Saturday 9 February 2013

Imams and knowledge of ghaib

 سُئِلَ الشيخُ المفيد قدَّسَ اللهُ رُوحَهُ المتوفى 413 هـ في كتابه المسائل العكبرية ص 69 – 72 :
المسألة العشرون
: الإمامُ عندنا مجمعٌ على أنه يعلم ما يكون، فما بالُ أمير المؤمنين عليه السلام خرج إلى المسجد وهو يعلم أنه مقتول وقد عرف قاتله والوقت والزمان؟ وما بالُ الحسين بن علي عليهما السلام سار إلى الكوفة وقد علم أنهم يخذلونه ولا ينصرونه وأنه مقتول في سفرته تلك؟ وَلِمَ لَمَّا حُصِرُوا وعرف أن الماء قد مُنِعَ منه وأنه إن حفر أذرعاً قريبةً نبع الماء لم يحفر وأعان على نفسه حتى تلف عطشاً؟ والحسنُ وادَعَ معاويةَ وَهَادَنَهُ وهو يعلم أنه ينكث ولا يفي ويقتل شيعة أبيه؟؟
فأجاب الشيخ رحمه الله عنها بقوله: «وأما الجواب عن قوله: (إن الإمام يعلم ما يكون) فإجماعنا أن الأمر على خلاف ما قال، وما أجمعت الشيعة قط على هذا القول

Shaikh Mufid (413 AH) was asked, as found in his book Masail al Akbariyah (Page 69-72, question number 20) as follows: "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 arms 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.

وجاء في «بحار الأنوار» (ج7/ص 318) نقلاً عن كتاب «المسائل العكبرية» للشيخ المفيد قوله فيه: «وَقد يجوز عندي أن تغيب عنه بواطن الأمور فيحكم فيها بالظواهر وَإن كانت على خلاف الحقيقة عند الله تعالى

Allama Baqir Majlisi wrote in Biharul Anwar (Volume 7 Page 318) quoting from Shaikh Mufid's book Masail al Akbariah: "And it is certainly possible according to me (Shaikh Mufid) that the inner reality of an affair maybe hidden from the Imam, so he may then issue his ruling on it as per the dhahir (the apparent) while it may be contrary to the actual reality in the knowledge of Allah

ويقول الشيخ المفيد في كتابه «أوائل المقالات» (ص 38):
«فأما إطلاق القول عليهم بأنهم يعلمون الغيب فهو منكر بيِّنُ الفساد

Shaikh Mufid wrote in his book Awailul Maqalat (page 38): "As for saying that the Imams know ghaib, so it is an extremely evil and corrupt belief."

ويقول الشيخ الطوسي أيضاً في كتابه المذكور: «ولم نوجب أن يكون [الإمام] عالماً بما لا تعلُّق له بالأحكام الشرعية

Shaikh Tusi wrote in his book Talkhis al Shafi (Volume 1 page 252): "It is not wajib for the Imam to have any knowledge of things which are not directly related to Islamic laws.  

الشيخ رشيد الدين محمد بن شهرآشوب المازندراني المتوفى عام 586هـ  يقول في كتابه «متشابه القرآن ومختلفه» (طبع طهران، ج1/ص211) ما نصُّهُ:
«النبيّ والإمام يجب أن يعلما علوم الدين والشريعة ولا يجب أن يعلما الغيب وما كان وما يكون، لأنّ ذلك يؤدّي إلى أنّهما مشاركان للقديم تعالى

Ibn Shahr Ashoob (586 AH) wrote in his book Mutashabih al Qur'an (Volume 1 page 211): "The Prophet and the Imam must have full knowledge of the Islamic laws,but it is not incumbent upon them to have knowledge of ghaib, after all that would then mean that they are partners of Allah
 ." 

 صاحب تفسير «مجمع البيان» يقول في تفسيره لقوله تعالى: ﴿وَلِـلَّهِ غَيْبُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ﴾ [هود/123] ما نصُّهُ:وَلا نعلم أحداً منهم استجاز الوصف بعلم الغيب لأحد من الخلق فإنما يستحق الوصف بذلك من يعلم جميع المعلومات لا بعلم مستفاد وَهذه صفة القديم سبحانه العالم لذاته لا يشركه فيها أحد من المخلوقين وَمن اعتقد أن غير الله سبحانه يشركه في هذه الصفة فهو خارج عن ملّة الإسلام. فأمّا ما نقل عن أمير المؤمنين (عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ) وَرواه عنه الخاص وَالعام من الإخبار بالغائبات في خطب الملاحم وغيرها..... فإن جميع ذلك مُتَلَقَّى عن النبيِّ صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم مما أطلعه الله عليه فلا معنى لنسبة من روي عنهم هذه الأخبار المشهورة إلى أنه يعتقد كونهم عالمين للغيب

Shaikh Tabrisi wrote in Majma al Bayan, for the commentary of this verse (Surah al Hud Vrse 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 characterised 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.
 

