A study into both Quranic and other textual sources to determine if the Prophet(s) and the Aimmah (as) had been given Ilm al Ghayb (knowledge of the unseen) by Allah (swt).
Quranic Evidences
At this point we remind the readers about the instruction of Imam al Ridha (as) where he says:
…You should not accept any hadith that is attributed to us if it is in conflict with the Quran because whatever we say is in harmony with the Quran and Sunnah of the Prophet (s) as we only narrate from God and his messenger.” (Rijal Kashi)
Imam Sadiq (as) says:
“Do not accept any narration except that which is in line with the Quran and Sunnah, or what you find in the narrations of the previous Imams (as), because Mughira bin Sa’eed, may curse of Allah be on him, inserted such narrations in the books of the companions of my father (Imam Baqir (as)) which he (as) had never said…..” (Rijal Kashi)
First let us state what the present day general Shia belief is regarding the knowledge of Prophet (saww) and the Imams (as).
Most Twelver Shias believe that the Prophet (s) and Imams (as) have full knowledge of everything from the past and future, from the time they are born, to be precise, not just since they are born, rather since much before that. It is also believed that the Prophet (s) and Imams (as) were already aware of the Quran, even before it was revealed, and a popular incident is repeatedly narrated in religious lectures, which says that when Imams Ali (as) was born and was in the arms of the Prophet (saww) he recited the whole Quran (even though the Quran had not been revealed at that time.)
What does the Quran Say?
Verse 1: After narrating the story of Prophet Nuh (as), Allah (swt) says to Prophet Muhammad (saww):
تِلْكَ مِنْ أَنبَاءِ الْغَيْبِ نُوحِيهَا إِلَيْكَ ۖ مَا كُنتَ تَعْلَمُهَا أَنتَ وَلَا قَوْمُكَ مِن قَبْلِ هَٰذَا ۖ فَاصْبِرْ ۖ إِنَّ الْعَاقِبَةَ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ
That is from the news of the unseen which We reveal to you, [O Muhammad]. You knew it not, neither you nor your people, before this. So be patient; indeed, the [best] outcome is for the righteous. (Quran, 11:49)
This is such a clear verse, Allah (swt) is clearly saying that Rasulallah (saww) did not know about this (events of Nuh (as)) before it was revealed to him in the Quran. Allah (swt) makes it crystal clear by adding “..neither you nor your people, before this”.
Bearing in mind that those wishing to play with the verse would have been able to twist the meaning of verses to suit their beliefs, if the verse had only said “..You (oh Prophet) did not know this..”, then they could have claimed that this verse is talking about Alam e Dharr, or Alam al arwah, even before Adam was created; meaning, that is the time when Allah (swt) revealed to our Prophet (saww) the story of Nooh. Well Allah (swt) clarified it by saying “..neither you nor your people..” knew it “BEFORE THIS..,” which clearly shows that Allah (swt) is talking about this world, not some other realm.
This clearly proves that the Prophet (saww) does not know everything from the past (like story of Nuh (as)), and this also proves that the Prophet (saww) was not even aware of the Quran before it was revealed to him in this world.
Verse 2: Allah (swt) instructs the Prophet (s) to say to the people:
قُلْ هُوَ نَبَأٌ عَظِيمٌ مَا كَانَ لِيَ مِنْ عِلْمٍ بِالْمَلَإِ الْأَعْلَىٰ إِذْ يَخْتَصِمُونَ إِن يُوحَىٰ إِلَيَّ إِلَّا أَنَّمَا أَنَا نَذِيرٌ مُّبِينٌ
Say, “It is great news from which you turn away.
I had no knowledge of the exalted assembly [of angels] when they were disputing [the creation of Adam].
It has not been revealed to me except that I am a clear warner.” (Quran, 38:67-70)
Mala e A’ala, according to most Mufassireen refers to the incident when Angels were asked to Prostrate in front of Adam (as), and there was a controversy. Irrespective of what it means, one thing is clear, that the Prophet (saww) was not aware of “Mala e A’ala” when it took place, even though according to popular belief, the Prophet (saww) was created much before Adam (as), so he (saww) should have witnessed whatever happened in Mala e A’ala.
