Ilm al-Ghayb of our Imams, from Zaydi sources
Excerpt from my book History of Nass Imamate -
1 ) QUOTE:
“Imām al-Ṣādiq being in possession of the Book of ʿAlī to ascertain events in the future would be proof of his Imamate.
(..Explains the concept from Twelver sources..)
Intriguingly, this is also evident in Maqātil al-Ṭālibiyyīn by highly prominent Zaydī historian and poet, Abū al-Faraj al-Iṣfahānī:
(Maqatil al-Talibiyeen, page 142)
1. “Whenever Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad would see Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdullah, his eyes would be filled with tears and then he would say:
‘May I be sacrificed for him, the people are saying he is the Mahdī and he will be killed. However, he is not found in the Book of ʿAlī to be among the caliphs of this ummah.”
كان جعفر بن محمد إذا رأی محمد بن عبد الله تغرغرت عيناه ، ثم يقول : بنفسي هوا إن الناس ليقولون فيه أنه المهدي وأنه لمقتول ! ليس هذافي كتاب علي من خلفاء هذه الأمة69
The narration I am citing has 5 different Zaydī chains, thus highly corroborating the incident.
“ʿUmar ibn ʿAbdullāh al-ʿAtakī narrated to me, from ʿUmar ibn Shabba, from al-Faḍlibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al- Hāshimī and ibn Dājah”
“Abū Zayd, from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAmrū ibn Jabla, from al-Ḥasan ibn Ayyūb mawlā of Banī Numayr, from ʿAb dal-Aʿlā ibn Aʿyan”
Ibrāhīm ibn Muḥammad ibn Abī al-Kirām al-Jaʿfarī from his father”
“Muḥammad ibn Yaḥya and ʿĪsā ibn ʿAbdullāh ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿUmar ibn ʿAlī also narrated it to me.”
أخبرني عمر بن عبد الله العتكي قال : حدثنا عمر بن شبة قال : حدثنا الفضل ابن عبد الرحمن الهاشمي وابن داجة . قال أبو زيد : وحدثنيعبد الرحمن بن عمرو ابن جبلة قال : حدثني الحسن بن أيوب مولى بني نمير عن عبد الأعلى بن أعين
قال وحدثني أبيه . وحدثني محمد بن يحيى وحدثني إبراهيم بن محمد بن أبي الكرام الجعفري عن أبيه . وحدثني عيسی بن عبد الله بنمحمد بن عمر بن علي
(Maqatil al-Talibiyeen, page 108)
2. “And Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad came to ʿAbdullāh ibn al- Ḥasan who welcomed him.
Jaʿfar told him: ‘Do not perform this [revolt], as it is not the right time for this matter.
If you - ʿAbdullāh - see that this son of yours is the Mahdī, then he is not it nor is it this his time.
But if you wished to make him revolt for out of anger for the sake of Allāh, to enjoin the good and prohibit the false, then by Allāh we will not let you (go alone) - and you are our shaykh and we give bayʿah to your son.”
قالوا : وجاء جعفر بن محمد الصادق فأوسع له عبد الله بن الحسن إلى جنبه ، فتكلم بمثل كلامه فقال جعفر الصادق ] : « لا تفعلوا فإن هذاالأمر لم يأت بعد ،
إن كنت ترى الله - أن ابنك هذا هو المهدي ، فليس به ولا هذا أوانه ، وإن كن
2 ) DOES THIS INDICATE ILM AL GHAYB?
Muhammad ibn Abdullah was a rebel leader from among the descendants of Imam al-Hasan ibn Ali (a), who had ambitions to seize the caliphate from the Abbasids. And claimed to be the Mahdi to garner supporters for his revolt.
His father Abdullah (a Zaydi Imam) was a big proponent of his son’s cause and aimed to secure support for him from among the chiefs of Banu Hashim, including Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq.
First during the Umayyad period when Muhammad ibn Abdullah was given allegiance by chiefs of Banu al-Abbas such as Abu al-Abbas al-Saffah (founder of the Abbasid dynasty). Then during the Abbasid period, when he revolted against al-Mansur.
Imam al-Sadiq proclaimed both revolts will be unsuccessful and that Muhammad ibn Abdullah is not the Mahdi - both facts based on knowledge Imam al-Sadiq supernaturally acquired from the Book of Imam Ali.
Can we construe this knowledge however as a form of ‘Ilm al-Ghayb?
- Abdullah ibn Muhammad affirms Ja’far al-Sadiq is claiming ghayb knowledge
AA) In a hadith in Maqatil al-Talibiyeen corroborated by 4 different Zaydi chains and 1 chain that has one possible Imami narrator, Abdullah’s response to Imam al-Sadiq in the 2nd hadith shown above is recorded.
He accused Imam al-Sadiq of claiming ghayb knowledge whereas he does not actually have it - and claiming so out of envy - when he stated that Muhammad’s revolt will fail.
Imam al-Sadiq responded that Muhammad will never become caliph whereas his supporter Abu al-Abbas and his family will become caliphs in the future.
(Maqatil al-Talibiyeen, page 142)
And Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad came to ʿAbdullāh ibn al- Ḥasan who welcomed him.
Jaʿfar told him: ‘Do not perform this [revolt], as it is not the right time for this matter.
