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Lesson 31: Interpretation of the verse يا ا بَتِ انَّى قَدْ جائَنى مِنَ الْعِلْمِ ما لَمْ يَأْتِكَ فَاتَّبِعْنى اهْدِكَ صِراطاً سَوِيّا

 

In the Name of Allah, the most Compassionate, the most Merciful

And bless be upon Muhammad and his pure Household, and may Allah's curse be on his enemies from now until the Day of Resurrection! And there is no power or strength except for the Lofty Glorious Allah.

 

The Wise Allah has stated in His Glorious Book: 

 

يا ا بَتِ انَّى قَدْ جائَنى مِنَ الْعِلْمِ ما لَمْ يَأْتِكَ فَاتَّبِعْنى اهْدِكَ صِراطاً سَوِيّا ^[1]

 ‘… O my father, I have been given some knowledge [through the inspiration; a fact] that has not come to you, so follow me – I will guide you along a Straight Path, (Qur’an: 19/43).’

 

The text in this Verse is the statement and declaration of the Holy Abraham, Upon him be peace, to his guardian, Aazar, who was an idolater and disbelieved Allah, the Highest. 

As this Verse, denotes that the necessity of following  is subject to the knowledge of Abraham against the lack of Azar’s knowledge, therefore, it is understood that every ignorant must follow the learned. That is instead of his own determination and authority in his affairs, he must consider his determination and authority and replace his own with his. In this case, because of his following the learned one, the ignorant succeeds in his affairs and enjoys the Divine boon and blessing in going the straight path of humanity. 

 According to the great scholars, in this statement, the cause to follow has been specified, and the command of Abraham is along with the reasoning and proof, that is, as he means: ‘I have knowledge but you not, so it is necessary for you to follow me so that I lead you to the blissful path, the perfection of the humanity and to show your dormant talents and merits to you” – thus, this ‘relying affair’ on wisdom and natural feeling is the ignorance referring to the learned.

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The Need of the Illiterate to Follow the Learned

There can be benefitted two uses from the generality of this proof, first: the illiterate referring to the learned and the necessity of imitating in the minor religious questions – that is the illiterate referring to the learned. However, in the practising of the Divine science, and imitation in the essential books  I have not come across to any great men to argue on this Verse.

But the reference of the illiterate to the learned is that the ordinary illiterate do not know but the learned know. Thus, for this reason Abraham  obliges his guardian, Aazar, to follow him.

However, the reference of the illiterate to the most learned is because of his excessive knowledge,  that is, almost in all aspects, the most learned has vast knowledge about everything , he is aware and expert in his job, his understanding is beyond the things about him; but comparing to the most learned, the learned has less knowledge and information, his power is less and his knowledge is short. Therefore, the most learned has found his way into what is inaccessible to the learned, and if an illiterate refers to the learned, but not to the most learned, it means he has referred to an ordinary common person,^[2] but if he refers to the most learned that is, in the mean time, he has also followed the learned one, and consequently he as an illiterate has referred to the learned – whether the specifications that both the learned and the most learned know or the specifications that only the most learned know.

And the Holiness Abraham has absolutely considered Aazar to follow him because of his shortcoming in knowledge and understanding about him.

The second is the necessity of following and obeying the Imam. And in this respect, the Imam must surely be the most learned and the most virtuous of all nation; if his knowledge less than some people's knowledge or even at the same level of their knowledge then he cannot be a leader or Imam. In the first case, the choice is not preferable and in the second case the alternative is preferred. Therefore, all people must  obey the Imam, because there is such knowledge I with Imam that no one has it, it is why the Holiness Abraham commands his guardian, Aazar, to follow him.

 The reference of an illiterate to the learned is a logical and natural question which is needed in all aspects of life. A patient must refer to a specialist, a brick layer or a labour must refer to the architect or a draftsman, otherwise, the patient may die and the building will be damaged and collapsed one day.

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The Shiite referring to Imam Muhammad Taghi after the martyrdom of  the Holiness Imam Reza, upon him be peace

It is related in "Behar al-Anwar" from the book of "Oyu:n al-Mo‘jezat"  that when the Holiness Imam Reza, upon him be peace, passed away, his son, the Holiness Imam Baqir, upon him be peace, was seven years old, and about the Imamate of the Holiness disagreement grew among the people in Baghdad and other cities.