Verse 3: Allah (swt) says to Rasulallah(s)
وَمِمَّنْ حَوْلَكُم مِّنَ الْأَعْرَابِ مُنَافِقُونَ ۖ وَمِنْ أَهْلِ الْمَدِينَةِ ۖ مَرَدُوا عَلَى النِّفَاقِ لَا تَعْلَمُهُمْ ۖ نَحْنُ نَعْلَمُهُمْ ۚ سَنُعَذِّبُهُم مَّرَّتَيْنِ ثُمَّ يُرَدُّونَ إِلَىٰ عَذَابٍ عَظِيمٍ
And among those around you of the Bedouins are hypocrites, and [also] from the people of Madinah. They have become accustomed to hypocrisy. You, [O Muhammad], do not know them, [but] We know them. We will punish them twice [in this world]; then they will be returned to a great punishment. (Quran, 9:101)
Not just past and future. Just like any human, the Prophet (s) is told that he is unaware who the hypocrites are from within the people of his city. Which is why Allah (swt) says “You do not know them…”.
Verse 4: Before narrating the story of Prophet Yusuf (as), Allah says to Rasulallah (s):
نَحْنُ نَقُصُّ عَلَيْكَ أَحْسَنَ الْقَصَصِ بِمَا أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْكَ هَٰذَا الْقُرْآنَ وَإِن كُنتَ مِن قَبْلِهِ لَمِنَ الْغَافِلِينَ
We relate to you, [O Muhammad], the best of stories in what We have revealed to you of this Qur’an although you were, before it, among the unaware. (Quran, 12:3)
An argument is made that the word “ghaafil” does not mean “unaware” rather it means that Rasulallah (saww) was aware, but did not tell the people. If we assume that Rasulallah (saww) knew everything, then Nauzobillah even when he died he was ghaafil, because he did not tell the people all that he knew in his life. This is clearly illogical.
Also see 6:131, 6:156, 7:172 etc where word ghaafil is used for being “unaware”
Verse 5: Allah (swt) asks Rasulallah (s) to say to his people:
قُلْ مَا كُنتُ بِدْعًا مِّنَ الرُّسُلِ وَمَا أَدْرِي مَا يُفْعَلُ بِي وَلَا بِكُمْ ۖ إِنْ أَتَّبِعُ إِلَّا مَا يُوحَىٰ إِلَيَّ وَمَا أَنَا إِلَّا نَذِيرٌ مُّبِينٌ
Say, “I am not something new among the messengers, nor do I know what will be done with me or with you. I only follow that which is revealed to me, and I am not but a clear warner.” (Quran, 46:9)
Some people argue that: “What will be done with me and you” is talking about Day of Judgment, and that is not included in Ilm al Ghayb, rather everything that happens before the Day of Judgment is included in Ilm al Ghayb.
This is against what Imam Ali (as) has been quoted to have said in Nahjul Balagha, Sermon 128. While Imam Ali (as) was informing the people of certain future events, a person from the tribe of Kalb stood up and said “O Amir al-mu’minin, you have been given knowledge of Ghayb. (Because this companion was thinking, if the Imam doesn’t have Ilmul Ghayb, then how can he tell us about these future events, but the Imam corrected him as follows:
Whereupon Amir al-mu’minin (as) laughed and said to the man who belonged to the tribe of Banu Kalb:
“O brother of Kalb! This is not knowledge of hidden things (`ilmu’l-ghayb); rather, these are simply matters I have learned from a possessor of knowledge (i.e. the Prophet) who knew them. As for knowledge of Ghayb, that encompasses the knowledge of the Day of Judgement, and the things covered by Allah in the verse: “Verily, Allah is He with Whom is the knowledge of the Hour; He sends down the rain, and He knows what is in the wombs. No soul knows what it will earn tomorrow, and no soul knows in what land it will die..” (Qur’an, 31:34).
Therefore, Allah alone knows what is there in the wombs, whether male or female, ugly or handsome, generous or miserly, mischievous or pious, and who will be the fuel for Hell and who will be in the company of the Prophets in Paradise. This is the knowledge of the hidden things which is not known to anyone save Allah. Other than this is that whose knowledge Allah passed on to His Prophet and he passed it on to me, and prayed for me that my bosom may retain it and my ribs may hold it.”
