سورة الجن

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Sadir al-Sayrafi said: Humran said: "What then is the meaning of this verse: عَالِمُ الْغَیْبِ فَلَا یُظْهِرُ عَلَی غَیْبِهِ أَحَدًا [The Knower of the unseen, so He does not reveal His unseen to anyone]?" Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) said: "إِلَّا مَنِ ارْتَضَی مِن رَّسُولٍ [Except a messenger whom He has approved]; by Allah, Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) was one of those whom Allah approved. But as for this word of Allah the Mighty and Majestic: عَالِمُ الْغَیْبِ [The Knower of the unseen] — Allah has knowledge and awareness of what is hidden from His creation. Among these things, He knows the decrees of the world and what is in His knowledge, before He creates it and before He transmits it to the angels. O Humran! This knowledge (the withheld knowledge) is exclusive to Allah, whose will and choice concerning it is in His hands; if He wills, He brings it to occurrence, or bada (a change of decree) occurs for Him regarding it and He does not bring it to occurrence. But as for the knowledge which Allah the Mighty and Majestic decrees and brings to pass, it is the very knowledge that ends first with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and then with us."

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): Mubarak, the servant of Imam Rida (peace be upon him), narrated that His Excellency said: "A believer does not reach the degree of the perfection of faith unless there are three qualities in him: one quality from his Lord, one from the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), and another from his Imam (peace be upon him). As for the way he must have from Allah, it is concealing secrets and keeping the hidden covered. Allah says in this verse: عالِمُ الْغَیْبِ فَلا یُظْهِرُ عَلی غَیْبِهِ أَحَداً * إِلَّا مَنِ ارْتَضی مِنْ رَسُولٍ [The Knower of the unseen, so He does not reveal His unseen to anyone * except a messenger whom He has approved]. The way of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) is dealing kindly with people; He has said: [In any case] deal kindly with them, accept their excuse, and invite them to good deeds (al-A'raf/199). As for the way of the Imam, it is patience in hardships and afflictions."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): A person is not a believer unless three ways are present in him: one he takes from Allah, one from the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), and the third from the Imam (peace be upon him). As for the way he learns from Allah, it is that he be a keeper of secrets; Allah says: عالِمُ الْغَیْبِ فَلا یُظْهِرُ عَلی غَیْبِهِ أَحَداً [The Knower of the unseen! so He does not reveal His secrets to any]. As for what he takes from the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), it is dealing kindly with people and behaving with them with noble character. And what he learns from the Imam (peace be upon him) is patience in hardships (wars) and afflictions, until Allah brings relief.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): The faith of a believing man is not complete unless three traits are in him: one trait from his Lord, one trait from his Prophet, and one trait from his Imam. As for the trait he must have from his Lord, it is concealment of secrets, for Allah says: فَلا یُظْهِرُ عَلی غَیْبِهِ أَحَداً إِلَّا مَنِ ارْتَضی مِنْ رَسُولٍ [So He does not inform anyone of His secret except a messenger whom He has chosen] (a Messenger (peace be upon him and his family)). And as for the trait he must have from the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), it is that Allah the Exalted says: [In any case] deal kindly with them and accept their excuse, and invite to good, and turn away from the ignorant [and do not quarrel with them]. (Al-A'raf/199) And as for the trait he must have from the Imam, it is patience in adversities and hardships, as Allah the Exalted says: And in the face of deprivations and illnesses and on the battlefield, they show steadfastness. (Al-Baqarah/177)