At that state, Ray‘yan bin As-Salt, Sif‘fan bin Yahia, Muhammad bin Hakim, Abdur-Rahman bin Haj‘jaj, Yonus bin Abdur-Rahman and many great men of the Shiite and the most reliable of them had come together in the house of Abdur-Rahman bin Haj‘jaj, which was in the district of "Zaloul Pond", and all were crying. They were weeping and mourning for the great agony – the martyrdom of the Imam. In such occasion,  Yonus bin Abdur-Rahman told them: 'Stop crying and let's think what we are going to do about the religious problems before Abu Ja‘far, (Imam Javad), grows up – whom should we refer to and whom should we choose as our religious Leader.' All of a sudden Ray‘yan bin As-Salt stood up and squeezed his throat and while smacking him on the face, said: 'You are the same one who pretended to be a religious man, however, you were hiding your doubts about the religion. If the command about Abu Ja‘far is by Allah, in that case, even if he is a one-day-old child, he can be as a great learned and the respectable Sheikh to us. However, if it is not by Allah, in this case, even if he is a thousand years old, he will still be an ordinary common person, so we must consider him so.' When the accusation of Ray‘yan bin As-Salt came to an end, all the gathering  people blamed Yonus bin Abdur-Rahman, and reproached him for what he said.

It was the Hajj Pilgrimage season, there gathered from the scholars of Baghdad and the other cities, and eighty of the jurisprudents of those cities and towns and decided to go to Hajj, to visit the House of Allah. They had decided to go to Medina and visit Abu Ja‘far first. On the arrival, they went to the Holiness Imam, upon him be peace, Ja‘far Sādiq's house which was a great but peaceful, all of the sat on a huge carpet spreading on the floor. Presently, Abdullah bin Musa came in and took his place in the upper part of the room, then, a man raise his voice to the gathering saying: 'This is the son of the Messenger of Allah, so any of you who have questions do ask him.'

The people present there, asked different questions but Abdullah's answers were not enough and satisfactory. The group of the Shiite became sad and disappointed, and there settled anxious and worry in the hearts of the jurisprudents, they stood up and were going to leave the session and, in the mean time uttering in silence: 'If Abu Ja‘far were here, he would answer all their questions properly, then, these people would not become disappointed by Abdullah's partial answers.'

All of a sudden a door was opened at the other end of the room and the servant, Mowaffaq, entered the room saying: 'Now, here he is, Abu Ja‘far, he is now entering the room.'

All of them stood up and welcomed the Holiness and greeted him and the Holiness entered. He was wearing two shirts, and had let the both ends of his turban fall loose, he was wearing Arabic sandals – he sat. All people in the room kept quiet but only the same person who had already asked questions stood up and put forward the same question with the Holiness.

The Holiness answered his question in such a way that not only the man but all the people were delighted. They began praising and praying for the Holiness, and then they said: 'Your uncle, Abdullah, spoke such and such and gave voice verdict!' The Holiness turned to his uncle and stated:

 

لا الَهَ الَّا اللهُ يا عَمِّ عَظيمٌ عِنْدَ اللهِ انْ تَقِفَ غَداً بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ فَيَقُولَ لَكَ: لم تُفْتى عِبادى بِما لَمْ تَعْلَمْ وَ فِى الْامَّة مَنْ هُوَ اعْلَمُ مِنْكَ؟!

'There is no Deity except Allah!

O uncle, Allah, before Whom you are going to stay, is very Great then, He will ask you: "Why did you give your verdict, which you were unaware about, to My obedient worshippers, while there was a wise man among the nation?"'

 

And it has been narrated from Omar bin Faraj Rakhaji that he says, in that assembly, 'I told Abu Ja‘far: 'Your followers claim that you know the whole water and its measurement in the Tigris River, and our house is located by that River!'

The Holiness stated: "Has Allah such a power to teach such knowledge to a gnat or not?"

I said: 'Yes, He has such power.'

The Holiness stated:

انَا اكْرَمُ عَلَى اللّهِ مِنْ بَعُوضَة وَ مِنْ اكْثَرِ خَلْقِهِ.

I am more respectable to Allah than a gnat and His creatures. ^[3]

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Dying without knowing the Imam, is dying in the state of the ignorance

Anyhow, the narratives that have been related by the Messenger of Allah denote that those who are without Imams are totally lost from different angles. Now, we are to mention one of those narratives which the Shiite and Sunnite unanimously agree and they are certain that it is from the Generous Messenger, that is:

مَنْ ماتَ وَ لَمْ يَعْرِفْ امامَهُ ماتَ ميتَة جاهِلِيَّة .^[4]

Anyone who dies without knowing his Imam, dies  in the state of the ignorance.'