المؤامرة الكبرى على مدرسة أهل البيت للشيخ حسين الراضي، الصفحة ٢٢٧
  
Al Mu'amrah al Kubra by Ayatullah Hussain al Radhy, Page 227

ما رواه الكشي في (رجاله) في الحديث الصحيح عن ابن المغيرة قال كنت عند أبي الحسن (ع) أنا و يحيى بن عبد الله بن الحسن (ع) فقال يحيى جعلت فداك إنهم يزعمون أنك تعلم الغيب؟ فقال: سبحان الله سبحان الله ضع يدك على رأسي فو الله ما بقيت في جسدي شعرة و لا في رأسي إلا قامت قال ثم قال: لا و الله ما هي إلا وراثة عن رسول الله (ص
  
Shaikh Kashi reported (in his Rijal Kashi) in a sahih (authentic) hadith from ibn al Mughirah that he said: I was with abi al Hasan (as) along with Yahya b. Abdullah b. al Hasan, so Yahya said: "May we be your ransom, indeed they believe that you know ghaib (unseen)?" So Imam (as) said: "Glory be to Allah! Glory be to Allah! Place your hand on my head, for by Allah there does not remain a hair on my body or head but that it is standing up*." Imam (as) then continued: "No! By Allah (swt) it is not but inheritance from the Prophet (pbuh).*"

*Translator's note: The Imam (as) pointed out that the hair on his head and body are standing on its end to emphasize how frightened he felt by the deviant beliefs of the people that they believed the Imams (as) know ghaib.

The Imam (as) then clarified that the knowledge of the Imams is due to inheritance from the Prophet (pbuh), which includes certain prophecies about future events, but they do not know ghaib.

ما رواه الكشي في الصحيح عن ابن أبي عمير، عن شعيب، عن أبي بصير، قال قلت لأبي عبد الله (ع) إنهم يقولون! قال: و ما يقولون قلت يقولون تعلم قطر المطر و عدد النجوم و ورق الشجر و وزن ما في البحر و عدد التراب، فرفع يده إلى السماء، و قال: سبحان الله سبحان الله لا و الله ما يعلم هذا إلا الله.

Shaikh Kashi reported in a sahih hadith from ibn abi Umair, from Shu'aib, from abi Baseer, who said: I said to abi Abdullah (as): "Indeed they claim!" Imam (as) asked: "And what do they claim?" I said: "They claim that you know (number of) drops of the rain, number of stars and leaves of trees, weight of what is in the seas and number of (particles of) sand." So Imam (as) raised his hand towards the sky and said: "Subhanallah! Subhanallah! No one knows all this except for Allah (swt)."


الاحتجاج - الشيخ الطبرسي - ج ٢ - الصفحة ٢٨٨

Al Ihtijaj by Shaikh Tabrisi (ra), Volume 2, Page 288

ومما خرج عن صاحب الزمان صلوات الله عليه، ردا على الغلاة من التوقيع جوابا لكتاب كتب إليه على يدي محمد بن علي بن هلال الكرخي

(Section on) What came among the signed letters of Imam Mahdi (as) in refutation of the ghulat, which he had written in reply to what Muhammad b. Ali. b. Hilal al Karkhi wrote to him.

يا محمد بن علي تعالى الله وجل عما يصفون، سبحانه وبحمده، ليس نحن شركاؤه في علمه ولا في قدرته، بل لا يعلم الغيب غيره، كما قال في محكم كتابه تباركت أسماؤه: (قل لا يعلم من في السماوات والأرض الغيب إلا الله
وأنا وجميع آبائي من الأولين: آدم ونوح وإبراهيم وموسى، وغيرهم من النبيين، ومن الآخرين محمد رسول الله، وعلي بن أبي طالب، وغيرهم ممن مضى من الأئمة صلوات الله عليهم أجمعين، إلى مبلغ أيامي ومنتهى عصري، عبيد الله عز وجل يقول الله عز وجل: (من أعرض عن ذكري فإن له معيشة ضنكا ونحشره يوم القيامة أعمى * قال رب لم حشرتني أعمى وقد كنت بصيرا * قال كذلك أتتك آياتنا فنسيتها وكذلك اليوم تنسى) يا محمد بن علي قد آذانا جهلاء الشيعة وحمقاؤهم، ومن دينه جناح البعوضة أرجح منه.
فأشهد الله الذي لا إله إلا هو وكفى به شهيدا، ورسوله محمد صلى الله عليه وآله، وملائكته وأنبياءه، وأولياءه عليهم السلام.
وأشهدك، وأشهد كل من سمع كتابي هذا، أني برئ إلى الله وإلى رسوله ممن يقول: إنا نعلم الغيب، ونشاركه في ملكه، أو يحلنا محلا سوى المحل الذي رضيه الله لنا وخلقنا له، أو يتعدى بنا عما قد فسرته لك وبينته في صدر كتابي.
وأشهدكم: أن كل من نبرأ منه فإن الله يبرأ منه وملائكته ورسله وأولياءه وجعلت هذا التوقيع الذي في هذا الكتاب أمانة في عنقك وعنق من سمعه أن لا يكتمه لأحد من موالي وشيعتي حتى يظهر على هذا التوقيع الكل من الموالي لعل الله عز وجل يتلافاهم فيرجعون إلى دين الله الحق، وينتهون عما لا يعلمون منتهى أمره، ولا يبلغ منتهاه، فكل من فهم كتابي ولا يرجع إلى ما قد أمرته ونهيته، فقد حلت عليه اللعنة من الله وممن ذكرت من عباده الصالحين