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): [Salman al-Farisi (may Allah have mercy on him)] said: We were with our master Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) when he said: ... "O Salman (may Allah have mercy on him)! Have you not read the words of Allah the Mighty and Majestic where He says: عالِمُ الْغَیْبِ فَلا یُظْهِرُ عَلی غَیْبِهِ أَحَداً إِلَّا مَنِ ارْتَضی مِنْ رَسُولٍ [The Knower of the unseen, so He does not reveal His unseen to any, except to a messenger whom He has chosen]?" I said: "Yes, O Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him)!" He said: "I am that chosen and well-pleasing one from the Messenger, whom Allah the Mighty and Majestic informed of His unseen. I am the rabbani (divinely-taught) scholar. I am the one for whom Allah has made hardships easy, and for whom the distant [path] has been folded [and brought near]"... Salman al-Farisi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Amir al-Mu'minin Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) said to me: "Woe, all woe, upon the one who does not know us as we deserve to be known, and denies the right of our recognition and our virtue. O Salman (may Allah have mercy on him), which of the two is superior: Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) or Sulayman ibn Dawud (peace be upon him)?" I said: "Rather Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) is superior and higher." Then he said: "Asif ibn Barkhiya had the power to carry the throne of Bilqis from Fars in the blink of an eye, while with him was [only] a portion of the knowledge of the Book. Indeed, if this act were attributed to me, I too would do it. And with me are one hundred and twenty-four books: Allah sent down upon Shith son of Adam (peace be upon him) fifty scriptures, upon the Prophet Idris (peace be upon him) thirty scriptures, upon Nuh (peace be upon him) twenty scriptures, upon Ibrahim the Friend [of Allah] (peace be upon him) twenty, and the Tawrat, the Injil, the Zabur and the Furqan." I said: "You have spoken the truth, O my great one and my master." Then the Imam (peace be upon him) said: "Know, O Salman (may Allah have mercy on him), that the one who doubts our affairs is like the one who is in doubt and suspicion regarding our recognition and our right. Indeed, Allah the Blessed and Exalted has made our wilayah and love obligatory in His Book, and He has made clear therein that which it is obligatory to act upon. And that too is not hidden."

