Knowledge of the Ahlul
Bayt (A.S.)
By Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi
Toronto, Canada
1. Introduction
The universal wilayat is in a way linked to the knowledge that Almighty
Allah has bestowed upon the person holding the wilayat. The universal
wilayat of Imam 'Ali, for example, is described in the Qur'an by the
words "the person who has knowledge of the Book."
What is 'ilmu 'l-ghayb?
Our means of gaining knowledge are through the senses that Allah has
created in us. "And Allah brought you forth from the wombs of your
mothers while you did not know anything; and He made for you the ears,
the eyes, and the hearts (i.e., minds) so that haply you may be
thankful." (16:78) We see things through our eyes and listen to sounds
by our ears, and then we analyze the information in our minds and deduce
the conclusion.
There is another kind of knowledge that cannot be acquired by human
senses; it comes from God. That knowledge is known as 'ilmu 'l-ghayb,
knowledge of the unseen. For example, knowledge about the future events
or the inner thoughts and intentions of a person, etc.
"Ghayb" is the opposite of "shuhûd - the present, the seen". Sometimes
the ghayb is absolute (e.g., the inner most intentions of a person) and
at other times it is relative (e.g., what a person has hidden inside his
house, it is 'unseen' for outsiders). The term "ghayb-unseen, hidden" is
used from the perspective of the created beings only. For Allah there is
no difference between ghayb and shuhûd. The Qur'an describes Allah as:
"...Knower of the unseen and the seen..." ( 39:46 ; 62:8 )
2. The Qur'an & 'Ilmu 'l-Ghayb
According to the Qur'an, the only independent source of 'ilmu 'l-ghayb
is Allah.
"And with Him are the keys of the ghayb, no one knows it except Him..."
(6:59)
"Say, 'Those who are in the heavens and the earth do not know the ghayb
except Allah." (27:65)
"And to Allah belongs the ghayb of the heavens and the earth." ( 7:49 ;
18:26 )
The import of these verses is that the knowledge of ghayb belongs to
Allah, He knows the ghayb by Himself.
Can anyone else have access to 'ilmu 'l-ghayb? Almighty Allah, out of
His infinite grace and wisdom, bestows the 'ilmu 'l-ghayb upon
whomsoever He chooses. The Qur'an says:
"(My Lord) knows the ghayb and He does not expose His ghayb to anyone
except to one with whom He is pleased from the messenger..." (72:26-27)
"...And Allah is not about to inform you about the ghayb, but Allah
chooses from His messengers whomsoever He pleases [for the ghayb]."
(3:179)
"He knows what is before them and what is behind them, and they cannot
comprehend anything of His knowledge except what He pleases." (2:255)
The import of these verses is that Allah bestows 'ilmu 'l-ghayb to some
created beings.
When you put all the verses about the knowledge of the unseen together,
you get the overall conclusion that {1} Allah is the only original and
independent possesser of 'ilumu 'l-ghayb, and that {2} whosoever from
the angels, prophets, messengers, Imams and other virtuous persons that
have 'ilmu 'l-ghayb is totally dependent on Allah's discretion and
power.[1]
After commenting on the last verses of surah 72, 'Allamah at-Tabataba'i
reaches the following conclusion:
"The exclusive possession of the 'ilmu 'l-ghayb by Almighty Allah is in
the sense of originality that we have explained, and so He, the
Almighty, knows the ghayb by Himself while the others know the ghayb by
Him informing them about it. And so it becomes clear that what has been
mentioned in His words about others not having the 'ilmu 'l-ghayb
actually means 'not having it by themselves and independently,' it does
not deny what others know [of the ghayb] through revelation..."[2]
3. 'Ilmu 'l-Ghayb of the Prophets
The Qur'an not only talks about the possibility of others having access
to the 'ilmu 'l-ghayb, it actually gives various examples of those who
had been given the 'ilmu 'l-ghayb by Almighty Allah.