O Muhammad b. Ali! Allah (swt) is far above and exalted of what they describe, He is glorified and worthy of praise. We are not His partners in His knowledge or His authority. In fact, no one has the knowledge of the unseen (ghaib) other than Him, as He, blessed are His names, said in His clearly established book (al Qur'an 27:65)[Say: "None in the heavens and the earth knows the Ghaib (unseen) except Allah].

And me and all my forefathers; from the earlier generation of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses and others among the prophets, as well as the later generation of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), Ali (as) and others before the Imams (as) to the end of my days and end of my era, were slaves of Allah (swt). Allah (swt) says (al Qur'an 20: 124-126):["But whosoever turns away from My Reminder verily, for him is a life of hardship, and We shall raise him up blind on the Day of Resurrection." He will say:"O my Lord! Why have you raised me up blind, while I had sight (before)." (Allah) will say: "Like this, Our signs came unto you, but you disregarded them, and so this Day, you will be neglected."]

O Muhammad b. Ali! The uneducated people and the idiots among the shias, and (people like) the one whose religion is outweighed by a bug's wing, have hurt us.

So I make Allah (swt), the one apart from whom there is no one worthy of worship, a witness and it is a sufficient testimony, and (I make witness) Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), His angels, His prophets and His beloved people. Peace be upon them all. And I make you a witness and all those who hear this message, I declare my dissociation to Allah (swt) and His messenger (pbuh) from anyone who says that we know ghaib, share His kingdom or attributes to us a position other than the one chosen by Allah (swt) for us and which we were created for, or transgresses with regards to us in what has been explained to you and laid out in the heart of this message.

And I make you all witness that whoever we dissociate from, then indeed Allah (swt), His angels, His messengers and His beloved people also dissociate from him. And I declare this message which is in this letter a trust (responsibility/duty) on your neck and the neck of everyone who hears it, to not conceal it from anyone among my lovers and shias so that this message is revealed to all the mawalis (lovers of ahlulbayt). Perhaps Allah (swt) will avert them so that they return to the true religion of Allah (swt) and will stop from that about which they do not know its ending (result) nor will they reach it. 

So anyone who comprehends this message but does not conform to what it has ordered and forbidden, then upon him is damnation of Allah and those pious people that have been mentioned.


Authenticity of the above text:

روضات الجنات للخونساري: ١٩ - ١

Rawdat al Jannat by Baqir Khawnsari, Volume 1, Page 19

و " كتاب الاحتجاج معتبر معروف بين الطائفة، مشتمل على كل ما اطلع عليه من احتجاجات النبي والأئمة، بل كثير من أصحابهم الأمجاد مع جملة من الأشقياء المخالفين

And the book "Al Ihtijaj" is reliable and well known among the circle of scholars, composed of all that he (Shaikh Tabrisi) reviewed among the debates of the Prophet (pbuh) and the Imams (as), even from (the debates of) many of their glorious companions with a number of the wretched opponents.
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Kamal al Din by Shaikh Saduq

ومن قال: إن الله يبدو له من إحداث رأي وعلم مستفاد فهو كافر بالله. وما كان غير هذا فهو قول المغيرية، ومن ينحل للأئمة علم الغيب. فهذا كفر بالله، وخروج عن الاسلام عندنا

And one who professed that "indeed the occurrences become apparent to Allah (swt), through consideration and gained knowledge", so he is a disbeliever (kafir) of Allah (swt). And what was other than this, so it is the belief of the "mughiriah" sect, and one who attributes the knowledge of the unseen (Ghaib) to the Imams (as) so it is disbelief (kufr) in Allah (swt) and expulsion from Islam according to us. (Page 106)

والامام أيضا لم يقف على كل هذه التخاليط التي رويت لأنه لا يعلم الغيب، وإنما هو عبد صالح يعلم الكتاب والسنة، ويعلم من أخبار شيعته ما ينهى إليه

And the Imam also did not stop all this confusion which you saw because he does not know the unseen, rather he is just a pious slave of Allah (swt) who knows the Qur'an and the sunnah, and he knows about the affairs of his shias that are not inhibited from him. (Page 110)

قد أكثرت في ذكر علم الغيب، والغيب لا يعلمه إلا الله، وما ادعاه لبشر إلا مشرك كافر

We have expanded a lot about the issue of knowledge of the unseen, and no one knows the unseen except Allah (swt), and no one claims it for a human except for a polytheistic disbeliever (mushrik kafir). (Page 116)


35 comments:

  1. Assalaamu `Alaykum Brother Bhooka,

    May Allaah (SWT) bless you for translating this great letter. This is not the only hadeeth that our A'immah have denied knowledge of the unseen (`ilm al-ghayb). There are many more, many of them are saheeh, if you want some more aHaadeeth talking about this, and you want to add it to this specific post, email me. I'll send them to you, if you want.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wa'laikum assalam brother Nader,

    Insha'Allah, thanks for the appreciation.