As we can see, according to Imam Ali (as), the Day of Judgment is included in Ilm al Ghayb, therefore not having knowledge about the Day of Judgment implies not having Ilm al Ghayb.
Verse 6: Allah (swt) instructs Rasulallah (s) to say to his people:
قُل لَّا أَقُولُ لَكُمْ عِندِي خَزَائِنُ اللَّهِ وَلَا أَعْلَمُ الْغَيْبَ وَلَا أَقُولُ لَكُمْ إِنِّي مَلَكٌ ۖ إِنْ أَتَّبِعُ إِلَّا مَا يُوحَىٰ إِلَيَّ ۚ قُلْ هَلْ يَسْتَوِي الْأَعْمَىٰ وَالْبَصِيرُ ۚ أَفَلَا تَتَفَكَّرُونَ
“Say [O Muhammad]: I do not say to you, I have with me the treasures of Allah, nor do I have knowledge of the Ghayb (unseen), nor do I say to you that I am an angel; I do not follow aught save that which is revealed to me. Say: Are the blind and the seeing one alike? Do you not then reflect?” (Quran, 6:50)
Some people reply to this by saying that the Prophet (s) did not say “ I don’t have knowledge of Ghayb (unseen)”, rather he (s) is saying to the Mushrikeen that “I DO NOT SAY TO YOU that I have Ilm al Ghayb”. Which means, he has knowledge of unseen, but he is just not saying it to the Mushrikeen.
This is clearly an illogical argument. If we see the list of things which Rasulallah (s) mentions in this verse that he will not say to the Mushrikeen, it also includes “nor do I say to you that I am an angel”, So does this mean that Rasulallah (saww) is an angel, but he is just not saying it to the Mushrikeen?
Verse 7: Allah (swt) instructs the Prophet (saww) to say to his people:
قُل لَّا أَمْلِكُ لِنَفْسِي نَفْعًا وَلَا ضَرًّا إِلَّا مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ ۚ وَلَوْ كُنتُ أَعْلَمُ الْغَيْبَ لَاسْتَكْثَرْتُ مِنَ الْخَيْرِ وَمَا مَسَّنِيَ السُّوءُ ۚ إِنْ أَنَا إِلَّا نَذِيرٌ وَبَشِيرٌ لِّقَوْمٍ يُؤْمِنُونَ
Say, “I hold not for myself [the power of] benefit or harm, except what Allah has willed. And if I knew the unseen, I could have acquired much good (wealth), and no harm would have touched me. I am not except a warner and a bringer of good tidings to a people who believe.” (Quran, 7:188)
What is this knowledge, which, if Rasulallah (saww) had, he could have acquired much good, and no harm would have touched him?
If an argument is made that this only means that his knowledge is not independent, rather given by Allah, then a question is raised, how is it possible that ONLY if Rasulallah (saww) had independent knowledge of unseen, only then he “could have acquired much good, and no harm would have touched him”, why is the same thing not possible with the same knowledge of unseen given by Allah?
For example, as person trips and falls down, and he says “I already knew I will trip over here”, so someone asks him “Well if you knew you will trip over here, why weren’t you careful?”, so the other person replies by saying, “Because this is not my independent knowledge, someone else had told me”, so it will be said “it doesn’t matter whether your knowledge was independent or dependent, the point is, you had the knowledge, so you should have used it”.
Another point to ponder is, if the Prophet (s) had knowledge of unseen, no harm would have touched him. Let’s look for an incident where some harm touched the Prophet (s). In Battle of Uhud, some companions left their positions and left the Prophet (s) unsafe, and the Prophet (s) was hurt by the enemy. Clearly, if the Prophet (saww) knew the unseen, according to the verse, no harm would have touched him, but since harm did touch him, we know that he did not have knowledge of unseen.