1. While counting the miraculous powers that he possessed, Prophet 'Isa
(a.s.) says:
"I will inform you of what you are eating and what you store in your
houses..." (3:48)
2. In reference to Prophet Yûsuf, we have the following verses:
"And thus does your Lord choose you and teaches you the interpretation
of words." ( 12:6 , 12:21 )
"...And when they agreed to put him into the bottom of the pit, We
revealed to him that (a time shall come when) you will inform them of
this affair of theirs..." (12:15)
"...I shall inform you two of its interpretation before comes to you
(the food): this is from what my Lord has taught me..." (12:37)
3. Prophet Sulayman was taught the language of the birds:
"And Sulayman...he said, 'O men! We have been taught the language of the
birds." (27:16)
4. According to the Qur'an, Allah had bestowed 'ilmu 'l-ghayb upon the
Prophet of Islam as can be seen in the following verses:
Referring to the events of the past, Allah says, "These are the news of
the ghayb that We reveal unto you..." (11:49)
Refering to the story of Prophet Yûsuf, Allah says: "These are the news
of the unseen (ghayb) that We reveal unto you..." (12:102)
Allah informed the Prophet about the on-going war between the Eastern
Roman Empire and the Sasanid Persian Empire: "The Romans are vanquished
in a nearby land; and they, after being vanquished, shall overcome (the
Persians) within a few years..." (30:1-4)
On the conquest of Mecca at the hand of the Muslims, Allah said,
"Certainly Allah had shown to His Apostle the vision with truth: you
shall most certainly enter the Sacred Mosque (in Mecca), if Allah
pleases, in security..." (48:27)
The Prophet is also informed about the inner most thoughts of the
hypocrites: "...And they say in their own hearts, 'Why does not Allah
punish us for what we say?'..." (58:8)
As you can see, these examples cover all aspects of ghayb: history of
the past, events of the future, language of the birds, and also the
intentions of other people. The Prophet is described as someone "who was
not niggardly of the ghayb," (81:24) he used to share the information
with others.
Before we end this section, let me remind the readers that the knowledge
of ghayb of a human being or an angel is not his own but is always and
constantly dependent upon the will of Allah. That is why the Messengers
were instructed to say that they do not possess 'ilmu 'l-ghayb. ( 6:50 ;
11:3 ) It is for the same reason that Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) was
instructed to say:
"Had I knowledge of the ghayb, I would have acquired much good, and evil
would not have touched me." (7:188)
This is not a denial of having 'ilmu 'l-ghayb; it is affirmation of the
belief that whatever knowledge he has is according to the wish and
pleasure of Almighty Allah.[3]
4. 'Ilmu 'l-Ghayb of the Imams
Imam 'Ali was also blessed with the 'ilmu 'l-ghayb as attested by verse
13:43 discussed in the last chapter on wilayat. It was on the basis of
the "knowledge of the Book" that Imam 'Ali has the universal wilayat.
Moreover, according to Shi'a ahadith, Allah had instructed the Prophet
to convey whatever knowledge was given to him to 'Ali bin Abi Talib.
After all, the Prophet "was not niggardly of the ghayb." The other
Imams, as successors of 'Ali, also had access to 'ilmu 'l-ghayb.[4]
Shaykh al-Muzaffar explains the Shi'a position on this issue as follows:
"We maintain that the powers of the Imams to receive inspiration have
reached the highest degree of excellence, and we say that it is a
Divinely-given power. By this means the Imam is able to understand
information about anything, anywhere, and at any time, and he
understands by means of this Divinely-given power at once, without
recourse to methodological reasoning or guidance from a teacher.
When he desires to know about some matter, it is reflected in his pure
mind as if in a polished mirror. It is clear from the histories of their
lives that, like the Prophet, the Imams were not trained or taught by
anyone at all, not even in reading and writing, from their childhoods to
the maturing of their minds. No author or teacher was seen to instruct
one of them, but they were incomparable masters of knowledge, so that
they never asked about any problem without being able to answer it
immediately, and they never said that they did not know. They never
required time to consider a question before replying."[5]
Soon after the people accepted him as their leader, Imam 'Ali (a.s.)
came to the mosque dressed in the turban and robe of the Prophet, and
sat on the pulpit. Then he said: "O People, ask me before you lose me
for this is the basket of knowledge, this is the breath of the Messenger
of Allah (s.a.w.), and this is what the Messenger of Allah fed me.