If you - ʿAbdullāh - see that this son of yours is the Mahdī, then he is not it nor is it this his time.
But if you wished to make him revolt for out of anger for the sake of Allāh, to enjoin the good and prohibit the false, then by Allāh we will not let you (go alone) - and you are our shaykh and we give bayʿah to your son.
Abdullah became angry and said: I know the opposite of what you are saying, and by God, God has not informed you of ghayb, but what makes you say this is envy of my son.
He said: By God, that is not my motivation, but this man and his brothers and their sons will achieve rulership - excluding, and he struck his hand on the back of Abu al-Abbas.
Then hs hit his hand on the shoulder of Abdullah bin al-Hassan and said: It is
By God, it is not for you or your two sons, but it is theirs (Banu al-Abbas). And your two sons will be killed.
فغضب عبد الله وقال: علمت خلاف ما تقول ووالله ما أطلعك الله على غيبه ولكن يحملك على هذا الحسد لابني.
فقال: والله ما ذاك يحملني ولكن هذا وإخوته وأبناؤهم دونكم وضرب بيده على ظهر أبي العباس ثم ضرب بيده على كتف عبد الله بن الحسنوقال: إنها
والله ما هي إليك ولا إلى ابنيك ولكنها لهم. وإن ابنيك لمقتولان
- Note:
- Imam al-Sadiq saying he ready to give bay’ah, if Abdullah’s revolt is out of the sake of Allah is out of taqiyya.
AB) Motivations for rejecting the Imam’s ghayb knowledge?
If we want to understand why Abdullah rejected Imam al-Sadiq’s knowledge of al-ghayb from the Book of Ali (aka Book of al-Jafr).
The following Twelver hadith from al-Kafi, page 240 will highlight the reason these Hasanid rulers denied Inam al-Sadiq’s ghayb knowledge from this book. It is out of “envy and pursuit of dunya”.
“Abi Abdilah [al-Sadiq] said:
‘I have the red book of al-Jafr.’
So Abdullah ibn Abi Ya’qub said: ‘May Allah give you health, are Banu al-Hasan aware of this?
He [the Imam] said: Yes by Allah, they know it just like they know night is night and day is day. However, they defiantly deny this [i.e, that the Imams possess al-Jafr & thus are divinely appointed] - out of envy and pursuit of dunya.”
عن أبي عبد الله جعفر الصادق أنّه قال: (وعندي الجفر الأحمر).فقال له عبد الله بن أبي يعقوب: أصلحك الله أيعرف هذابنوالحسن؟ قال: (إي والله، كما يعرفون الليل أنّه ليل، والنهار أنّه نهار، ولكنّهم يحملهم الحسد وطلب الدنيا علىالجحودوالإنكار).).
AC)
It seems that after the Abbasids did come to power - as Imam al-Sadiq said, Abdullah became more accepting of Imam al-Sadiq’s ghayb knowledge.
After Imam al-Sadiq affirmed again in the Abbasid era that Muhmmad ibn Abdullah will be killed and he is not the Mahdi.
Abdullah appeared to accept Imam al-Sadiq’s knowledge that his son isn’t the Mahdi and he will be killed. And so will Abdullah’s other sons - as Imam al-Sadiq told him in the (Maqatil, p142) hadith I share above.
“Narrated from Abu Al-’Abbas Al-Hassani from his chain to a man from the companions of ‘Abdullah Al-Mahdi, he said: We came to him - ‘Abdullah Al-Mahdi - and he was being carried by Abu Ja’far (in the palanquin), we said to him: O’ Son of the Messenger of Allah, your son Muhammad is the Mahdi, he said: Muhammad will rise from here, and he pointed to Al-Medina, his nose will be like that of the charging bull until he is killed. Afterwards, Ibrahim (b. ‘Abdullah) while rise from here, his nose will be like that of the charging bull until he is killed. However, when you hear that the promised one has risen from Khurasan, he shall be the one you inquire of.”
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- Imam al-Kadhim’s knowledge of al-Ghayb
Imam al-Kadhim when asked by Zaydi rebel leader al-Husayn al-Fakhi to join his revolt, Imam al-Kadhim mentioned the ghayb knowledge that al-Fakhi will be killed due to the treachery of his own supporters.
(Maqatil al-Talibiyeen, p298)
“Al-Husayn [al-Fakhi] to join Musa ibn Ja’fad in his revolt.
Your fate is to be killed, as the people are fasiqeen (wicked). They appear to you with imaan (faith), whereas they hide nifaq (hypocrisy) and shirk.
We are to God, and to Him we return. And to God - I will remember you as a group”
قال: وقال الحسين لموسى بن جعفر في الخروج فقال له: إنك مقتول فأحد الضراب فان القوم فساق يظهرون إيمانا، ويضمرون نفاقا وشركا،فانا لله وإنا إليه راجعون. وعند الله عز وجل أحتسبكم من عصبة.
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Conclusion
There seems to be a recurring pattern of Twelver Imams claiming ghayb knowledge - which also turns out to be true.
It helps one answer the question of:
“Did these figures (Twelver Imams) depict themselves as supernatural figures - Imams? Is the claim of their Imamate correct?”
Wa Allahu A’lam