Verse 8: Allah (swt) instructs the Prophet (s) to say to the people:
كَذَٰلِكَ أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْكَ رُوحًا مِّنْ أَمْرِنَا ۚ مَا كُنتَ تَدْرِي مَا الْكِتَابُ وَلَا الْإِيمَانُ وَلَٰكِن جَعَلْنَاهُ نُورًا نَّهْدِي بِهِ مَن نَّشَاءُ مِنْ عِبَادِنَا ۚ وَإِنَّكَ لَتَهْدِي إِلَىٰ صِرَاطٍ مُّسْتَقِيمٍ
“And thus did We reveal to you an inspired book by Our command. You did not know what the Book was, nor (what) the faith (was), but We made it a light, guiding thereby whom We please of Our servants; and most surely you show the way to the right path!” (Quran, 42:52)
This clearly shows that Rasulallah (s) did not know about the Quran before it was revealed to him nor did he know about the faith. This does not mean that he used to worship idols. Since the Prophet (s) was born in a house whose members were on the religion of Ibrahim (as), and were pure monotheists, there is no question of idol worship.
Verse 9: When the people asked the Prophet (s) about the time of the Day of Judgement, see what Allah (swt) asks the Prophet (s) to reply:
وَيَقُولُونَ مَتَىٰ هَٰذَا الْوَعْدُ إِن كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ
قُلْ إِنَّمَا الْعِلْمُ عِندَ اللَّهِ وَإِنَّمَا أَنَا نَذِيرٌ مُّبِينٌ
And they say, “When is this promise (day of judgment), if you should be truthful?”
Say, “The knowledge is only with Allah, and I am only a clear warner.” (Quran, 67:25-26)
Verse 10: Again he (s) is asked to tell the people:
قُلْ إِنْ أَدْرِي أَقَرِيبٌ مَّا تُوعَدُونَ أَمْ يَجْعَلُ لَهُ رَبِّي أَمَدً
Say, “I do not know if what you are promised (day of judgment) is near or if my Lord will grant for it a [long] period.” (Quran, 72:25)
People claim, that all the verses in the Quran which allude to the fact that the Prophet (s) did not have Ilm al Ghayb only mean that the Prophet (s) did not have “Independent” Ilm al Ghayb, rather his knowledge is “dependent” on Allah. These people cannot apply this principle here, because even if the Prophet (s) had “dependent” knowledge from Allah (swt) about the Day of Judgment, he (s) would not say “I do not know if what you are promised is near or……”. He could have said “I know when the promise will be fulfilled, but this is secret knowledge which cannot be revealed” but he (s) did not say that.
Verse 11: Allah (swt) says to the Prophet (saww), in Surah Ghafir 40:78
وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا رُسُلًا مِّن قَبْلِكَ مِنْهُم مَّن قَصَصْنَا عَلَيْكَ وَمِنْهُم مَّن لَّمْ نَقْصُصْ عَلَيْكَ ۗ وَمَا كَانَ لِرَسُولٍ أَن يَأْتِيَ بِآيَةٍ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ ۚ فَإِذَا جَاءَ أَمْرُ اللَّهِ قُضِيَ بِالْحَقِّ وَخَسِرَ هُنَالِكَ الْمُبْطِلُونَ
And We have already sent messengers before you. Among them are those [whose stories] We have related to you, and among them are those [whose stories] We have not related to you. And it was not for any messenger to bring a sign [or verse] except by permission of Allah. So when the command of Allah comes, it will be concluded in truth, and the falsifiers will thereupon lose [all] (Quran, 40:78)
There are messengers who’s story has not been related to Rasulallah (saww), and if Allah did not tell Rasulallah (saww) surely there is no other way he can know. If an argument is made that this ayat is not addressed to Rasulallah (saww) rather to his people, this can be refuted as Allah says, “qasasna ‘ALAIKA” not “‘alaikum”.
Verse 12: Allah (swt) says to the Prophet (saww)
وَرُسُلًا قَدْ قَصَصْنَاهُمْ عَلَيْكَ مِن قَبْلُ وَرُسُلًا لَّمْ نَقْصُصْهُمْ عَلَيْكَ ۚ وَكَلَّمَ اللَّهُ مُوسَىٰ تَكْلِيمًا
And [We sent] messengers about whom We have related [their stories] to you before and messengers about whom We have not related to you. And Allah spoke to Moses with [direct] speech. (Quran, 4:164)
Again, if Allah (swt) did not relate the stories of some messengers to Rasulallah (saww), then he has no other way to know them.