Therefore, ask me for I have the knowledge of the first ones and the
last ones.
"By Allah, if a cushion is set up for me so that I may sit on it, I
shall give verdicts to the people of Tawrat according to their Tawrat
until it will say, ''Ali is true; he has not lied. He has given you the
verdict according to what Allah has revealed in me.' And I shall give
verdicts to the people of the Injil according to their Injil until it
will say, ''Ali is true; he has not lied. He has given you the verdict
according to what Allah has revealed in me.' And I shall give verdicts
to the people of the Qur'an according to their Qur'an until it will say,
''Ali is true, he has not lied. He has given you the verdict according
to what Allah has revealed in me.'
"You read the Book (i.e., the Qur'an) at night as well as day; so is
there anyone among you who knows what was revealed in it? If it had not
been for a verse in the Book of Allah, I would have informed you of what
has happened (in the past), what will happen, and what shall happen
until the Day of Resurrection. And that is the verse: 'Allah erases and
confirms what He wishes, and with Him is the Mother of the Book.' [Ra'd
39]..."[6] This last passage is significant; in
it, Imam 'Ali claims to have the access to 'ilmu 'l-ghayb but also
acknowledges that it is totally dependent upon the will of Almighty
Allah.
Here we shall just quote one or two examples from the life of Imam 'Ali
(a.s.). Jundab bin 'Abdullah al-Azdi narrates the following: I took part
with 'Ali in the battles of Jamal and Siffin. I never had any doubts
about fighting against those who fought him until I took part in the
battle of Naharwan (against the Kharijites). Then doubts came to me
about fighting against these people. I said, "It is our reciters of the
Qur'an and our choice men whom we are killing. This matter is dreadful."
In the morning I went for a walk (taking) a vessel of water with me,
until I left the lines (of the army). Then I fixed my spear in the
ground, fitted my shield on it and shaded myself from the sun. While I
was sitting, Amiru 'l-Mu'minin 'Ali (a.s.) came along. He said to me,
"O' Brother from (the tribe of) al-Azd, do you have water for ritual
purification with you?"
"Yes," I answered and I gave him the vessel.
He went aside so that I could not see him. Then he came back after he
had purified himself. He sat down in the shade of the spear. Suddenly a
horseman appeared asking for him. I said, "O' Amiru 'l-Mu'minin, there
is a horseman who wants you."
"Make a sign to him (to come here)," he told me.
I made a sign and he came. He said, "O' Amiru 'l-Mu'minin, the people
(i.e., the Kharijites) have crossed the river."
"No," he retorted, "they have not crossed."
"Yes, by God, they have crossed." the man insisted.
"No," he retorted, "they have not crossed."
Then another man came. He said, "O' Amiru 'l-Mu'minin, the people have
crossed."
"No," he replied, "they have not crossed."
"By God," the man said, "I did not come to you until I saw the standards
and the baggage on that side."
"By God," he declared, "they have not done so. (What you want) is to
kill them and shed their blood."
Then he rose and I rose with him. I said to myself, "Praise be to God,
who has given me insight into this man and enabled me to recognize his
affair. He is one of the two men: he is either a bold liar or he has an
evidence (for his authority) from his Lord and a covenant from his
Prophet. O God, I give You a solemn undertaking which You can ask me
about on the Day of Resurrection. If I find that the people have
crossed, I will be the first to fight against him, the first to thrust
my spear into his eye. If the people have not crossed, then I will go
forth with him and fight alongside him."
We returned to the lines (of the army) and we found that the standards
and baggages were as they had been (before).
Then 'Ali took me by the scruff of the neck and pushed me. Then he said,
"O' Brother of (the tribe of) al-Azd, has the matter become clear to
you?"
"Yes, Amiru 'l-Mu'minin." I replied.