    Inshallah I'll email you later, because now I'm down with a cold :(

    ReplyDelete
  3. salam alaykum.

    takvini wilayat: http://velayet.wordpress.com/tag/tekvini-velayet/
    imam Ali(as):"Salooni" http://velayet.wordpress.com/2011/02/04/271/

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBg5xTwVJ2A&feature=related

    ReplyDelete
  4. @Velayet: Wa'laikum assalam,

    Brother those ahadith in your link are not about wilayat takwini. They only mention that by the prayers of Imams to Allah, miraculous events happened. That is accepted, but that doesn't mean they themselves have power to perform miracles. That is shirk and kufr to believe such.

    As for Imam Ali (and rest of the Imams), they did not know ghaib but had inherited the knowledge of the Prophet (pbuh), which included prophecies about certain events of the future. That doesn't mean that they know everything about future or have knowledge of ghaib.

    Wassalam

    ReplyDelete
  5. salam alaykum brother. this hadeeth with vilayat at-takvini:

    عدة من أصحابنا، عن أحمد بن محمد، عن علي بن الحكم، عن مثنى الحناط عن أبي بصير قال: دخلت على أبي جعفر (عليه السلام) فقلت له: أنتم ورثة رسول الله (صلى الله عليه وآله)؟
    قال: نعم، قلت: رسول الله (صلى الله عليه وآله) وارث الانبياء، علم كما علموا؟ قال لي: نعم، قلت: فأنتم تقدرون على أن تحيوا الموتى وتبرؤا الاكمه والابرص؟ قال: نعم بإذن الله، ثم قال لي: ادن مني يا أبا محمد فدنوت منه فمسح على وجهي وعلى عيني فابصرت الشمس والسماء والارض والبيوت وكل شئ في البلد (2) ثم قال لي:
    أتحب أن تكون هكذا ولك ما للناس وعليك ما عليهم يوم القيامة أو تعود كما كنت ولك الجنة خالصا؟ قالت: أعود كما كنت، فمسح على عيني فعدت كما كنت، قال: فحدثت ابن أبي عمير بهذا، فقال أشهد أن هذا حق كما أن النهار حق
    ...from abu Basir who has said the following: Once I went to see Abu Ja‘far a.s and asked him, "Are you the heirs of the Messenger of Allah?" He said, "Yes, we are his heirs." I then asked, "Was the Messenger of Allah the heir of the prophets and knew all that they knew?" He said to me, "Yes, it is true." I then asked, "Do you have the power to bring the dead back to life and cure the lepers, and the blind?" He said, "Yes, we do have such powers by the permission of Allah."

    The he said to me, "Come closer to me, O abu Muhammad." I went closer to him and he rubbed my face and my eyes and saw the sun, the skies, the earth, the houses and all things in the town. Then he said to me, "Do you like to live this way and will have what others have and be responsible for whatever they will be held responsible on the Day of Judgment or like to live as before and will have paradise purely?" I said, "I would like to live as I lived before." He rubbed my eyes and I found myself as before.

    Abu Basir said: The narrator has said that he told it to ibn abu ‘Umayr who said, "I testify that this is true just as the day is true."

    "al-Kaafi", 1/470, hadeeth 3
    http://www.alhikmeh.com/arabic/mktba/hadith/alkafi01/15.htm#05
    "Basair", page 269, hadeeth 1
    http://gadir.free.fr/Ar/Ehlibeyt/kutub2/Besairud%20Deracat/ahlulbait/Basaer_Al_Darajat/14.htm#_Toc11557153

    val hadeeth sahih inshaAllah. In addition, this issue is already fixed in the Qur'an Al-i Imran 49, Sad 36, Naml 40 etc.

    ReplyDelete
  6. @Velayet: Wa'laikum assalam,

    Yes, the hadith is authentic, but this one also is not talking about wilayat takwini. In fact none of our ahadith do. The hadith that you quoted shows that the supplications of Imams are answered by Allah, so for example if they pray to Allah then yes Allah grants their prayer and dead may become alive. But, the Imams only act as per Allah's wishes, and therefore they don't pray for something which is against the wish of Allah. This does not mean that imams themselves have been given powers by Allah to do these things.