Verse 13: Allah (swt) says:
أَلَمْ يَأْتِكُمْ نَبَأُ الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ قَوْمِ نُوحٍ وَعَادٍ وَثَمُودَ ۛ وَالَّذِينَ مِن بَعْدِهِمْ ۛ لَا يَعْلَمُهُمْ إِلَّا اللَّهُ ۚ جَاءَتْهُمْ رُسُلُهُم بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ فَرَدُّوا أَيْدِيَهُمْ فِي أَفْوَاهِهِمْ وَقَالُوا إِنَّا كَفَرْنَا بِمَا أُرْسِلْتُم بِهِ وَإِنَّا لَفِي شَكٍّ مِّمَّا تَدْعُونَنَا إِلَيْهِ مُرِيبٍ
Has there not reached you the news of those before you – the people of Noah and ‘Aad and Thamud and those after them? No one knows them but Allah. Their messengers brought them clear proofs, but they returned their hands to their mouths and said, “Indeed, we disbelieve in that with which you have been sent, and indeed we are, about that to which you invite us, in disquieting doubt.” (Quran, 14:9)
“No one knows them except Allah”, does Rasulallah (s) come in “except Allah” or not? Of course he does, it means clearly that the knowledge of those after ‘Aad and Thamud is not with Rasulallah (s), as it is ONLY with Allah and there is no exception to this.
The above verses clearly proves that Allah (swt) has NOT given the Prophet (s) the knowledge of everything. The Prophet (s) only knew about certain past and future events (like the ones that are in Quran), and whatever the Imams (as) knew, they had learnt it from the Quran and the Prophet (s). Hence is goes without saying that even the Imams (as) did not have the knowledge of everything.
Views of some Classical Scholars
Scholarly Opinion 1: In his book, Kamal ud Deen, Sheikh Saduq says, on page 109 and 112:
“And whoever professes that “the occurrences become apparent to Allah (swt), through consideration and gained knowledge”, then such a person is a disbeliever (kafir) in Allah (swt). And what was other than this, then it is the belief of the Mughiriah sect, and anyone who attributes the knowledge of unseen (ghaib) to the Imams (as), then that is an act of disbelief (Kufr) in Allah (swt) and a departure from Islam according to us.” (Kamal ud Deen, Saduq, Pg 109)
And in another place, on page 112, he says:
“…Also, the Imam was not aware of these confusing and contradictory claims that were transmitted by the narrators of Hadith because he does not know the unseen, rather he is just a pious slave of Allah (swt) who knows the Quran and Sunnah, and he only knows about those affairs of his shias which are reported to him” (Kamal ud Deen, Saduq, Pg 112)
Kamal ud Deen, Sheikh Saduq, Pg 109 & Pg 112.
Scholarly Opinion 2: In the book Masail al Ukbariya, Shaikh Mufid (413 AH) was asked(Page 69-72, question number 20):
“There is a consensus among us Shias that the Imam knows what is going to happen, so what was wrong with Imam Ali (as) that he still proceeded to the mosque despite knowing that he would be killed, as well as knowing his killer and the time of his death.And similarly what was wrong with Imam Hussain (as) that he also proceeded to Kufa despite knowing that they will let him down and will not help him, and that he would be killed in this travel. And why is it that when him and his companions were cornered at Karbala, and while he knew that they would be denied access to water, if he had dug into the ground even for about an arm’s length he would have struck water but despite that he did not dig for water to support himself and got martyred thirsty. And why did Imam al Hasan (as) enter into a promise with Muawiyah and made peace despite knowing that he would break the promise, not prove faithful and kill the shias of his father.”
So Shaikh Mufid replied to this claim about the Imam knowing the future:
“The consensus of the Shia scholars is the opposite of that, and Shia scholars have never consented upon this notion that the Imams know the future.”
Al Masail Al Ukbariya, Sheikh Mufeed, pg 69
Scholarly Opinion 3: In his book “Al Awail al Maqalaat”, Sheikh Mufeed writes:
“As for saying that the Imams know ghaib, so it is an extremely evil and corrupt belief….”