"Your business is with your enemy," he said.
I killed one man from the Kharijites and then I killed another. I and
another of them were exchanging blows. I struck him and he struck me. We
both fell together. My comrades carried me back. By the time I recovered
consciousness, there were none of the Kharijites left.
After quoting this incident, Shaykh al-Mufid makes the following
comment: "In it, 'Ali provides information about the unseen, gives clear
evidence of his knowledge of the inner conscience (of man) and his
knowledge of what is in men's souls. The evidence in it is outstanding
which could not be equaled by evidence of a similar nature in terms of
the greatness of the miracle and its clear proof." [7]
Now I would like to quote another example from the forthcoming book of
my father where he has also discussed the issue of prophetic foresight.
He writes:
"There are numerous, well-documented prophecies of the Prophet and 'Ali
which were fulfilled later...An important historical event is referred
to in Sermon 128 in Nahju 'l-Balagha.
Sayyid Razi gives this sermon the caption 'From the Sermon describing
the attributes of the Turks.' He quotes portions describing fierce
invaders, their features, their clothes, the invincibility and their
killing of multitudes. Now Sayyid Razi died in 406/1016, two hundred and
forty-two years before the fall of Baghdad in 1258. Ibn Abil Hadid, who
wrote the Sharh (commentary of Nahju 'l-Balagha) died seventeen years
before the fall, he identifies the invaders with the Mongol hordes who
had in his days already conquered Khorasan, Iran and Syria. He describes
the havoc they created in the neighbouring countries up to 643/1245. He
says:
"'And know that this prophecy of the unseen by 'Ali (a.s.), we have seen
it by our own eyes and it has happened in our time. And the people,
since the early days of Islam, were waiting for its fulfillment, until
the firm decree (of Allah) made it appear in our day.'
"There are no clear details in his version of the sermon of who the
conquered were. But this same sermon in its full form was in the hands
of the learned Shi'a and had been since 'Ali's day.
"'Allama al-Hilli was born eight years before the fall of Baghdad to
Hulagu Khan. His father, Sadrdu 'd-Din Yusuf al-Hilli was the most
learned man of his time in fiqh, principle of jurisprudence and
theology. Referring to the prophecies of future events by 'Ali, 'Allama
writes:
And among them is his prophecy of the foundation of Baghdad and the
Kingdom of the 'Abbasids and their circumstance in which the Mongols
shall take away the kingdom from them. My father has narrated it, and
that [prophecy] was the reason for the citizens of Kufa, Hilla and the
two sacred cities [Karbala and Najaf] being saved from the massacre.
When Hulagu reached Baghdad, and before he conquered it, the majority of
the people of Hilla fled away to the deserts, except a few of them.
Among those who remained was my father (may Allah have mercy on him),
Sayyid Majdu 'd-Din bin Tawus, and the faqih, Ibn Abi 'l-'Izz. They
decided to write to the sultan [Hulagu] that they accepted his rule and
were under the Il Khanid authority. They sent the letter with a Persian
man. Hulagu sent a firman (order) with two person, Nikalah and 'Ala'uddin,
saying, 'If your hearts are as your letter shows, then come to us.' The
two officers came [and conveyed Hulagu's message].
However, the others [who had signed the letter] were afraid to go as
they did not know what the result would be. Therefore, my father (may
Allah have mercy on him) asked the officers, 'Would it be enough if I
alone come there?' They said, 'Yes.' Therefore, he went with them.
When my father came before the Sultan (and it was before Baghdad was
conquered and the caliph killed), he asked my father, 'How is it that
you ventured upon writing to me and coming to my court even before you
knew how the matter between me and your king would be decided? How can
you be sure; perhaps he would make peace with me and I would go away?'
My father (may Allah have mercy upon him) said, 'We took that step
because we have been told of the prophecy of Amiru 'l-Mu'minin 'Ali ibn
Abi Talib (a.s.) that he said in his Sermon of Zawra':
'...And what would make you know what Zawra' is? A land of deep-rooted
splendor. Strong buildings will be built in it and its inhabitants will
increase in number; and there shall be therein servants and treasurers.