    I'd already covered this issue in this post: http://realtashayyu.blogspot.com/2011/05/tafwidh-and-ghulu.html

    Wassalam

    ReplyDelete
  7. my english is bad, I do not understand

    ReplyDelete
  8. you are a good shia akhi may allah bless you. U are a million times better than these so-called shia of today who harmed the image of tashayu

    ReplyDelete
  9. @Walid: Assalamu alaikum,

    Thanks bro, may Allah (swt) bless u as well inshallah.

    ReplyDelete
  10. It's very hard for an akhbari not to go astray but you did stay on the middle path so i am really surprised in a good way and impressed. your way is very close to usoolism so have you come back to usoolism. also don'tforget that not ever hadith with sahih sanad is sahih. jazakallah khairan wassalam

    ReplyDelete
  11. @Walid: Brother, as you know hidayah is only from Allah (swt) and He guides whoever He wills.

    I am not fully akhbari, but yes I'm very heavily inclined to it. About 1.5-2 years ago I used to be very hard core usooli (muqallid of Ayt. Sistani) but then I left usoolism.

    I've not come back to usulism, far from it, but I highly believe in use of dirayah when studying ahadith because the classical scholars as well as akhbari scholars such as Shaikh Hurr al Amili (ra) also used to do so. Ahadith themselves instruct us to do so.

    I quote usuli scholars on my blog when their view is in line with classical tashayyu, also because many readers are usuli so for their benefit.

    Wassalam

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  12. brother sistani and almost all shcolars today are just akhbaris. They are akhbaris who are pro-taqleed and we know why. they are not usoolis but akhbaris who evolved and taqleed is the main difference between them and akhbaris and at least the early akhbaris had some principles unlike these scholars today who claim to be usooli but they are farther from usoolism than hindus. the only few usoolis left are sayed fadhlallah(rah) and sheikh asif mohsini and sheikh al-radhi and few others but the rest are just pretenders. Anyway bro u are doing great

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  13. to me a shia must be knowledgeable and also open minded: learn from everyone even the enemies and even the non-muslims whatever is beneficial for our faith and our "donia"(worldly life).I myself have learned a lot from Emmanual kant and Sigmund Freud etc..
    I benefit from all Islamic schools of thoughts after knowing what is beneficial in them and what's not. this is how it should be in my opinion

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  14. last word: this is maybe the best article you have written and i support you and pray for you and me and all good people inshallah. good bye and good luck akhi

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  15. @Walid: Assalamu alaikum brother,

    Thank you for your prayers. May Allah (swt) bless us and guide us all inshallah!

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  16. Imam Ali(as)said fourteen times that ask me whatever u want before u loose me,ask from any emminent Alim in Qom,or Najaf,this Hadees is authentic with authentic chain.Imam Ali(as)decided cases in times of umar with knowledge of unseen,or was their verdicts were prophesized by Prophet(saww)by explaining each case,which were countless.And,it's also a well known fact that in age of every Imam(as),Their believers were used to judge them by various methods,if they can tell,who has sent how much Khums,was it halaal,or not,and they reply their letters without opening the seals.This couldn't be done by mere prophecies,read life history of any Imam(as).And classical scholars have said so many other things too,read them properly,such traditions are very rare which support your stance.Don't think every reader is unaware what is written by old scholars.We know the real Tasshayu.

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  17. Do Imams have Ilm al-Ghayb?
    http://discovershiaislam.blogspot.com/2012/04/do-imams-have-ilm-al-ghayb.html

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  18. الراصد : الرد على حاي الحاي حول موضوع علم الغيب
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjFWvzn4oOI

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  19. WOW!
    Great example of selection quoting of narrations and verses of the Quran.
    Since the authenticity of the book Ehtejaaj is quoted above I will quote a verse of the Quran and its Tafseer from Ehtejaaj on this very issue.

    Holy Quran: Sura: 72 (Al-Jinn) Verse:25-26

    عَالِمُ الْغَيْبِ فَلَا يُظْهِرُ عَلَىٰ غَيْبِهِ أَحَدًا
    إِلَّا مَنِ ارْتَضَىٰ مِنْ رَسُولٍ فَإِنَّهُ يَسْلُكُ مِنْ بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِ رَصَدًا

    "He knows the Unseen, nor does He make any one acquainted with His Mysteries.
    Except a messenger whom He has chosen: and then He makes a band of watchers march before him and behind him."
    Chapter: 72, Verse 25-26.

    Tafseer of the Above verse from the Holy Imam's (as):-

    Imam Ali (as) says:
    و عرف الخلق اقتدارهم على علم الغيب بقوله عالِمُ الْغَيْبِ فَلا يُظْهِرُ عَلى‏ غَيْبِهِ أَحَداً إِلَّا مَنِ ارْتَضى‏ مِنْ رَسُول

    "And Allah (swt) has made known to his creations that his Wali's have authority over the knowledge of the unseen as per the saying of Allah "He knows the Unseen, nor does He make any one acquainted with His Mysteries.Except a messenger whom He has chosen".

