Commenting on the capacity of the angels, Imam `Al¢ (a.s) says:
الثَّابِتَةُ فِي الأرَضِينَ السُّفْلَى أقْدَامُهُمْ، وَالْمَارِقَةُ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ الْعُلْيَا أعْنَاقُهُمْ.
Among them are those also whose steps are fixed on earth but their necks are protruding into the skies.[1]
That is to say the angels are abstract truth hence they encompass the cosmos and have the universe under their cover. Based on narrations, the same abstract truth has manifested itself in the heart of the Holy Prophet and his Ahl al-Bayt. Since the Holy Qur’¡n dawned on the heart of the Holy Prophet, nothing emanates from him and his Ahl al-Bayt but the truth, for man cannot have two hearts with one containing the truth and the other containing falsehood. Therefore, Ahl al-Bayt are nothing but the truth; they say nothing but the truth and do nothing but the truth. They are mercy for the world nations and all people enjoy their truth whether they want or not.
Since perfect men have reached Umm al-Kit¡b (Mother of the Book), it has become tangible for them:
In a book that is protected; none shall touch it save the purified ones. (56:78-79)
They are beyond nature and time, they put their steps on the past and future, that is to say, they have the time under their feet. For this reason, they are aware of the past and the future. They see the past as it happened and the future as it will happen. Do we not read in the Holy Qur’¡n that Allah showed to His Messenger during the Night Ascension the future of the universe until the Judgment Day and its aftermath:
Then he drew near; then he bowed, so he was the measure of two bows or closer still. And He revealed to His servant what He revealed. The heart was not untrue in (making him see) what he saw. What! Do you then dispute with him as to what he saw? And certainly he saw Him in another descent, At the farthest lute-tree: Near which is the garden, the place to be resorted to. (53:8-15)
During the Night Ascension, Allah revealed to the Holy Prophet the essence of the Judgment Day in the form of heaven and hell. So, the Holy Prophet not has only an understanding of the past and future but also sees them all. Since Allah’s Messenger with all his spirituality is manifest in Ahl al-Bayt, they too are aware of the past and the future.
Beyond doubt, the prayer of those who have such capacity and devotion cannot be compared with anyone else in a way that one second of their prayer is better than the prayer of men and jinn together. In this relation, the Holy Prophet says:
لَضَرْبَةُ عَلِيٍّ يَوْمَ الْخَنْدَقِ أفْضَلُ مِنْ عِبَادَةِ الثَّقَلَيْنِ.
One blow of `Al¢’s sword in the Battle of the Ditch is better than the prayer of men and jinn.[2]
Ahl al-Bayt
the Holy Qur’¡n’s Counterpart
The duty undertaken by all human beings especially Muslims to understand the Holy Qur’¡n and to put into practice its teachings is the same as Ahl al-Bayt, for the Holy Prophet during an illness which led to his passing away, while leaning on Imam `Al¢ and Ibn `Abb¡s came out of his house and by leaning on one of the pillars of Medina Mosque, which was the trunk of a palm tree, said to the people who gathered in the mosque:
إنَّهُ لَمْ يَمُتْ نَبِيٌّ قَطُّ إلأ خَلَّفَ تِرْكَةً؛ وَقَدْ خَلَّفْتُ فِيكُمُ الثَّقَلَيْنِ كِتَابَ اللهِ وَأهْلَ بَيْتِي. ألأ فَمَنْ ضَيَّعَهُمْ ضَيَّعَهُ اللهُ.
No prophet has passed away without leaving something behind him. I too leave behind me for you two valuable things, namely the Book of Allah and my Ahl al-Bayt. Be aware, whoever ignores them will be ignored by Allah.[3]
Imam `Al¢ (a.s) too has said:
إنَّ اللهَ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى طَهَّرَنَا وَعَصَمَنَا وَجَعَلَنَا شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى خَلْقِهِ وَحُجَّتَهُ فِي أرْضِهِ؛ وَجَعَلَنَا مَعَ الْقُرْآنِ وَجَعَلَ الْقُرْآنَ مَعَنَا لأ نُفَارِقُهُ وَلأ يُفَارِقُنَا.
Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, has purified us from uncleanness making us infallible. He made us witnesses on people setting us as a proof on the earth. He placed us with the Holy Qur’¡n and placed the Holy Qur’¡n with us. We will never part company with the Holy Qur’¡n nor will the Holy Qur’¡n part company with us.[4]
Ahl al-Bayt (a.s) are the protected Qur’¡n, containing all meanings of the Book of Allah, aware of the manifest and hidden verses and the ones practicing the Qur’¡nic teachings. They are the practical examples of the Holy Qur’¡n and the full manifestation of the Book of Allah. Therefore, should people, especially Muslims, be duty-bound to the Holy Qur’¡n, they would be duty-bound to Ahl al-Bayt as well.