'Whoever dies but without having an Imam from among my sons, his death is the ignorance and he receives what the ignorance did prior to Islam.'

However, by the Shiite, this narrative has been related in several ways. One is in^[5] "روضه كافى‏", and in "بحار الانوار" from "محاسن‏" Barghi, and "رجال‏" Kash'shi, and "اكمال الدين‏" of Sadough, altogether he explains six similar narratives:^[6]

 مَنْ ماتَ وَ لَيْسَ لَهُ امامٌ ماتَ ميتَة جاهِليَّة.

Whoever dies without knowing his Imam, dies in the state of the ignorance.'

'Whoever dies but without having an Imam from among my sons, his death is the ignorance and he receives what the ignorance did prior to Islam.'

And in "بحار الانوار" from^[7] "کافی", from the Holiness Imam Sadiq quoting the Messenger of Allah; and from^[8] "غيبت نعمانى‏", quoting the Messenger of Allah, and in^[9] "عيون اخبار الرضا", where in what has Imam reza written to Ma'moon: three narratives relate in the same way:

 مَنْ ماتَ وَ هُوَ لا يَعْرِفُ امامَهُ ماتَ ميتَة جاهِليَّة.

And there is a narrative in^[10] "ثواب الاعمال‏" from Sadough that:

 مَنْ ماتَ وَ لَيْسَ عَلَيْهِ امامٌ ماتَ ميتَة جاهِليَّة

And there is a narrative from the^[11] "محاسن‏" of Barqi with the same meaning:

 مَنْ ماتَ وَ لَيْسَ لَهُ امامٌ فَمَوْتُهُ ميَتة جاهِليَّة

And there is also a narrative from the^[12] "محاسن‏" as:

 مَنْ ماتَ بِغَيْرِ امامِ جَماعَة ماتَ ميتَة جاهِليَّة

And there is a narrative from^[13] " غيبت نعمانى‏‏" that:

 مَنْ باتَ لَيْلَة لا يَعْرِفُ فيها امامَ زَمانِهِ ماتَ ميتَة جاهِلِيَّة

And there are two narratives in^[14] " عيون اخبار الرضا", and the^[15] " كنز" of Korajoki from the Holiness Imam Reza and his forefather Ali, peace be upon him, and from the Messenger of Allah, Bless be to Him and his Descendants, saying that:

 مَنْ ماتَ وَ لَيْسَ لَهْ امامٌ مِنْ وُلْدى ماتَ ميَتة جاهِلِيَّة وَ يُؤْخَذُ بِما عَمِلَ فِى الْجاهِلِيَّة وَ الْاسْلام

And there are also three narratives from Gheibat" No'mani^[16]: first one is from ibn Abi Ya‘fur and the second is from Samaat bin Mehran and the third one is from Hamran bin A‘yon which all the three with little difference say: 'We informed the Holiness Imam Sādiq, upon him be peace, that: "There is a man who loves you and hates your enemies, he takes your unlawful as unlawful and considers your lawful as the lawful. And he so believe as the affair of the Guardianship is only among you, the innocent, and it belongs to no one, and it will never go to anyone except the offspring of Muhammad. The only thing he says, is that, 'the Children of Muhammad, (the different children of the Holiness Saj‘jad and the Holiness Baqir and Bani al-Hassan on the whole), have diversity of opinions. If they came together and all followed one  and made him their chief we would also follow him, and pick him as our Leader."'The Holiness stated:

انْ ماتَ عَلى‏ هَذا فَقَدْ ماتَ ميتَة جاهِلِيَّة.

"Then, if he dies with this belief, he dies as the ignorance die."

And he also relates three narratives from the book of "Ikhtisas",^[17] the first one is fromOmar bin Yazid quoting the Holiness Musa ibn Ja‘far, upon him be peace; he says:

قالَ: سَمِعْتُهُ يَقُولُ: مَنْ ماتَ بِغَيْر امامٍ ماتَ ميتَة جاهِلِيَّة امامٍ حّىٍ يَعْرِفُهُ قُلْتُ: لَمْ اسْمَعْ اباكَ يَذْكُرُ هَذا يَعْنى اماماً حَيّاً، فَقالَ: قَدْ وَ اللهِ قالَ ذلِكَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صلّى الله عليه و آله و سلّم. قالَ: وَ قالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صلّى الله عليه و آله و سلّم: مَنْ ماتَ وَ لَيْسَ لَهُ امامٌ يَسْمَعُ لَهُ وَ يُطيعُ ماتَ ميتَة جاهِلِيَّة.