    Source: Al-Ehtejaaj Vol.1 Pg. 252 / Tafseer e Noor us Saqlain Vol.5 Pg.444

    Its very unfair to come to conclusions based on a single narration when we have very clear narrations and verses of the Quran which prove that the Imam's (as) do have knowledge of the unseen provided by Allah (swt).

    Infact a clear read of the above narration proves that none is a partner of Allah (swt) in knowledge/authority or anything else for that matter and this is not limited to only knowledge of the unseen.

    More on Knowledge of the unseen can be read here:
    http://www.marefateahlebait.com/know-the-ahlul-bait/ilm-e-gaib

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  21. You najis dog! You filthy pig! How dare you insult the imams like this??! Go phuck yourself you bloody loser!

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    1. Where did bhooka 'insult' the imams? The only one throwing vile insults is you. Dont you have any shame, swearing (not just insulting but swearing) at a shia brother like this?

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    2. "O Muhammad b. Ali! The uneducated people and the idiots among the shias, and (people like) the one whose religion is outweighed by a bug's wing, have hurt us.

      So I make Allah (swt), the one apart from whom there is no one worthy of worship, a witness and it is a sufficient testimony, and (I make witness) Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), His angels, His prophets and His beloved people. Peace be upon them all. And I make you a witness and all those who hear this message, I declare my dissociation to Allah (swt) and His messenger (pbuh) from anyone who says that we know ghaib, share His kingdom or attributes to us a position other than the one chosen by Allah (swt) for us and which we were created for, or transgresses with regards to us in what has been explained to you and laid out in the heart of this message.

      And I make you all witness that whoever we dissociate from, then indeed Allah (swt), His angels, His messengers and His beloved people also dissociate from him."

      -'Imaam al Mahdi (as)

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  22. حدثنا أحمد بن محمد عن الحسن بن محبوب عن علي بن رئاب عن سدير قال:
    سمعت حمران بن أعين يسأل أبا جعفر عليه السلام عن قول الله تبارك تعالى بديع السماوات والأرض فقال أبو جعفر ان الله ابتدع الأشياء كلها على غير مثال كان وابتدع السماوات والأرض ولم يكن قبلهن سماوات ولا أرضون اما تسمع قوله تعالى وكان عرشه على الماء فقال له حمران بن أعين أرأيت قوله عالم الغيب فلا يظهر على غيبه أحدا فقال له أبو جعفر عليه السلام الا من ارتضى من رسول وكان محمد والله ممن ارتضاه واما قوله تبارك وتعالى عالم الغيب فان الله عالم بما غاب عن خلقه بما يقدر من شيء ويقضيه في علمه فذلك يا حمران علم موقوف عنده إليه فيه المشية فيقضيه إذا أراد ويبدو له فيه فلا يمضيه فاما العلم الذي يقدره الله ويقضيه ويمضيه فهو العلم الذي انتهى إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله ثم إلينا

    Narrated to us Ahmad Bin Muhammad, from Al-Hassan Bin Mahboub, from Ali Bin Ra'ab, from Sadeer who said:

    "I heard Humran ibn A‘yan ask abu Ja‘far (as) about the words of Allah, the Most Holy, the Most High Allah, ‘. . . One Who is the Originator of the heavens and the earth. . .’" [6:101] Abu Ja‘far (as) said, "Allah, the Most Holy, the Most High, originated all things through His knowledge. It was unprecedented. He invented the heavens and earths and there were no heavens and earths before. Have you not considered the words of Allah, ". . .His Throne existed on water. . ." [11:7]

    Humran then said, "Have you considered His words, Majestic is Whose name, ‘He knows the unseen and He does not allow anyone to know His secrets . . ." [72:26]

    Abu Ja‘far (as) then said, " except those of His Messengers whom He chooses. [72:26] Muhammad (as), I swear by Allah, was one of those whom Allah had chosen. However, there are His words "He knows the hidden facts." The fact that Allah, the Most Holy, the Most High, knows what is hidden from His creatures of the things that He measures and determines and decrees in His knowledge before creating it and before assigning to the angels, it is because of the following. O Humran, there is the knowledge withheld before Him in which He has a wish. He then decrees it when He wills. Bada’ may take place in it and He then will not decree it. The knowledge that, however, Allah, the Most Holy, the Most High, measures and determines and approves is the knowledge that reaches the Messenger of Allah and then it reaches us."

    [Source: Basaar Al-Darjaat, Vol.2, Chapter. 22, Hadees. 1 & Al-Kafi, Vol.1 Pg. 256]
    All narrators are trustworthy. Narration is Saheeh (Authentic).
    [Regarding Sadeer Al-Sairafi, he is considered as Trustworthy by Sayed Khoi. See Mojam Al-Rijal, Narrator no. 4992]

    http://www.marefateahlebait.com/know-the-ahlul-bait/ilm-e-gaib

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    1. This narration clearly defines as to what is the 'Ilm-e-Gaib' when referred to Allah (swt). And it makes it crystal clear with the verse of the Holy Quran that Allah (swt) does make the knowledge of Gaib reach the AhlulBait (as).