The children of 'Abbas will make it their dwelling place and a showplace
for their vanities; it shall be their house of amusement and sport;
there shall be in it overpowering oppression, frightful fear, debauched
leaders, sinful rulers, and embezzling ministers; these shall be served
by the natives of Fars and Rum. They shall not perform any good even
after knowing it and shall not leave any evil even after knowing it.
Their males shall satisfy their lust with males, and the females with
females.
Then there shall be the overwhelming grief, long weeping and
destruction, and crying for the inhabitants of Zawra' from the assault
of the Turks. And they are a people of small eyes, their faces like
hammered shields, their clothes are iron, they are hairless, beardless.
There will lead them a king who will come from whence their (the
'Abbasids') kingdom had begun. He will be of a very loud voice, powerful
authority and high courage; he will not pass by a town but that he will
conquer it, and no standard will be raised against him but that he will
put it down. Woe unto him who would become his enemy, he shall remain
like it until he is victorious.'
After quoting the sermon, my father said, 'As these qualities had long
been described to us and we found the very qualities in you, we put our
hope in you and came towards you.'
Thereupon the Sultan was satisfied and he wrote for them (i.e., the
citizens of the four towns) a firman, in the name of my father (may
Allah have mercy upon him) giving tranquility to the hearts of the
people of Hilla and the nearby towns.
"Clearly the leading Shi'a had the Sermon in a form which gave details
of who the vanquished were-the 'Abbasids. It is inconceivable that 'Ali
would give such detail of the victor without any reference to the
vanquished. They believed so completely in its authenticity that they
took such an irreversible step as to correspond with and go in person to
the court of Hulagu. As for Sayyid Razi, one can understand his omission
of details about the conquered. He did not omit them because of lack of
high literary merit but because he lived in Baghdad under the very nose
of those who were to be so signally vanquished, the 'Abbasid Caliphs."[8]
Jundab's personal example during the lifetime of Imam 'Ali and al-Hilli's
example of the seventh Islamic century, clearly prove that the Imams had
access to 'ilmu 'l-ghayb by the blessing of Almighty Allah, and that
this belief is not "certain extravagant claims made for them by their
fanatical associates."[136] In the words of Shaykh al-Mufid, "(The
evidence for) this kind (of miracle) by Amiru 'l-Mu'minin ['Ali] is such
that it can only be denied through stupidity, ignorance, slander and
obstinacy."[9]
5. 'Ilmu 'l-Ghayb & Personal Life
So why did not the Prophet or the Imams use the 'ilmu 'l-ghayb to avert
tragedies in their personal lives? This is a very commonly asked
question in regard to the 'ilmu 'l-ghayb. I always use an example I had
seen in my childhood in East Africa. I remember seeing vehicles assigned
to government officials with the sign "For Official Use Only" clearly
visible on them. The 'ilmu 'l-ghayb given to the prophets and Imams is
just like that: "For Official Use Only," it is not for use in their
personal lives.
Recently, in response to a question from a Philippines Shi'a, my father
wrote: "Allah (s.w.t.) had given fore-knowledge of many future events to
the Prophet and the Imams. But at the same time they were strictly
ordered not to use that knowledge in their dealings with the people. In
other words, they were to deal with the people as if they did not know
what was going to happen in the future.
They had to live with the people on the level of the common people. They
were not to use their super-natural knowledge or power for their own
benefit or for averting any harm from themselves. (In fact, it was a
very tough test for them to know that a certain man or woman would harm
them or their children and then behave with him/her in the normal way.)
That is why 'Ali (a.s.) did not punish or imprison Ibn Muljim, although
he knew that the latter would assassinate him."[10]
Shaykh Muhammad Ridha al-Ja'fari explains, "The Prophets and the Imams,
it should be well observed, share with the rest of humanity the means
for obtaining knowledge which All?h has given: the senses, the
intellect, etc. They also possess a special power or means which other
people do not have.
