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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كمال الدين وتمام النعمة - الشيخ الصدوق

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

الصفحة ١٠٦

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

الصفحة ١١٠

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

الصفحة ١١٦

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)