He says: 'I heard the Holiness Imam Ja‘far, upon him be peace, say:"Whoever dies with having no alive Imam to know him, he dies as the ignorance die."' I had the honour to say: 'I never heard from your father, the Holiness Imam Sādiq, upon him be peace, to quote the Messenger that following the Imam means that an Alive Imam.' The Holiness said: 'By Allah, the Messenger said so.

The second is from Muhammad bin Ali Halabi who says:

قالَ ابُو عَبْدِ اللهِ عليه السّلام: مَنْ ماتَ وَ لَيْسَ عَلَيْهِ امامٌ حَىٌّ ظاهِرٌ ماتَ ميتَة جاهِلِيَّة.

He says: 'The Holiness Imam Sādiq, upon him be peace, stated: "Whoever dies without being under the control of an Alive Imam his death is considered as the death of the ignorance."'

The third one is from Abi al-Jaroud:

سَمِعْتُ ابا عَبْدِ اللهِ عليه السّلام يَقُول: مَنْ ماتَ وَ لَيْسَ عَلَيْهِ امامٌ حَىٌّ ظاهِرٌ ماتَ ميتَة جاهِلِيَّة. قالَ: قُلَتُ: امامٌ حَىٌّ جُعِلْتُ فِداكَ؟ قال: امامٌ حَىٌّ، امامٌ حَىٌّ.

[Abi al-Jaroud] says: 'I heard the Holiness Imam Sādiq say: "Whoever dies without being under the control of an Alive Imam his death is considered as the death of the ignorance."

And the Great Sayyid Ali Khan, in the commentary of "Sahifat al-Saj‘jadei‘ia",^[18] states: 'In this field, there are great many narratives by the Shiite, but by the Sunnite,^[19] there is a unanimously-agreed among the public from the Messenger of Allah who has stated:

من مات و لم يعرف امام زمانه مات ميتة جاهلية.

"Whoever dies without knowing his own Alive Imam, his death is the ignorance' death."

And Hakim has related it in "Mostadrak", and also it has been affirmed by Omar that the Messenger of Allah stated:

من مات و ليس عليه امام جماعة فان موته موتة جاهلية.

'Whoever dies while there is not a Community Imam for him, then his death is the death of the ignorance.'

And ibn Mardwyah, in his series of documents, has related a narrative from Ali, upon him be peace, that:

قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه و آله و سلم فى قول الله تعالى:

«يوم ندعوا كل اناس بامامهم‏» ^[20]

قال: يدعى كل قوم بامام زمانهم و كتاب ربهم و سنة نبيهم.

Considering the comment of this blissful Verse: (On that Day when We call every group of the people with the name of its own Imam), the Commander of the believers, upon him be peace, says that the Messenger of Allah, Bless be to him and his Descendants, stated: "Every group and tribe is called by the name of its own Imam, the Book of its Creator and the laws and traditions of its Messenger."

And ibn Asakar has related the narrative by the means of documents from Khalid bin Saf‘wan that the Messenger of Allah, Bless be to him and his Descendants, stated:

لا تخلو الارض من قائم لله بحجته فى عباده.

'The earth will never be void of a Proof among His creature to rise for the sake of Allah.'

And by the public, Al‘lama Amini says: 'This narrative has been related by Abi Salih from Mua‘wiyah, and has been put in "Mosnad" of Ahmad Hanbal, volume 4, page 96 that the Messenger of Allah, Bless be to him and his Descendants, stated:

من مات بغير امام مات ميتة جاهلية. ^[21]

'Whoever dies without an Imam, he dies as the ignorance.'

Then, he states: 'Hafiz Heithami has stated this narrative in "Majma as-Zawaeed", volume 5, page 218 and Abu Dawood Tayali in his "Mosnad", page 259. He has quoted Abdullah bin Omar and has added a sentence from the Messenger of Allah to it which reads:

و من نزع يدا من طاعة جاء يوم القيامة لا حجة له.

'Whoever prevents obeying [his Imam], on the Day of Resurrection, he will not have a Proof.'

He also says: 'This narrative has been related in different styles, the first one is his statement, Bless be to him and his Descendants:

من مات و ليس فى عنقه بيعة مات ميتة جاهلية.

Whoever dies without paying homage his death is as the ignorance' death.'