"In the carrying out of the commands of Allah's shari'ah in which all
have a responsibility, and likewise in ordinary behaviour, the Prophets
and the Imams only make use of the first way of knowing, the commonly
available means: the second means is only made use of by them in duties
and works which are connected with their positions of prophethood and
Imamate.
Thus in matters like knowing the beginning of the month, passing
judgement, finding out if something is unclean or pure, etc., they make
use of the means, such as the sighting of the moon, and so forth, which
everyone else employs.
"Also the knowledge that Prophets or Imams have concerning, for example,
the time of their death, cannot be the basis for action for them. What
they volitionally do must be determined by the means available to
everyone. Such knowledge thus has a spiritual aspect to it related to
the Encounter with Allah, and the reason for it must be sought on this
level, but it is not for the purpose of influencing and controlling
events on the level of ordinary understanding."[11]
The same applies to the universal wilayat: the Prophet or the Imams do
not use it for their personal interest, it is only used for proving the
truth of the faith.
6. The Concept of "al-Qur'an an-Natiq"
"Al-Qur'an an-natiq" means the "speaking Qur'an." This is a famous title
given to the Shi'a Imams to describe their proximity to the Qur'an; they
are the custodians of the Qur'anic message and its interpretation; they
are the embodiment of the Qur'anic values and its ideals. This concept
is based on the various sayings of the Prophet in which the Qur'an and
the Ahlul Bayt are shown to never separate from one another.
The famous hadith of thaqalayn says:
"I am leaving two precious things behind among you: the Book of Allah
and my Ahlul Bayt. The two shall not separate from one another until
they come to me at the fountain of Kawthar (on the Day of
Resurrection)."[12]
In another hadith, Umm Salama, the wife of the Prophet, quotes him as
follows:
"'Ali is with the Qur'an and the Qur'an is with 'Ali; they shall never
separate from one another until they reach to me at the Fountain (on the
day of Resurrection)."[13]
Abu Sa'id al-Khudari reports that one day we were sitting waiting for
the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) to come out. He came to us while we saw
that the strap of his shoe was broken; he gave it to 'Ali to repair.
Then he said,
"One of you will wage war for the interpretation (ta'wil) of the Qur'an
just as I waged war for its revelation (tanzil)."
Abu Bakr said, "Am I the one?" The Prophet said, "No." Then 'Umar said,
"Am I the one?" The Prophet said, "No, but the one who is repairing the
shoe."[14]
Imam 'Ali himself said, "Ask me before you lose me, for by the One who
split the grain and created the soul, if you ask me as to which verse
was revealed at night time or at day time, whether it is of Makkan or
Madinite [era], during journey (of the Prophet) or while in Medina,
whether it is abrogator or abrogated, whether it is clear or
allegorical, and whether you need its interpretation or context of its
revelation-I shall inform you about it."[15]
It is based on these facts supported by the Sunni sources that the
Shi'as use the title "al-Qur'anu 'n-Natiq" for their Imams. As we saw
above, Imam 'Ali himself claims to have the true and inner meanings of
the Qur'anic verses. This claim and belief has been there from the
earliest days of Shi'ism. So it is incorrect to place the beginning of
this concept in the latter period by saying that "the belief that the
Imams were the 'speaking (al-natiq) Qur'an,' who knew the esoteric
interpretation of the Book, most probably began during al-Baqir's time."[16]
Notes:
[1] For an excellent discussion on the Qur'anic
verses on 'ilmu 'l-ghayb and their relevant ahadith, see Ahmad Mutahhari
and Ghulam Raza? Kardin, 'Ilm-e Payambar wa Imam dar Qur'an, Qum: Dar
Rah-e Haq, 1366 (solar) A.H.
[2] At-Tabataba'i, al-Mizan, vol. 20, p.
131-132.
[3] For a precise and clear picture on the
knowledge of God (which is absolute and unchanging, and is described as
"al-lawh al-mahfûz - the protected tablet") vis-à-vis the knowledge of
chosen human beings and angels (which is not necessarily absolute, and
is described as "lawhu 'l-mahw wa 'l-ithbat -the tablet that can be
erased and re-written"), see S. Saeed Akhtar Rizvi, The Justice of God,
p. 21-26. The book clearly explains that bada' (change) does not occur
in the knowledge of God, it can only occur in the knowledge of humans
and angels.
