Allah’s Knowledge and the Infallibles’ (peace be upon them ) Knowledge of the Unseen | |||||
QUESTION: Shed some light on the knowledge of the unseen of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and the pure Imams (peace be upon them). And in this regard, considering the principle that Allah has no partner in His knowledge and other attributes of perfection and beauty, explain the difference between Allah’s and the Imam’s knowledge and between the Imam’s and the Prophet’s knowledge. ANSWER: Anyone who studies the books of history, traditions, and biographies will not doubt the fact that the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and the pure Imams (peace be upon them) made known many unseen matters, most of which took place in the world within a short period. These reports, especially what has come down from the person of the noble Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and Amir al-Mu’minin (peace be upon him), are great in number, and each one of them is considered a part of the major miracles of this house. In fact, as affirmed by individuals like Ibn Khaldun, in many instances Imam Ja`far al-as-Sadiq (peace be upon him) would give news about unseen matters. Of course, the difference between Allah’s knowledge of the unseen and that of these personages is that Allah’s knowledge is by essence, while the knowledge of the Prophet or Imam is outside of their essence, that is, it has been granted them by Allah. Allah is unique, peerless, and independent of others in all His attributes of perfection, but the Prophet and Imam are in need of Allah with respect to their knowledge and all other attributes of perfection which they possess; and in a word, everything they have, whether from the aspect of existence or attributes, is from Allah. They are existent through Him and knowledgeable and possessed of power through Him. However, the difference between the Prophet and Imam with regard to awareness of unseen matters is from the aspect that in the Prophet’s knowledge, no human being is an intermediary between him and the unseen world, while the Imams (peace be upon him) have acquired a portion of this knowledge through the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family). In any case, what is certain is the knowledge of those personages and their giving news about unseen matters, which is as clear and sure as the sun shining in the center of the sky. In this regard, if one wants to find out in more depth about the reports of the unseen, he should refer to books of the lives and history of the Imams (peace be upon them). According to the level of my own understanding, I have offered explanations, though concise, in the books The Radiance of Wilayat, Commentary on Dua’ al-Nudbah, and Creational and Legal Wilayat. The Countenance of the Imams’ (peace be upon them) Conduct QUESTION: Why were the conduct, manner, and methods of the Imams (peace be upon them) not the same in regard to performance of their duty? ANSWER: Contrary to what is said, the conduct of the Imams (peace be upon them) in confronting various events that were similar to an extent was not very divergent, since all of their conduct was within the scope of the principles and agenda of Shiaism, which are the original principles of Islam itself. All of their actions and programs demonstrated the truth of Islam and its redemptive teachings. And if we see that the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and Amir al-Mu’minin (peace be upon them) each acted in one way in one important phase of their noble lives and in another way in another phase, this is in entirety a result of the commandments of Islam and the Qur’an. This is because Islam has both the command; ÅöáÇøó Ãóäú ÊóÊøóÞõæÇ ãöäúåõãú ÊõÞóÇÉð “… except that you protect themselves from them (and practice dissimulation for the sake of more important goals).”[42] and the command ÅöáÇøó ãóäú ÃõßúÑöåó æóÞóáúÈõåõ ãõØúãóÆöäøñ ÈöÇáÅöúíöãóÇäö “… except one who is compelled while his heart is tranquil with faith.”[43] And it also has the command ÌóÇåöÏö ÇáúßõÝøóÇÑó æóÇáúãõäóÇÝöÞöíóä æÇÇÛúáõÙú Úóáóíúåöãú “Struggle against the disbelievers and hypocrites and be harsh towards them.”[44] as well as ÎõÐö ÇáúÚóÝúæó æóÃúãõÑú ÈöÇáúÚõÑúÝö æóÃóÚúÑöÖú Úóäö ÇáÌúÇóåöáöíäó “Act with compassion and accept their excuse, and command towards goodness, and turn away from the ignorant (and fight them not).”[45] æóáÇó ÊóÓúÊóæöí ÇáÍóÓóäóÉõ æóáÇó ÇáÓøóíøöÆóÉõ ÅöÏúÝóÚú ÈöÇáøóÊíö åöíó ÃóÍúÓóäõ “Nor are good and evil alike; repel evil with what is most good.”[46] Likewise, the Qur’an says Ýóãóäö ÇÚúÊóÏóì Úóáóíúßõãú ÝóÇÚúÊóÏõæÇ Úóáóíúåö ÈãöËúáö ãóÇ ÇÚúÊóÏóì Úóáóíúßõãú “So whoever transgresses with respect to you, transgress with respect to him in a like manner.”[47] And it also says with regard to executing the punishment for adulterers: æóáÇó ÊóÃúÎõÐúßõãú ÈåöãóÇ ÑóÃúÝóÉñ Ýíö Ïöíäö Çááåö “And let not compassion for them overtake you in executing Allah’s command.”[48] Overall, the conditions and situation of the Imam’s (peace be upon them) era demanded the very same form of conduct for the protection of the Islamic principles and the essence of Shiaism that they in practice adopted, and of course the Shi‘a must follow the path of true Islam, which the Imam recognizes better than all else and doesn’t deviate from even an inch. |