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  23. We also have the following in Ziyarat-e-Jamiya, which is an authentic Ziyarat trusted and relied up by scholars from the past and present. This Ziyarah is also considered authentic by Sheikh Sadooq.

    This Ziyarah can be recited for all the Imam's (as) and hence its called 'Jamiya

    وَارْتَضَاكُمْ لِغَيْبِهِ - And Approved you for his unseen

    [Source: Ziyarat-e-Jamiya, Uyoon Al-Akbar Al-Reza - Sheikh Sadooq]

    For the details on the scholars who considered this Ziyarat as authentic and reliable read here (in arabic): http://www.alkafi.net/vb/showthread.php?t=460

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  24. I personally don't agree with following quran and hadis so much literally and blindly like the wahabis. We should take a moment to see what we feel and then judge if what we feel is right.

    If a hadis or ayat says imams dont know ghaib then should we just blindly and literally follow it like wahabis?? Eventhough we know that it doesnt feel right. We are shias, we use our aql. We are not wahabis who just literally follow quran and hadis.

    This question is a no brainer. We all shias believe that imams must know ghaib bcause only that is what feels right and imams said they know everything for example people would do something and hide it from imam but the imams would tell them what they had done.

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  25. siraatoaliyinhaqqun17 February 2013 at 03:10

    Looks like what people considering as ghayab is not ghayab but a knowledge given to them a.s from rasool Allah saws. And at places there is a thing which is ghayab to us but visible to them like they can see behind as they see ahead or they know what is behind walls and examples as such. And there is a kind of ghayb which only Allah azwj knows and there is a part which they can know if they want to know. There is really no big deal of difference and rejecting a hadees to accept another can be a dangerous approach

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  26. U bloody harami dog! Don't you dare bark at our imams! y dont u get the guts to say wat u write openly so we can deal with you ourselves? Why do you always hide behind your computer in your mother's basement, you dirty swine.

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  27. Bhooka, how much do your masters pay you to create fitna?

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  28. as-salamu alaykum. dear brother, What is your opinion about this hadith?

    وكان أمير المؤمنين صلوات الله عليه كثيرا ما يقول: أنا قسيم الله بين الجنة والنار وأنا الفاروق الاكبر وأنا صاحب العصا والميسم ولقد أقرت لي جميع الملائكة والروح والرسل بمثل ما أقروا به لمحمد صلى الله عليه وآله ولقد حملت على مثل حمولته وهي حمولة الرب وإن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله يدعى فيكسى، وادعى فأكسى ويستنطق واستنطق فأنطق على حد منطقه، ولقد اعطيت خصالا ما سبقني إليها أحد قبلي علمت المنايا والبلايا، والانساب وفصل الخطاب، فلم يفتني ما سبقني، ولم يعزب عني ما غاب عني، ابشر باذن الله واؤدي عنه، كل ذلك من الله مكنني فيه بعلمه
    Amir al-Mu’minin Ali (a.s.) would very often say, "I am the supervisor for Allah to see who should go to Paradise and who should go to Hell. I am the greatest criterion, the possessor of the staff and the (marking) seal Miysam All the angels and the spirit have acknowledged the existence in me of all the matters that they had acknowledge in Prophet Muhammad (s.a.). I am held responsible for all such matters that Prophet Muhammad (s.a.) was held responsible. Such responsibilities are the duties to Allah, the Lord. The Holy Prophet will be called upon and his call will be accepted. I will be called up on and my call will be accepted. The Holy Prophet will be made to speak and I will be made to speak and I will speak just the way he would speak. I have been given certain distinctions which are given to no one before me. I was taught all about the deaths, the sufferings, the genealogy of people and clear speech. I have not missed any of the knowledge that have passed me by and nothing of the future is unseen or unknown to me. I give good news by the permission of Allah and do my duty towards Allah. All of these is from Allah Who has made it possible for me through His knowledge."

    Kulayni r.a, "al-Kafee", 1/197, Kitab al-Hujja, bab 14, hadith 1
    http://www.alseraj.net/maktaba/kotob/hadith/kafi1/html/ara/books/al-kafi-1/78.html

    and you said that the four books of Sahih (link: http://realtashayyu.blogspot.com/2011/05/authenticity-of-ahadith-in-kutub-al.html). How do you say if you do not know the unseen imams this hadith is authentic in this case?

    keywords: ولم يعزب عني ما غاب عني

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  29. and Kulayni r.a said in his book:

    بَابُ أَنَّ الائِمَّةَ (عليهم السلم) يَعْلَمُونَ عِلْمَ مَا كَانَ وَمَا يَكُونُ وَأَنَّهُ لا يَخْفَى عَلَيْهِمُ الشَّيْ‏ءُ صَلَوَاتُ الله عَلَيْهِمْ
    Chapter: The Imams (a.s.) do have the knowledge of what was and will be, and that nothing is unknown to them (a.s.)