Moslim has related this narrative in his "Sahih", volume 6, page 22; and Beihaghi in his "Sonan", volume 8, page 156; and ibn Kathir in his "Commentary", volume 1, page 517; and Hafiz Heithami in "Majma as-Zawaeed" , volume 5, page 218; and Shah Waliullah in the book "Izalat al-Khafa", volume1, page 3 has related it in the same way, and he has reasoned to the necessity of assigning Caliph for the Muslims until the Day of Judgement as the act of obligatory for one.

The second is his statement, Bless be to him and his Descendants:

من مات و ليس عليه طاعة مات ميتة جاهلية.

'He who dies without undertaking any obedience and command he death is considered a s the death of the ignorance.' Ahmad Hanbal has put it in his "Mosnad", volume 3, page 446; and Heithami in "Majma", volume 5, page 223.

 The third is his statement, Bless be to him and his Descendants:

من مات و لم يعرف امام زمانه مات ميتة جاهلية

'Whoever dies without knowing his Alive Imam, he dies as the ignorance die.'

Taftazani has related this narrative in "Sgarh-e-Maghasid", volume 2, page 275; and he has set it as the statement of Allah in sense and meaning in:

اطيعوا الله و اطيعوا الرسول و اولى الامر منكم.

'Obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you.'

And with the similar phrase, Taftazani too has mentioned it in "Sharh-e-Aghaeed Nasafi", publishing in year 1302 Hijri. The publisher must be trusted, in the year 1313, he has taken seven pages of this noble narrative from the book when it was being printed.

Sheikh Ali Ghari, the writer of the book "Mirghat", has also mentioned this narrative at the end of "Al-Jawahir al-Mozia", volume 2, page 509. On page 457, he has explained that the statement of Allah in "Sahih" Moslim:

من مات و لم يعرف امام زمانه مات ميتة جاهلية

َ He who dies without knowing his Alive Imam [that his obedience is necessary], he dies  in the state of the ignorance.'

The fourth is his statement, Bless be to him and his Descendants:

من خرج من الطاعة و فارق الجماعة ^[22]  فمات، مات ميتة جاهلية.

Whoever prevents obeying the Imam and keeps away from the people of the Imam he dies in the state of the ignorance.' This narrative has been related by Molim in his :Sahih", volume 6, page 21; and Beihaghi in his "Sonan", volume 8, page a56; and in "Taisir al-Osol" volume 3, page 39 from Sahih Bokhari, and "Sahih" Moslim by Abu Huraira from the Messenger of Allah.

The fifth is his statement, Bless be to him and his Descendants:

من فارق الجماعة ^[23]  شبرا فمات فميتته ميتة جاهلية.

He who stands back as much as a span from the nation [of the Imam] is dead as the ignorance die.'

Moslim has brought this narrative in his 'Sahih', volume 6, page 21.

The sixth is his statement, Bless be to him and his Descendants:

من مات و لا امام له مات ميتة جاهلية.

'He who dies when there is no Imam for him, he dies as the ignorance die.'

Abu Ja‘far Eskafi has related this narrative in "The summary of violating Jahiz Othmaniia's book" , in page 29. And Heithami in "Majma as-Zawaeed", volume 5, page 224 and 225 with this phease:

من مات و ليس عليه امام فميتته ميتة جاهلية،

'He who dies with having no Imam for him, he dies as the ignorance,' and with this phrase:

من مات و ليس عليه امام مات ميتة جاهلية.

The seventh is his statement, Bless be to him and his Descendants:

من مات و ليس لامام جماعة عليه طاعة مات ميتة جاهلية.

'He who dies when there is no Imam for him, he dies as the ignorance die.'

Hafiz Heithami has mentioned this narrative in "Majma az-Zawaeed", volume 5, page 219.

The eighth is his statement, Bless be to him and his Descendants:

من اتاه من اميره ما يكرهه فليصبر، فان من خالف المسلمين قيد شبر ثم مات ميتة الجاهلية.

'He who receives something unpleasant from his Emir or Imam, he must tolerate it, because if any of the Muslims infringes as much as a span and he dies, it is as if he has died as the ignorance.

He has mentioned this narrative in "Sharh-e-Aas-Seiar al-Kabir", volume 1, page 113.^[24]

Anyhow, these are the series of the narratives we have presented so far, and among the pages we have considered the command of the Messenger of Allah concerning those who do not know the Imams of themselves die as the ignorance die.

In point of view of the documents, there is no doubt or discussion on them because most of them have authentic documents and have been printed enough. It is so that some great scholars, and on top the Generous Messenger have so much explained them that they are known as the narrative of:

من كنت مولاه فعلى مولاه.