[4] Al-Majlisi, Biharu 'l-Anwar, vol. 26,
chapters 1, 3, and 5 as quoted in Rizvi, The Justice of God, p. 21-26.
[5] Al-Muzaffar, M.R., The Faith of Shi'a
Islam, p. 33-34.
[6] Al-Mufid, al-Ikhtisas, p. 235; a shorter
version of this narration may also be seen in al-Irshad, p. 34 (in
English, p. 21). For other references on this claim of Imam 'Ali that
"Ask me before you lose me," see al-Amini, al-Ghad?r, vol. 6, p.
193-194; vol. 7, p. 107-108.
[7] Al-Mufid, al-Irshad, p. 317-319; in its
English translation, see p. 239-240. This narration can also be seen in
the following Sunni sources: Muttaqi al-Hindi, Kanzu 'l-'Ummal, vol. 11,
p. 289 quoted from at-Tabarini's al-Wasit; Ibn Abi 'l-Hadid, Sharh Nahji
'l-Balagha, vol. 2, p. 271.
[8] The forthcoming book of 'Allama Sayyid
Saeed Akhtar Rizvi on Shi'a faith and history. He cites al-Hilli's
Kashfu 'l-Yaqin, p. 28 as the source for the narration.
[9] Abdulaziz Sachedina writes about the
evolution of Imamate as follows: "The Imams were now believed to possess
divine knowledge which enabled them to predict future events...The
highly speculative aspects of the doctrine of the Imamate should be
attributed to the circumstances in which the Imams manifested political
quietism but did not object to certain extravagant claims made for them
by their fanatical associates. These claims included the possession of
esoteric knowledge inherited through designation by the Imam." (Islamic
Messianism, p. 18-19)
[10] Al-Mufid, al-Irshad, p. 314; in English,
see p. 236.
[11] In the forthcoming Your Questions
Answered, vol. 8.
[12] See the explanatory note of Shaykh
Muhammad Ridha al-Ja'fari in al-Kulayni, al-Kafi (Arabic with English
translation), vol. 1, Part Two, Book 4 (iii) p. 259. Sayyid Muhammad
Ridha al-Jalali has extensively dealth with this question and its
responses by the Imams (a.s.) themselves and the Shi'a 'ulama' of the
last ten centuries. See "'Ilmu 'l-Aimma bi 'l-Ghayb wa 'l-I'tiradh 'alayhi
bi 'l-Ilqai ila 't-tuhlika wa 'l-ijabat 'anhu 'ibaru 't-ta'rikh,"
Turathuna, no. 37 (Shawwal, 1414) p. 7-107.
[13] At-Tirmidhi, Sahih, vol. 5 (Beirut: Dar
al-Fikr, n.d.) p. 328-329, hadith # 3874, 3876; as-Suyûti, ad-Durru 'l-Manthûr,
vol. 6, p. 7, 306; Ibnu 'l-Maghazili ash-Shafi'i, Manaqib 'Ali bin Abi
Talib, p. 234, hadith # 281.
[14] Al-Hakim, al-Mustakrak 'ala 's-Sahihayn,
vol. 3 (Beirut: Dar al-Ma'rifa, n.d.) p. 124; al-Khuwarazmi, al-Manaqib,
p. 110; Majma'u 'z-Zawa'id, vol. 9, p. 134 as-Suyûti, Ta'rikhu 'l-Khulafa',
p. 173.
[15] An-Nasi'i, Khasa'isu Amiri 'l-Mu'minin
'Ali bin Abi Talib, p. 134; Muhibbu 'd-Din at-Tabari, Dhakha'iru 'l-'Uqba,
p. 139.
[16] Al-Mufid, al-Ikhtisas, p. 236.
[17] Abdulaziz Sachedina, Islamic Messianism,
p. 15. |