    Kulayni r.a, "al-Kafee", 1/261, Kitab al-Hujja, bab 48
    http://www.alseraj.net/maktaba/kotob/hadith/kafi1/html/ara/books/al-kafi-1/112.html

    What is this? teacher of ancient scholar not?

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  30. قُلْ مَا كُنتُ بِدْعًا مِّنَ الرُّ‌سُلِ وَمَا أَدْرِ‌ي مَا يُفْعَلُ بِي وَلَا بِكُمْ ۖ إِنْ أَتَّبِعُ إِلَّا مَا يُوحَىٰ إِلَيَّ وَمَا أَنَا إِلَّا نَذِيرٌ‌ مُّبِينٌ : الاحقاف ٩

    إن سال السائل فقال: أليس قد وعد الله تعالى المؤمنين في عدة مواضع من كتابه المجيد بالجنة و الخلود في النعيم فما معنى قول النبي صلى الله عليه و آله وَمَا أَدْرِ‌ي مَا يُفْعَلُ بِي وَلَا بِكُمْ

    قلنا إنه لا يجوز ان يريد النبي صلى الله عليه و آله بقوله وَمَا أَدْرِ‌ي مَا يُفْعَلُ بِي وَلَا بِكُمْ الثواب و العقاب و دخول الجنة و النار لانه صلى الله عليه و آله عالم بان الجنة ماواه و الثواب عاقبته و لا يجوز ان يشك في انه ليس من اهل النار و إن شك في ذلك من حال غيره و المراد بالآية إني لا ادري ما يفعل بي و بيكم من المنافع و المضار الدنيوية كالصحة و المرض و الغنى و الفقر و الخصب و الجدب و هذا المعنى صحيح واضح لا شبهة فيه

    و يجوز ايضا ان يريد انني لا ادري ما يحدث ه الله تعالى من العبادات و يامرني به و اياكم من الشرعيات و ما ينسخ من الشرائع و ما يقر منها و يستدام لان ذلك كله مغيب عنه صلى الله عليه و آله و هذا يليق بقوله في اول الآية قُلْ مَا كُنتُ بِدْعًا مِّنَ الرُّ‌سُلِ و في آخر الآية إِنْ أَتَّبِعُ إِلَّا مَا يُوحَىٰ إِلَيَّ

    نفائس التأويل, الشريف المرتضى, ص ٣٤٢


    Say, ‘I am not a novelty among the apostles, nor do I know what will be done with me, or with you. I just follow whatever is revealed to me, and I am just a manifest warner.’ al-Ahqaf 9

    If the question is asked: Has Allah, Most High, not promised the believers paradise and eternity spent in bliss in multiple places in His Glorious Book, so what is the meaning of the saying of the Prophet, peace be upon him and his family, "nor do I know what will be done with me, or with you"?

    We say that it is not permissible for the Prophet, peace be upon him and his family, to have intended through his saying "nor do I know what will be done with me, or with you" (to refer to) reward or punishment or entering heaven or hell because he, peace be upon him and his family, knows that heaven is his final abode and his reward will be a favourable outcome. It is not permissible for him to doubt that he will not be from the people of hell, and doubt with regards to that would not befit his situation. The intended meaning of the verse is that 'I do not know what will be done with me or you regarding the wordly benefits and harms such as health and sickness and fertility and infertility' and this is the clear, correct meaning, there is no doubt about it.

    It is also permissible that he intended that 'I do not know what Allah, Most High, will bring about from the acts of worship, or what He will enjoin upon me and you of the divine laws or what He will abrogate from the divine legislation or what He will leave in it's place and keep. Because all of that is concealed from him, peace be upon him and his family, and that best befits his saying: "I am not a novelty among the apostles" and ending with: "I just follow whatever is revealed to me."

    al-Sharif al-Murtada, Nafa'is al-Ta'wil p 342

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  31. Just came across your site .. thank you for going through thorough research and it only makes perfect sense. i just wonder though, some of the marjas (or most) we follow today - they will have most likely come across the hadiths you posted but they do not comment or say anything to the general masses to guide their beliefs. I understand it is out of fear of initiating any form of fitna within - but do you believe they SHOULD say something regarding some of the beliefs shias hold?

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    1. To be fair, the ones who believe in these ahadith and do hold the view that imams do not know ghaib (such as ayt asif mohsini, dhakkoo, late ayt fadlullah, ayt jawad mughnia etc) have also spoken/written about it. As for majority of the rest, they strongly believe that imams know ghaib and either explain away or dismiss these ahadith; and they are not quiet due to fear of fitna, but sadly because they in strongly believe exactly what the masses believe (infact these beliefs spread in the masses because of them). Yes, ayt khamenei and sistani are a different case, it is not proven that they necessarily hold this view, and yes maybe keeping quiet due to masses, and if so then yes they should definitely speak out.
      Bhooka

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