'Whosoever I am Mater to so Ali is his Master.'

It is said that this narrative is also a spiritual tradition related by successive witnesses by the Holiness Messenger of Allah but most people have said it is not spiritual but the verbal language.

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Jabir’s narrative about the Twelve-Imams

The Late Mola Fajholla Kashani has related it in his commentary,^[25] under the Verse that:

وعد الله الذين آمنوا منكم و عملوا الصالحات ليستخلفنهم فى الارض. ^[26]

'… Allah has promised those of you who have believed and done honourable deeds to be [the present Rulers’] successors on the earth, (Qur'an: 24/55).'

It has been related by Jabir bin Abdullah Ansari that when the Verse:

اطيعُوا اللهَ وَ اطيعُوا الرَّسُولَ وَ اولىِ الْامْرِ مِنْكُمْ. ^[27]

'… obey Allah, and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you, (Qur'an: 4/59),' was sent down, I had the honour to ask the Generous Messenger, Bless be to him and his Descendants, 'O Messenger of Allah, I know Allah, the Highest and His Messenger, but I do not know who 'Those in Authorities', whose obedience Allah has allied are in this Verse.'

He stated:

يا جابِرُ هُمْ خُلَفائى وَ ائِمَّة الْمُسْلِمينَ مِنْ‏ بَعْدى، اوَّلُهُمْ عَلِىُّ بْنُ ابى طالِبٍ ثُمَّ الْحَسَنُ، ثُمَّ الْحُسَيْنُ، ثُمَّ عَلِىُّ بْنُ الْحُسَيْنِ، ثُمَّ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَلِىٍّ الْمَعْرُوفُ فِى التَّوْراة بِالْباقِرِ، وَ سَتُدْرِكُهُ يا جابِرُ فَاذا لَقيتَهُ فَاقْرِأْهُ مِنِّى السَّلام، ثُمَّ الصّادِقُ جَعْفَرُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ، ثُمَّ مُوسَى بْنُ جَعْفَرٍ، ثُمَّ عَلِىُّ بْنُ مُوسى‏، ثُمَّ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَلّىٍ، ثُمَّ عَلِىُّ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ، ثُمَّ الْحَسَنُ بْنُ عَلِىّ، ثُمَّ ابْنُ الْحَسَنِ بْنِ عَلّىٍ سَمِيِّى وَ كَنِيِّى حُجَّة اللهِ فِى ارْضِهِ وَ بَقِيَّة اللهِ فى بِلادِهِ، ذلِكَ الَّذى يَفْتَحُ اللهُ عَلى‏ يَدِهِ مَشارقَ الْارْضِ وَ مَغارِبَها، ذلِكَ الَّذِى يَغِيبُ عَنْ شِيعَتِهِ غَيْبَة لا يَثْبُتُ فيها عَلَى الْقَوْلِ بِامامَتِهِ الّا مَنِ امْتَحَنَ اللهُ قَلْبَهُ بِالْايمانِ.

'O Jabir! Those in Authorities are my Caliphs and Successors after me and they are the Imams and the Leaders of Muslims. The first of them is Ali bin Abī Tālib, and after him is Hassan and then Hussein. And after him is Ali bin al-Hussein and the next is Muhammad bin Ali, who is known, in the Torah, as Baghir. And o Jabir, you will come across to him, so when you meet him, remember me to him. And after him is Ja‘far bin Muhammad Sādiq, and then Musa bin Ja‘far, and after him is Ali bin Musa. Next to him is Muhammad bin Ali and after his Ali bin Muhammad. And then, Hassan bin Ali and after him is his son, who carries my name and title. He is the Proof of Allah on the earth, the Remnant of Allah^[28] among the lands of Allah. He is the same one who is going to be absent from his followers for such a long time that no one of those who believes in him will remain faithful to him – but except the one whose heart Allah has tested for his belief and certainty.'

Jabir says: 'I asked, O Messenger of Allah, will his followers get benefit from him in his absence?'He stated:

اى والذى بعثنى بالنبوة.

"Yes: by He Who appointed me for the prophet-hood that his followers will be delighted by his Light and they will benefit from his Guardianship even if he is absent – as they benefit from the sunshine on the earth." Then, he stated:

يا جابر هذا من مكنون سر الله و مخزون علم الله فاكتمه الا عن اهله.

"O Jabir, this statement is of secret of Allah and of His treasure of Knowledge, you too hide it from the alien."