Al Awail al Maqalaat, Sheikh Mufeed, Pg 67
Scholarly Opinion 4: Shaikh Tusi wrote in his book Talkhis al Shafi (Volume 1 page 252):
“…We do not consider it necessary for the Imam to have any knowledge of things which is not directly related to Islamic laws….”
Talkhis al shafi, Sheikh Tusi, Pg 252
Scholarly Opinion 5: In Majma ul Bayan, which is one of the most popular Shia Tafseer of Quran, Allama Tabarsi writes for the commentary of this verse (Surah al Hud Verse 123) “And for Allah is the knowledge of ghaib of the skies and the earth”:
“We do not know of any Shia scholar who permits attributing the knowledge of ghaib to any of the makhlooq (creatures) for the only one who is worthy of being characterized by such an attribute is the one who possesses all knowledge without acquisition. And this is true only for Allah whose knowledge is eternal and He knows everything by Himself (without acquiring it from any source). None is a partner of Him in this attribute and whoever believes that anyone other than Allah knows ghaib then he is outside the fold of Islam. Now as for what has been narrated by the Shias and non Shias among the ahadith of Imam Ali where he mentions some events which would take place in the future, so all that knowledge is what he inherited from the Prophet who in turn was informed by Allah (about some limited future events). So those ahadith do not at all mean that the Imams have knowledge of ghaib.”
Majmaul Bayan, Vol 5, Pg 273
Scholarly Opinion 6: Ibn Shahr Ashoob writes in his book, Mutashabih Al Quran:
“The Prophet and the Imam must have full knowledge of the Islamic laws, but it is not necessary upon them to have knowledge of ghayb, after all that would then mean that they are partners of Allah.”
Mutashabih al Quran, Ibn Shahr Ashoob, Pg 211
Narrations of Imams of Ahlulbayt (as)
Narration 1: In a Sahih Narration, in Amali Sheikh Mufeed:
Yahya b. Abdullah b. al-Hasan and I were with Abul Hasan (Imam Ridha a.s), peace be upon him, and Yahya asked him: “May I be your ransom, they think that you have the knowledge of the unseen (Ilmul Ghaib).” He said: “Glory be to Allah! Place your hand over my head. For, By Allah, there does not remain a hair on my head and on my body except that it stood up (Goosebumps). Then he said: “No, By Allah, it is nothing but what we have inherited from the Prophet (peace be upon him and his progeny).”
Amali Sheikh Mufeed, Majlis 3, H5
The same Sahih narration has been mentioned in Rijal al Kashi:
Rijal Kashi, Pg 250
Narration 2: In another Sahih narration in Rijal Kashi:
It is narrated from Ibn Abi Umair, from shu’aib, from Abi Baseer, who said: I said to Abi Abdullah (Imam Sadiq a.s) “Indeed they claim!!!” Imams (as) asked: “And what do they claim?” I said “They claim that you know the (number of the) drops of the rain, and the number of stars and (the number of) leaves on trees, and the weight of what is in the seas and number of (the particles in the) sand.
So the Imam (as) raised his hand towards the sky and said: “Subhanallah! Subhanallah! No one knows all this except for Allah (swt)”
Rijal Kashi, Pg 251
Narration 3: In Nahj balagha, in Sermon 128
Imam Ali (as) discloses some events of the future, so one of the companions said to him: O Amir al-mu’minin, you have been given (Ilm al Ghayb) knowledge of hidden things. Whereupon Amir al-mu’minin laughed and said to the man who belonged to the tribe of Banu Kalb:
O brother of Kalb! This is not knowledge of hidden things (`ilmu’l-ghayb), these matters have been acquired from him (the Prophet) who knew them. As regard knowledge of hidden things, that includes knowledge of the Day of Judgment, and the things covered by Allah in the verse: “Verily, Allah is He with Whom is the knowledge of the Hour; He sends down the rain, and He knows what is in the wombs. No soul knows what it will earn tomorrow, and no soul knows in what land it will die..” (Qur’an, 31:34)
Therefore, Allah alone knows what is there in the wombs, whether male or female, ugly or handsome, generous or miserly, mischievous or pious, and who will be the fuel for Hell and who will be in the company of the Prophets in Paradise. This is the knowledge of the hidden things which is not known to anyone save Allah. All else (that we know) is that whose knowledge Allah passed on to His Prophet and he passed it on to me, and prayed for me that my bosom may retain it and my ribs may hold it.