Imam al-Rida (peace be upon him): Muhammad ibn Fadl al-Hashimi said: After the passing of Imam Kazim (peace be upon him), I entered Medina and came into the presence of Imam al-Rida (peace be upon him)... Then [Imam al-Rida (peace be upon him)] turned towards Amr ibn Haddab and said: "If I inform you that in these very days you will be afflicted with the blood of a close relative, will you confirm my words?" He replied: "No, for none knows the unseen except Allah." The Imam said: "Does Allah not say: عالِمُ الْغَیْبِ فَلا یُظْهِرُ عَلی غَیْبِهِ أَحَداً إِلَّا مَنِ ارْتَضی مِنْ رَسُولٍ [The Knower of the unseen, so He does not reveal His unseen to any, except to a messenger whom He has chosen]? The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) is well-pleasing to Allah, and we are his heirs. He is that very Prophet whom Allah informed of His hidden secrets, and we too know what has been before this and what will be until the Day of Resurrection."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him), in reply to a heretic who claimed there is contradiction in the Qur'an, said: "... As for the saying of Allah — regarding the attribute of Allah the Creator, may His remembrance be majestic and exalted — where the address comes once in the singular and once in the plural ... Allah, by His creation, wished to make His power manifest, to bring forth His sovereignty, and to disclose the proofs of His wisdom. So He made whatever He willed, in whatever manner He willed, and He placed the carrying out of some things upon His chosen ones among His trustees; and thus their action became His action and their command His command, just as He said: 'Whoever obeys the Messenger has obeyed Allah' (al-Nisa' 4:80). Allah the Exalted made the heaven and the earth a vessel to contain whomever He wills of His creation, so that the evil-natured might be distinguished from the pure-natured — with His prior knowledge of both groups — and so that this separation might serve as an example for His awliya (friends) and His trustees. Allah the Exalted made the loftiness of the station of His awliya known to His creation, and made obedience to them obligatory upon them just as He made obedience to Himself obligatory; and He completed the proof upon them in this matter in that He mentioned them together with a speech that indicates His own oneness and uniqueness. And He said: He has awliya who carry out their actions and their rulings in the place of His action. They are the noble servants who do not precede Him in speech and who act by His command. They are the ones whom Allah has supported with a spirit from Himself, and He made their capacity for the knowledge of the unseen known to His creation, saying: عالِمُ الْغَيْبِ فَلا يُظْهِرُ عَلى غَيْبِهِ أَحَداً، إِلَّا مَنِ ارْتَضى مِنْ رَسُولٍ [The Knower of the unseen, so He does not disclose His unseen to anyone, except to a messenger with whom He is pleased]. They are that blessing (na'im) about which the servants will be questioned; for Allah, Blessed and Exalted, bestowed them as a blessing upon their friends who followed their path." The heretic asked: "Who are these hujjas (proofs)?" He (peace be upon him) said: "They are the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and his successors from among the chosen ones of Allah — those whom Allah has joined with Himself and with His Messenger (peace be upon him and his family), and just as He made obedience to Himself obligatory upon the servants, He made obedience to them obligatory upon them as well. They are the possessors of authority (ulu al-amr) about whom Allah said: 'Obey Allah! and obey the Messenger of Allah and ulu al-amr [the successors of the Prophet] among you!' (al-Nisa' 4:59). And: 'And if they had referred it back to the Messenger and to the leaders — those who have the power of proper discernment — they would have known the roots of the matter' (al-Nisa' 4:83)." The man asked: "What is that amr (matter)?" Imam Ali (peace be upon him) said: "It is that matter which the angels bring down on the night in which every firm affair is distinguished — from creation and sustenance, to term of life and deed and life and death, and knowledge of the unseen of the heavens and the earth, and the miracles that are not fitting for any but Allah and His chosen ones and the emissaries between Him and His creation. They are the Face of Allah about which Allah the Mighty and Majestic said: 'And whichever way you turn, there is the Face of Allah!' (al-Baqarah 2:115). They are Baqiyyatullah (may Allah hasten his noble reappearance) — that is, Imam Mahdi (may Allah hasten his noble reappearance), who, when this delay comes to its end, will come and fill the earth with equity and justice, just as it had been filled with oppression and tyranny."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Abu Ishaq Laythi said: I said to Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): "O son of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), tell me about the believer." ... He said: "O Ibrahim! Take the answer to your question: there is an inner knowledge and a treasure from the knowledge of Allah the Exalted which Allah, majestic is His Majesty, has bestowed upon His Messenger, and His Messenger bestowed it upon his successor, the Commander of the Faithful." Then he recited this verse: عالِمُ الْغَیْبِ فَلا یُظْهِرُ عَلی غَیْبِهِ أَحَداً إِلَّا مَنِ ارْتَضی مِنْ رَسُولٍ [The Knower of the unseen! so He does not reveal His secrets to any, except a messenger whom He has chosen]. Then he said: "Woe to you, O Ibrahim! You asked about the believing Shia of our master, the Commander of the Faithful Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him), and about the ascetics of the Nasibis and their worshippers. Allah has said: وَ قَدِمْنا إِلی ما عَمِلُوا مِنْ عَمَلٍ فَجَعَلْناهُ هَباءً مَنْثُوراً [And We shall turn to whatever deeds they have done, and We shall make them like scattered dust in the air]. (Al-Furqan/23) For this reason He has said: عامِلَةٌ ناصِبَةٌ تَصْلی ناراً حامِیَةً تُسْقی مِنْ عَیْنٍ آنِیَةٍ [Those who have laboured continuously and grown weary [without any result], and enter into a scorching fire; they are made to drink from a boiling spring]. (Al-Ghashiyah/3-5) Such a Nasibi has resolved to be hostile to us and reject our virtues, and considers void the caliphate of our father, the Commander of the Faithful, while he affirms the caliphate of Muawiyah and Bani Umayyah and imagines that they are the caliphs of Allah on His earth."

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): Fath ibn Yazid Gurgani says: On my return from Makkah I was travelling with Imam Kazim (peace be upon him). He was going to Iraq and I was heading for Khurasan. I heard him saying: ... "As for the matter that occurred to your mind last night, if the Knower (meaning the Imam (peace be upon him)) wishes, he will explain it by Allah's permission: إِنَّ اللهَ لَمْ یُظْهِرْ عَلی غَیْبِهِ أَحَداً إِلَّا مَنِ ارْتَضی مِنْ رَسُولٍ [Indeed Allah does not reveal His unseen to anyone except a messenger whom He has chosen]. So whatever the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) has, the Imam also has, and whatever the Prophet is informed of, his successor is also informed of, so that the earth is not empty of a proof; with him is a knowledge that testifies to the truth of his speech and establishes his character and justice. O Fath! Satan almost led you into error and, regarding what I explained to you, drove you into fancy and doubt in such a way that you would remain away from the straight path and the road of Allah."

