سورة الأنعام

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): وَ عِنْدَهُ مَفاتِحُ الْغَیْبِ لا یَعْلَمُها إِلَّا هُوَ [And with Him are the keys of the unseen — none knows them but He]; the treasuries of the unseen — none is aware of them besides Allah, and they are five things: first, no one knows when the rain will fall except Allah; no one knows ما تَغِیضُ الْأَرْحامُ [what the wombs diminish] (al-Ra'd/8) except Allah; no soul knows the outcome of its affair except Allah; no one knows in what land it will die (Luqman/34) except Allah; no one knows when the Hour will be established except Allah.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abu Rabi' al-Shami said: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about the saying of Allah: وَ ما تَسْقُطُ مِنْ وَرَقَةٍ إِلَّا یَعْلَمُها وَ لا حَبَّةٍ فِی ظُلُماتِ الْأَرْضِ وَ لا رَطْبٍ وَ لا یابِسٍ إِلَّا فِی کِتابٍ مُبِینٍ [And no leaf falls but He knows it, nor a grain in the darkness of the earth, nor anything moist or dry but is in a clear book]. He said: "وَرَقَةٍ is the falling of an incomplete foetus from the (mother's) womb; حَبَّةٍ is the child; ظُلُماتِ الْأَرْضِ is the wombs (the belly or the membrane in which the foetus lies); رَطْبٍ is that which comes to life; and یابِسٍ is the malformed foetus that falls from the (mother's) womb, and the deficient thing; and all of these are in a clear book [Allah's knowledge, or the Preserved Tablet]."

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): Husayn ibn Khalid said: I asked Imam Rida (peace be upon him): "What is the interpretation of the verse: وَ ما تَسْقُطُ مِنْ وَرَقَةٍ إِلَّا یَعْلَمُها وَ لا حَبَّةٍ فِی ظُلُماتِ الْأَرْضِ وَ لا رَطْبٍ وَ لا یابِسٍ إِلَّا فِی کِتابٍ مُبِینٍ [there falls not a leaf but He knows it, nor a grain in the darkness of the earth, nor anything wet nor dry, but it is in a clear book]?" He said: "وَرَقَةٍ [leaf] is the child that is miscarried from its mother's womb and does not cry out at the time of miscarriage." I said: "What is لا حَبَّةٍ [nor a grain]?" He said: "It is the child in its mother's womb which is miscarried before its due time and cries out at the time of miscarriage." I said: "What does وَ لا رَطْبٍ [nor anything wet] mean?" He said: "It is the mudgha [lump of flesh], and that is when the nutfa settles in the womb before the form of the child is completed." I said: "What does وَ لا یابِسٍ [nor anything dry] mean?" He said: "The child that has reached completion and all its organs and limbs are visible." I said: "What is فِی کِتابٍ مُبِینٍ [in a clear book]?" He said: "It means it is with the manifest Imam."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Amir al-Mu'minin Ali (peace be upon him) said: Say: "Sufficient is Allah, and the one with whom is the knowledge of the Book [and awareness of the Quran], as a witness between me and you" (Ra'd/43). And Allah also says: وَ لا رَطْبٍ وَ لا یابِسٍ إِلَّا فِی کِتابٍ مُبِینٍ [nor anything wet nor dry but it is in a clear book]. O Abdullah, the knowledge of this Book, without any doubt or suspicion, is with that Wali of the King, the Bestower.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Allah said to Musa (peace be upon him): "And We wrote for him on the Tablets an admonition concerning every matter" (A'raf/145). And He did not say "every matter." And concerning Isa (peace be upon him) [He said]: "So that I may make clear to you some of that concerning which you differ" (Zukhruf/63). And concerning Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) He said: "The one with whom is the knowledge of the Book [and awareness of the Quran]" (Ra'd/43). And He said: وَ لا رَطْبٍ وَ لا یابِسٍ إِلَّا فِی کِتابٍ مُبِینٍ [nor anything wet nor dry but it is in a clear book]; so the knowledge of everything wet and dry is with Ali (peace be upon him).

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Mufaddal said: One day I came to the presence of Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him). He said to me: "Do you know Muhammad, Ali, Fatima, Hasan and Husayn (peace be upon them) well?" I said: "How is their true recognition?" He said: "O Mufaddal, whoever knows them with the depth of recognition will be a believer in the highest degree." I said: "O master, acquaint me with the depth of their recognition." He said: "O Mufaddal! Do you know that they are informed of what Allah has created and brought into existence, and they are the word of taqwa (piety) and the treasurers of the heavens, the earths, the mountains, the sands and the seas. And they know how many stars and angels are in the sky, and the weight of the mountains, and the quantity of the water of the seas, rivers and springs, and every leaf that falls they know it; وَ لا حَبَّةٍ فِی ظُلُماتِ الْأَرْضِ وَ لا رَطْبٍ وَ لا یابِسٍ إِلَّا فِی کِتابٍ مُبِینٍ [nor a grain in the darkness of the earth, nor anything wet nor dry but it is in a clear book]; they know all of it and are informed of it."

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): The کِتابٍ مُبِینٍ [clear book] is Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him).