This shows that whenever the Imams (as) said something about specific future events, it was not due to Ilm al Ghayb, but rather due to what had been narrated by Rasulallah (s) who in turn received it from Allah (swt).
Narration 4: In letter 43 of Nahjul Balagha
Imam Ali (as) write to Masqalah ibn Hubayrah ash-Shaybani, the Governor of Ardashir Khurrah (Iran). Imam Ali (as) says:
I have come to know concerning you a matter which if you have done it you have displeased your Allah and disobeyed your Imam. You are distributing among the Arabs (Bedouins) of your kin who tend towards you the property of the Muslims which they collected by dint of their spears and horses and on which their blood was shed….
If Imam Ali (as) was regularly presented with the deeds of all the people, why does the Imam (as) say “I have come to know concerning you a matter which if you have done it you have displeased your Allah and disobeyed your Imam.”
Shouldn’t the Imam (as) be sure about what this person had been doing? If we read most of the sermons and letters of Imams (as), and read their lives, they seem to be normal human beings, not super natural beings with extraordinary powers and capabilities.
Narration 5: In a letter in Nahjul Balagha:
Imam Ali (as) sent to Munzir ibn Jarud Abdi:
The fact is that piety, honesty and righteousness of your father made me misjudge your character. I thought you were a worthy son of a worthy father and were following him in his honesty and righteousness. But all of a sudden I received about you news which confirms the fact that you do not check and control your inordinate desires, that you do not attach any importance to your life after death and you want to adorn and beautify your life at the cost of your salvation and that you are forsaking your religion to provide for your relatives.
If all that is reported to me about you is correct, then the very camel you own or even the strap-shoe is superior to you. You and men of your caliber are not the persons to be confided with the financial affairs of a country or to be assigned to important vacancies of the State or to be entrusted to check and control dishonesty and disloyalty. Therefore, as soon as you receive this letter come back to me.
As we can see, Imam Ali (as) did not have knowledge about the character of Munzir ibn Jarud, and hence he misjudged his character. Also, further the Imam (as) says, “If all that is reported to me about you is correct”, which means that Imam (as) is open to the possibility that he may have received faulty reports.
This shows that the Imams (as) were regular human beings, and judged and made decisions based on the information available to them, just as we all do. Furthermore, if the Imams (as) had Ilm al Ghayb, i.e knowledge of every minute detail of the universe, knowledge of the past and future, then how can they be role models for us?
If we assume this kind of knowledge for them, then there is no lesson for us in the incidents where the Imams (as) controlled their anger and replied politely in the face of insults and humiliation from the enemy, because anyone can prepare and control himself if he knows what’s going to happen, the real test is when you have no idea and out of nowhere someone comes and starts abusing you, and in that moment you control your anger.
Also, if we assume this kind of knowledge for the Imams (as), then there would be no virtue for Imam Ali (as) to have slept on the bed of the Prophet (saww) on the night of hijra, because anybody could do that if they were sure that they won’t be harmed, but the virtue of Imam Ali (as) lies in the fact that he did not know if he would wake up the next morning or he would be killed, and yet he slept on the bed of the Prophet (s) to save the Prophet’s life.
So those who claim these supernatural powers and supernatural knowledge for the Imams (as) to raise their status, in reality degrade their status as role models that we can emulate, and make it seem impossible for us to take human lessons from the Imams (as).
Therefore, just as the Imams have done on this issue, we should reject the fabricated incidents that attribute Ilm al Ghayb to the Imams (as). Like the incident where Imam Ali (as) says that I never kill a person in battle until I have seen that there is no believer in his next seven generations. These kinds of incidents totally contradict the Quran and narrations of Ahlulbayt (as), as we have seen above.
Appreciation: Thank you to the Shia Reformist website for sharing some of its resources with Al-Islaah.org to publish on this website.