Yusuf (a.s.), He says:
ذَٰلِكَ مِنْ أَنۢبَآءِ ٱلْغَيْبِ نُوحِيهِ إِلَيْكَ
“This is of the announcements relating to the unseen (which) We reveal to you.”8
Almighty Allah, through this knowledge of unseen, which is restricted to
prophets, has clarified in Quran:
عَـٰلِمُ ٱلْغَيْبِ فَلَا يُظْهِرُ عَلَىٰ غَيْبِهِۦٓ أَحَدًا(٢٦) إِلَّا مَنِ ٱرْتَضَىٰ مِن رَّسُولٍۢ
“The Knower of the unseen! so He does not reveal His secrets to any, except to him whom He chooses as an apostle”9
Yes:
وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَىْءٍۢ مِّنْ عِلْمِهِۦٓ إِلَّا بِمَا شَآءَ
“And they cannot comprehend anything out of His knowledge except what He pleases.”10
وَمَآ أُوتِيتُم مِّنَ ٱلْعِلْمِ إِلَّا قَلِيلًۭا (٨٥)
“And you are not given aught of knowledge but a little.”11
On the basis of this, according to clarification of Holy Quran, all prophets,
saints (Awliya) and believers have knowledge of unseen and all have a particular
share, only their knowledge of unseen – of whatever magnitude it may be – is
limited and temporary and not personal and it was not there from eternity. It has a
beginning and an end and it is not eternal and it is obtained from Allah, the
Mighty and Sublime.
وَعِندَهُۥ مَفَاتِحُ ٱلْغَيْبِ لَا يَعْلَمُهَآ إِلَّا هُوَ
“And with Him are the keys of the unseen treasures- none knows them but He.”12
The Prophet and those from his Ummah, who are inheritors of his
knowledge,13 in acts and deeds, on the basis of their knowledge of unseen about
calamities, dreams, happenings and informing people about unseen matters are
needful of command of Allah, the Mighty and the High. And knowledge, acting
upon it, and its informing the people about it comprises of three stages and none
of them is related to the other, knowledge about one thing demands acting
according to that, or that it is not needed to be told to the people, and each of
these three stages have requirements and limitations, which should be observed,
and it is not that everyone, who knows the unseen, acts according to it or informs
others.
Is the report of the son of Nuh, report of the people of Hud, Aad and
Thamud, people of Ibrahim and Lut and reminder of Zulqarnain and the news of
the past prophets not from unseen?
Did the Prophet not deposit some unseen matters as secrets to his wives and
they divulged them to their fathers?
فَلَمَّا نَبَّأَهَا بِهِۦ قَالَتْ مَنْ أَنۢبَأَكَ هَـٰذَا ۖ قَالَ نَبَّأَنِىَ ٱلْعَلِيمُ ٱلْخَبِيرُ (٣)
“So when he informed her of it, she said: Who informed you of this? He said: The Knowing, the one Aware, informed me.”14
…is not from unseen?