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): عَالِمُ الْغَیْبِ فَلَا یُظْهِرُ عَلَی غَیْبِهِ أَحَدًا، إِلَّا مَنِ ارْتَضَی مِن رَّسُولٍ [The Knower of the unseen! so He does not reveal His secrets to any, except a messenger whom He has chosen] — the meaning is Ali al-Murtada (peace be upon him), who is pleasing and approved by the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), and Ali (peace be upon him) is from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family).

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Allah the Mighty and Majestic has two kinds of knowledge: a knowledge that is with Him, of which He has informed no one of His creation; and a knowledge which He has cast down to His angels and His messengers — and whatever He has cast down to His angels and His messengers has reached us.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Allah has two kinds of knowledge: a knowledge that is given out, and a knowledge that is withheld. As for the first, which is bestowed — there is nothing that the angels, the prophets (peace be upon them) and the messengers know except that we too know it. As for the withheld knowledge, it is the knowledge that is with Allah in Ummul Kitab. When it comes forth, there will no longer be any bada (alteration) in it (unlike the first knowledge, in which bada is possible).

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): When the Imam (peace be upon him) wills to know something, he knows it.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): When the Imam (peace be upon him) intends to know something, Allah informs him of that thing.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Any Imam who does not know what will befall him [of good, evil, calamity and well-being] and to what he is heading (of death and martyrdom) — he is not Allah's proof (hujja) over His creation.

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): Allah the Exalted did not send down upon His Prophet any verse of the Quran except that He sent with it four guardian angels who preserved it until they delivered it to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family). Then he recited this verse: عَالِمُ الْغَیْبِ فَلَا یُظْهِرُ عَلَی غَیْبِهِ أَحَداً * إِلَّا مَنِ ارْتَضَی مِنْ رَسُولٍ فَإِنَّهُ یَسْلُکُ مِنْ بَیْنِ یَدَیْهِ وَ مِنْ خَلْفِهِ رَصَداً [The Knower of the unseen! so He does not reveal His secrets to any except a messenger whom He has chosen, then indeed He makes a guard march before him and behind him] — meaning the four angels — لِیَعْلَمَ أَنْ قَدْ أَبْلَغُوا رِسَالَاتِ رَبِّهِمْ [so that He may know that they have indeed delivered the messages of their Lord].

Imam of the Age (may Allah hasten his noble return): Our master, Imam al-Qa'im (peace be upon him), wrote a letter to Qasim ibn Ala and informed him of the death of Shaykh Qasim, which would occur forty days after the letter's arrival. Qasim had a friend named Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad, who was severely nasibi (an enemy of Ali (peace be upon him)). Qasim wanted to guide him toward the truth, so he gave him the letter and said: "Read it and reflect upon it yourself." Abd al-Rahman read the letter, and when he reached the place foretelling the death, he threw the letter from his hand and said to Qasim: "Seek refuge in Allah, for you are a man who surpasses others in religion and you have not lost your intellect. And Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, says: وَ ما تَدْرِی نَفْسٌ ما ذا تَکْسِبُ غَداً وَ ما تَدْرِی نَفْسٌ بِأَیِّ أَرْضٍ تَمُوتُ [And no soul knows what it will earn tomorrow, and no soul knows in what land it will die] (Luqman/39). And He said: عالِمُ الْغَیْبِ فَلا یُظْهِرُ عَلی غَیْبِهِ أَحَداً [The Knower of the unseen! so He does not reveal His secrets to any]." Qasim laughed and said: "Complete the verse: إِلّا مَنِ ارْتَضی مِنْ رَسُولٍ [Except a messenger whom He has approved]. And my master is among the messengers who are approved."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Humran said: Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: "Jibril (peace be upon him) brought two pomegranates for the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family). The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) ate one of them and broke the other into two halves; he ate one half and fed the other half to Ali (peace be upon him). Then the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: 'My brother! Do you know what these two pomegranates were?' He said: 'No!' He said: 'The first was prophethood, [which is exclusive to me and] you have no share in it, but the other was knowledge, and you are my partner in it.' I said: 'How was Ali (peace be upon him) a partner of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) in knowledge?' He said: 'Allah did not teach Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) any knowledge except that He commanded him to teach it to Ali (peace be upon him).'"