As for how the ummah took heed of the Holy Prophet’s recommendation on the Holy Qur’¡n and its counterpart; that is Ahl al-Bayt, we should know about Ibn Dharr’s answer to Imam al-B¡qir’s question:
One day, Imam al-B¡qir (a.s) asked Ibn Dharr if he had heard some ¦ad¢ths. Ibn Dharr said, “O Son of Allah’s Messenger! The Holy Prophet said, “I am leaving among you two valuable things; one each greater than the other; the Book of Allah and my Ahl al-Bayt. If you resort to then, you will never go astray.”
Imam al-B¡qir (a.s) said, “O Ibn Dharr, if you ever meet Allah’s Messenger and he asks you what you have done about these two valuable things, what will your answer be?”
Ibn Dharr started weeping bitterly and said,
أمَّا الأكْبَرُ فَمَزَّقْنَاهُ، وَأمَّا الأصْغَرُ فَقَتَلْنَاهُ!
“Alas! We have torn apart the Greater one and killed the smaller one.”[5]
Ahl al-Bayt are the Holy Qur’¡n’s counterpart hence they have all the features of the Book:
The Holy Qur’¡n is full of knowledge. So are Ahl al-Bayt.
The Holy Qur’¡n is light. So are Ahl al-Bayt.
The Holy Qur’¡n is balance. So are Ahl al-Bayt.
The Holy Qur’¡n is pure. So are Ahl al-Bayt.
The Holy Qur’¡n is guidance. So are Ahl al-Bayt.
The Holy Qur’¡n is an intercessor on the Judgment Day. So are Ahl al-Bayt.
Ahl al-Bayt and Knowledge
The Holy Qur’¡nic reads that when Prophet Sulaym¡n (Solomon) sent back the emissaries of Queen Sheba, he said to the chiefs of his court:
He said: O chiefs! Which of you can bring to me her throne before they come to me in submission? One audacious among the Jinn said: I will bring it to you before you rise up from your place; and most surely I am strong and trusty for it. One who had the knowledge of the Book said: I will bring it to you in the twinkling of an eye. Then when he saw it settled besides him, he said: This is of the grace of my Lord that He may try me whether I am grateful or ungrateful; and whoever is grateful, he is grateful only for his own soul, and whoever is ungrateful, then surely my Lord is Self-sufficient, Honored. (27:38-40)
In another place of the Holy Qur’¡n, we read about one who has the knowledge of the Book:
And those who disbelieve say, “You are not a messenger.” Say, “Allah is sufficient as a witness between me and you. So is he who has knowledge of the Book.”
In the earlier verse, the Arabic preposition min (of) that comes between `ilm (knowledge) and kit¡b (Book) means “part of”, whereas in the latter verse, there is nothing between these two words, meaning one who has the entire knowledge of the Book; one whose witness to Prophethood is the same as the witness of Allah. This one must be the most knowledgeable after the Holy Prophet. This person—as grand Sh¢`ite commentators, relying on narrations related to Ahl al-Bayt, and great Sunni commentators, relying on their own narrations, state—is no one but the Commander of the Faithful, Imam `Al¢ (a.s) who was not older than twenty!
Ab£-Sa`¢d Khidri, a reporter of ¦ad¢th accepted by Sunni scholars, says:
سَألْتُ رَسُولَ اللهِ 4 عَنْ قَوْلِ اللهِ تَعَالَى: ) ﭝ ﭞ ﭟ ﭠ( قَالَ: ذَاكَ أخِي عَلِيُّ بْنُ أبِي طَالِبٍ.
I asked Allah’s Messenger, “Who is the one intended by Allah’s saying, ‘so is he who the knowledge of the Book?’” The Holy Prophet answered, “He is my brother, `Al¢ ibn Ab¢-±¡lib.”[6]
Imam `Al¢ (a.s), having been asked about the meaning of the same verse, said:
أنَا هُوَ الَّذِي عِنْدَهُ عِلْمُ الْكِتَابِ.