Jabir says: 'A long period of time passed and I was always waiting for that occasion; then, one day I went to the kind Imam, Zein al-Abedin Ali bin al-Hussein, upon him be peace, and when he was speaking to me, all of a sudden Muhammad bi Ali came out from the room of the ladies, his hair was parted in the middle. When I looked at him attentively, I began shivering with surprise, and my hair stood on end, for whatever the Messenger of Allah had told me about I could notice it on his face. I said: "O child, come to me," he got closer to me. I said: "Turn round," he did so; then, I said: "By Allah, the Lord of Ka‘ba, this is the exact copy of the Messenger of Allah." And I asked what his name was? He stated: "Muhammad." I asked who his father was. He stated: "Zein al-Aabedin Ali bin al-Hussein. I asked: if he was Baqir.' He answered: "Yes, Jabir, now, you can deliver the message of the Messenger of Allah to me." I said the Messenger of Allah had given me glad tidings that I would so long live in this world to visit Baghir, and he had told me: "When you visit him, do remember me to him." Now, o Muhammad bin Ali, know that the Messenger of Allah has remembered you.' He stated:

عَلى‏ رَسُولِ اللهِ السَّلامُ ما دامَتِ السَّمواتُ وَ الْارْضُ، وَ عَلَيْكَ يا جابِرُ كما بَلَّغْتَ السَّلامَ.

'May peace and blessing of Allah be upon the Messenger of Allah as long as the heavens and the earth exist; and also peace be upon you, Jabir, for carrying his peace and blessing to me.'

Jabir says: 'Since then, I always visited the Holiness and asked my questions from him. One day, the Holiness asked me something and I said:

لا وَ اللهِ لا دَخَلْتُ فى نَهْىِ رَسُولِ اللهِ حَيْثُ قالَ: انَّهُمُ الْائِمَّة الْهُداة مِنْ اهْلِ بَيْتِهِ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ، احْلَمُهُمْ صِغاراً وَ اعْلَمُهُمْ كِباراً، لا تُعَلَّمُوهُمْ فَانَّهُم اعْلَمُ مِنْكُمْ.

I had the honour to state: 'By Allah I will not answer, and I will not get on the way of the Messenger of Allah because that Holiness stated: "They are the Imams and the Leaders from my Household, after my demise,  their tolerance and patience at the childhood is more than all the people, and also their knowledge as adults is larger than anyone. Try not to teach them for they are wiser than you are. It is stated: 

صدق رسول الله انى اعلم منك بهذه المسالة و لقد اوتيت الحكم صبيا، كل ذلك بفضل الله علينا و رحمته لنا اهل البيت.

The Messenger of Allah said the truth, I am wiser than you are in this problem; certainly the Command has been bestowed me in my infancy and all these priorities are of the Grace of Allah to us, the Household of the Messenger of Allah." ^[29]

The Late She‘rani explains it in the footnote that: 'At that time, Jabir had not lost his eyesight yet, and as some people say: "He was blind when he went to visit the shrine of the Master of the martyrs in the year 61 Hijri" is not correct; however, he became blind at the end of his life. It is because Jabir was 94 when he died and they have recorded his death in the year 77, which at that time, the Holiness Baqir, upon him be peace, was a 23-year-old boy; and in some common books, the Holiness Imam Baqir has related some narratives from Jabir.' ^[30]

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Concerning the secret knowledge of the Imams, upon them be peace 

Anyway, the immaculate Imams owned Secret Knowledge^[31] and most of the great scholars of the Sunnite agree on it.

Ibn Athir Jazari, by means of his chained documents, says from Othman bin Sohaib's saying of his father:

 

قالَ عَلِىٌّ: قالَ لِى رَسُولُ اللهِ صلّى الله عليه و آله و سلّم: مَنْ اشْقَى الْاوَّلينَ؟ قُلْتُ: عاقِرُ النّاقَة، قالَ: صَدَقْتَ. قالَ: فَمَنْ اشْقَى الْآخِرينَ؟ قُلّتُ: لا عِلْمَ لِى يا رَسُولَ اللهِ، قالَ: الَّذى يَضْربُكَ عَلى‏ هذا- وَ اشارَ بِيَدِهِ الى‏ يا فوُخِهِ- وَ كانَ يَقُولُ: وَدِدْتُ انَّهُ قَدِ انْبَعَثَ اشْقاكُمْ فَخَضَبَ هَذِهِ مِنْ هَذِهِ، يَعْنى لِحْيَتَهُ مِنْ دَمِ رَأْسِهِ. ^[32]

Sohaib relates the Commander of the believers saying: 'The Messenger of Allah, Bless be to him and his Descendants, asked me: "Who is the most wretched among the predecessors?" I answered: 'He who hamstrung Salih's camel.' He stated: "You spoke the truth." Then he asked who was the most wretched of the successors." I said: 'I do not know, O the Messenger of Allah,'

While pointing at the Commander of the believers' head, he stated: "He is the one who strikes here."