I am the one with whom is the knowledge of the Book.[7]
When Imam al-¯¡diq (a.s) was asked by `Abd al-Ra¦m¡n ibn Kuthayr about the meaning of the following verse, “One who had the knowledge of the Book said: I will bring it to you in twinkling of an eye”, the Imam, spreading his fingers and putting them on his chest, said:
وَعِنْدَنَا، وَاللهِ، عِلْمُ الْكِتَابِ كُلُّهُ.
By Allah, the entire knowledge of the Book is with us.[8]
Referring to Ahl al-Bayt, Allah’s Messenger said:
قَالَ لِيَ اللهُ تَعَالَى: هُمْ خُزَّانِي عَلَى عِلْمِي مِنْ بَعْدِكَ.
Allah has told me: They are the treasurers of My Knowledge after you.[9]
Imam Zayn al-`ªbid¢n (a.s) has said:
نَحْنُ أبْوَابُ اللهِ، وَنَحْنُ الصِّرَاطُ الْمُسْتَقِيمُ، وَنَحْنُ عَيْبَةُ عِلْمِهِ، وَنَحْنُ تَرَاجِمَةُ وَحْيِهِ، وَنَحْنُ أرْكَانُ تَوْحِيدِهِ، وَنَحْنُ مَوْضِعُ سِرِّهِ.
We are the gates to Allah; the straight path; the container of His knowledge; the interpreters of His revelation; the pillars of monotheism; and the closet of His secrets.[10]
Imam `Al¢ Am¢r al-Mu'min¢n (a.s) has said:
ألأ إنَّ الْعِلْمَ الَّذِي هَبَطَ بِهِ آدَمُ وَجَمِيعَ مَا فُضِّلَتْ بِهِ النَّبِيُّونَ إلَى خَاتَمِ النَّبِيِّينَ فِي عِتْرَةِ خَاتَمِ النَّبِيِّينَ وَالْمُرْسَلِينَ، مُحَمَّدٍ 3! فَأيْنَ يُتَاهُ بِكُمْ؟ وَأيْنَ تَذْهَبُونَ؟
Beware! The knowledge brought down by Adam and the excellent deeds of the Prophets, up to the last one of them, is with the Progeny of the seal of the Prophets. So to which deviated way are you pushed and where are you going?[11]
The Holy Prophet has said:
نَحْنُ، أهْلَ البَيْتِ، مَفَاتِيحُ الرَّحْمَةِ وَمَوْضِعُ الرِّسَالَةِ وَمُخْتَلَفُ الْمَلأئِكَةِ وَمَعْدِنُ الْعِلْمِ.
We, the Ahl al-Bayt, are the keys of Mercy, the destination of the Prophetic mission, the haunt of angels, and the source of knowledge.[12]
Imam Zayn al-`ªbid¢n has said:
مَا يَنْقِمُ النَّاسُ مِنَّا؟ فَنَحْنُ، وَاللهِ، شَجَرَةُ النُّبُوَّةِ وَبَيْتُ الرَّحْمَةِ وَمَعْدِنُ الْعِلْمِ وَمُخْتَلَفُ الْمَلأئِكَةِ.
Why do people harbor grudge against us? By Allah, we are the tree of Prophethood, the house of mercy, the source of knowledge and the haunt of angels.[13]
Ahl al-Bayt know the Chief Name (alism al-a`¨am) of Allah; they are familiar with all languages; they are aware of the past and the future; they have the knowledge of the Divine Books and they see what has happened and what will happen. Ahl al-Bayt are the House of Allah, Noah’s Ark, the Qur’¡n’s counterpart, the excellent people, those who are in authority, people of Reminder, roots of truths, source of Divine mission, pillars of world and guardians of faith.
[1] Nahj al-Bal¡ghah, Sermon: 1.
[2] Al-Iqb¡l: 467, `Aw¡li al-La’¡l¢: 86/4, ° 102.
[3] Al-I¦tij¡j, 70/1.
[4] Al-K¡f¢, 191/1, ° 5.
[5] Rij¡l al-Khashsh¢, 219’ Bi¦¡r al-Anw¡r: 159/10, ° 12.
[6] Shaw¡hid al-Tanz¢l: 400/1.
[7] Ba¥¡'ir al-Daraj¡t: 216, H.21.
[8] Al-K¡f¢, 229/1, ° 5.
[9] Al-K¡f¢: 193/1, ° 4.
[10] Ma`¡n¢ al-Akhb¡r: 35, ° 5.
[11] Tafs¢r al-Qumm¢, 368/1.
[12] Far¡'id al-Sim§ayn, 44/1.
[13] Al-K¡f¢, 222/1, ° 1.