Sometimes, the Holiness would state: "I would like the most wretched of you to rise and dye my beard with the blood of my head." Then, ibn Kathir says:

 

انَّ عَلِيّاً جَمَعَ النّاسَ لِلْبَيْعَة فَجاءَ عَبْدُ الرَّحْمن‏ بْنُ مُلْجَمٍ الْمُرادِىُّ فَرَدَّهُ مَرَّتَيْنِ، ثُمَّ قالَ: ما يَحْبِسُ اشْقاها؟! فَوَ اللهِ لَيَخْضِبَنَّ هَذِهِ مْن هَذِهِ، ثُمَّ تَمَثَّل‏:

اشْدُدْ حَيازيمَكَ لِلْمَوْتِ             فَانَّ الْمَوْتَ لاقيكَ‏

وَ لا تَجْزَعْ مِنَ الْقَتْل             اذا حِلَّ بِواديكَ ^[33]

Ali, upon him be peace, gathered all the people to swear allegiance, Abdur Rahman bin Moljam Moradi came to pay homage but the Holiness turned him back twice and then stated: 'What is that to prevent the most wretched people, by Allah, this ibn Moljam will dye my beard with the blood of my head; then, he, as the allegory referred to this poem:

Fasten your belt and get ready for the death

For the death approach you in haste,

Try not to mourn nor beseech at that time

When it lands at your door-step.'

 

And then, it is related that Othman bin Moghira has said:

 

لَمّا دَخَلَ شَهْرُ رَمَضانَ جَعَلَ عَلِىٌّ يَتَعَشّى‏ لَيْلَة عِنْدَ الْحَسَن، وَ لَيْلَة عِنْدَ الْحُسَيْنِ، وَ لَيْلَة عِنْدَ عَبْدِ اللهِ بْنِ جَعْفَرٍ لا يَزيدُ عَلى‏ ثَلاثِ لُقَمٍ، وَ يَقُولُ: يَأْتى امْرُ اللهِ وَ انَا خَميصٌ، وَ انَّما هِىَ لَيْلَة اوْ لَيْلَتانِ . ^[34]

 

'When the Month of Ramadan approached, the Commander of the believers used to stay with Hassan one night, and one night with Hussein and another night with Abdullah bin Ja‘far. He never had more than three morsels of food and always said: 'The Command of Allah may come to me at any time so I must be hungry – for there remains not more than a night or two.' Then, it is said:

خَرَجَ عَلِىٌّ لِصَلاة الْفَجْرِ فَاسْتَقْبَلَهُ الْاوَزُّ يَصِحْنَ فى وَجْههِ، قالَ: فَجَعَلْنا نَطْرُدُهُنَّ عَنْهُ، فَقال: دَعُوهُنَّ فَانَّهُنَّ نَوائِحُ، وَ خَرَجَ فَاصيب. وَ هَذا يَدُلُّ عَلى‏ انَّهُ عَلِمَ السَّنَة وَ الشَّهْرَ وَ اللَّيْلَة الَّتى يُقْتَلُ فيها، وَ اللهُ اعْلَمُ . ^[35]

'The Commander of the believers left home for dawn prayer, by seeing Ali, the ducks began crackling . Kathir, who is the narrator of this story, says: 'We began shooing the ducks away from the Holiness, but he stated: "Leave them on their own, they are moaning for me."

It did not lost long when the Holiness received a stroke.

It denotes that the Holiness was martyred in that month and the same year – he knew the exact time he was going to be martyred and Allah knows it well.

 

And ibn Hajar Heithami says:

فلما كانت الليلة التى قتل فى صبيحتها اكثر الخروج و النظر الى السماء، و جعل يقول: و الله ما كذبت و لا كذبت و انها الليلة التى وعدت. ^[36]

'At that night, when at its morning the Holiness was stricken a blow most people came to the open and while looking at the sky, they quoted:  "By Allah, neither am I lying, nor have I been told a lie, this is the very Night of the Appointment."

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