Lessons from Nahjul Balagha [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Sermons
Sermon
174

SERMON 174

Warning to neglectful people,
and about the vastness of his own knowledge

O' people who are
(negligent of Allah but) not neglected (by Allah), and those who
miss (doing good acts) but are to be caught. How is it that I see
you becoming removed from Allah and becoming interested in others?
You are like the camel whom the grazer drives to a
disease-stricken pasture and a disastrous watering place. They are
like beasts who are fed in order to be slaughtered, but they do
not know what is intended for them. When they are treated well
they think that day to be their whole life, and eating their full
to be their aim.

By Allah, if I wish, I
can tell every one of you from where he has come, where he has to
go and all his affairs, but I fear lest you abandon the Messenger
of Allah - peace and blessing of Allah be upon him and his progeny
- in my favour. I shall certainly convey these things to the
selected ones who will remain safe from that fear. By Allah, Who
deputed the Prophet with Right and distinguished him over
creation. I do not speak save the truth. He (the Prophet) informed
me of all this and also about the death of every one who dies, the
salvation of every one who is granted salvation, and the
consequences of this matter (the caliphate). He left nothing (that
could) pass into my head without putting it in my ear and telling
me about it. (1)

O' people ! By Allah,
I do not impel you to any obedience unless I practise it before
you and do not restrain you from any disobedience unless I desist
from it before you.

(1).
Those who drink from the springs of revelation and divine
inspiration see things hidden behind the curtains of the unknown
and the events which will occur in the future in the same way as
objects can be seen with the eyes, and this does not conflict with
the saying of Allah that:

Say: "None
(either) in the heavens or in the earth knoweth the unseen save
Allah..." (Qur'an, 27:65)

because this verse
contains the negation of personal knowledge of the unknown, but
not the negation of knowledge which is required by the prophets
and holy persons through divine inspiration, by virtue of which
they make prophesies about the future and unveil many events and
happenings. Several verses of the Qur'an support this view such
as:

When the Prophet
confided unto one of his wives a matter, but when she divulged it
(unto others) and Allah apprised him thereof, he made known a part
of it and avoided a part; so when he informed her of it, said she:
"Who informed thee of this?" He said: "Informed me,
the All-knowing, the All-aware." (Qur'an, 66:3)

These are of the
tidings of the unseen which We reveal unto thee (O' Our Prophet
Muhammad )...(Qur'an, 11:49)

Therefore, it is
incorrect to argue in support of the view that if it is said that
the prophets and holy persons possess knowledge of the unknown it
would imply duality in the divine attributes. It would have
implied duality if it were said that someone other than Allah has
personal knowledge of the unknown. When it is not so and the
knowledge possessed by the Prophets and Imams is that given by
Allah it has no connection with duality. If duality should mean
what is alleged, what would be the position of Isa's (Jesus's)
assertion related in the Qur'an namely:

. . . Out of clay will
I make for you like the figure of a bird, and I will breathe into
it, and it shall become a flying bird by Allah's permission; and I
shall heal the blind and the leper and will rise the dead to life
by Allah 's permission; and I will declare to you what ye eat and
what ye store up in your houses. . . (Qur'an, 3 :49)

If it is believed that
Isa (Jesus) could create and bestow life with Allah's permission
does it mean that he was Allah's partner in the attributes of
creation and revival? If this is not so then how can it be held
that if Allah gives someone the knowledge of the unknown it
implies that he has been taken to be His partner in His
attributes, and how can one extol one's belief in the oneness of
Allah by holding that the knowledge of the unknown implies
duality.

No one can deny the
fact that some people either see in dreams certain things which
have yet to occur in the future, or that things can be read
through interpretation of the dream, while during a dream neither
do the senses function nor do the powers of understanding and
comprehension co-operate. Therefore, if some events become known
to some people in wakefulness why should there be amazement over
it and what are the grounds for rejecting it, when it stands to
reason that things possible in dreams are also possible in
wakefulness. Thus, Ibn Maytham al-Bahrani has written that it is
possible to achieve all this, because in a dream the spirit
becomes free from looking after the body and is removed from
bodily connections; as a result of this it perceives such hidden
realities which could not be seen because of the obstruction of
the body. In the same way those perfect beings who pay no heed to
bodily matters, and turn with all the attention of spirit and
heart towards the centre of knowledge can see those realities and
secrets which the ordinary eyes are unable to discern. Therefore,
keeping in view the spiritual greatness of Ahlu'l-bayt (members of
the Prophet's family) it should not appear strange that they were
aware of events which were going to occur in future. Ibn Khaldun
has written:

"When
thaumaturgic feats are performed by others what do you think about
those who were distinguished in knowledge and honesty and were a
mirror of the Prophet's traits, while the consideration Allah had
for their noble root (namely the Prophet) is a proof of the high
performances of his chaste off-shoots (Ahlu'l-bayt). Consequently
many events about knowledge of the unknown are related about
Ahlu'l-bayt which are not related about others.."
(al-Muqaddamah, p. 23).

In this way there is
no cause for wonder over Amir al-mu'minin's claim since he was
brought up by the Prophet and was a pupil of Allah's school. Of
course, those whose knowledge does not extend beyond the limits of
physical objectivity and whose means of learning are confined to
the bodily senses refuse to believe in the knowledge about the
paths of divine cognisance and reality. If this kind of claim were
unique and were heard only from over Amir al-mu'minin then minds
could have wavered and temperaments could have hesitated in
accepting it, but if the Qur'an records even such a claim of Isa
(Jesus) that - "I can tell you what you eat or drink or store
in your houses," then why should there be hesitation over
Amir al-mu'minin's claim, when it is agreed that Amir al-mu'minin
had succeeded to all the attainments and distinctions of the
Prophet and it cannot be contended that the Prophet did not know
what Isa (Jesus) knew. Thus, if the successor of the Prophet
advances such a claim, why should it be rejected, particularly as
this vastness of knowledge of Amir al-mu'minin is the best
evidence and proof for the Prophet's knowledge and perfection and
a living miracle of his truthfulness.

In this connection, it
is amazing that even having knowledge of events Amir al-mu'minin
did not, through any of his words or deeds, indicate that he knew
them. Thus, commenting of the extraordinary importance of this
claim, as-Sayyid Ibn Tawus writes:

"An amazing
aspect of this claim is that despite the fact that Amir
al-mu'minin was aware of conditions and events, yet he observed
such conduct by way of his words and deeds that one who saw him
could not believe that he knew the secrets and unknown acts of
others, because the wise agree that if a person knows what event
is likely to take place or what step his comrade is going to take,
or if the hidden secrets of people are known to him, then the
effects of such knowledge would appear through his movements and
the expressions of his face. But the man who, in spite of knowing
everything, behaves in a way as though he is unaware and knows
nothing, then his personality is a miracle and a combination of
contradictions."

At this stage, the
question arises as to why Amir al-mu'minin did not act upon the
dictates of his secret knowledge. The reply to this is that the
commands of the shariah are based on apparent conditions.
Otherwise secret knowledge is a kind of miracle and power which
Allah grants to His prophets and Imams. Although the prophets and
Imams possess this power always, they cannot make use of it at any
time unless and until by the permission of Allah and on the proper
occasion. For example, the verse quoted above about Isa (Jesus)
which tells that he had the power to give life, to heal the blind
and declare what one ate and stored in his house, etc., he (Jesus)
did not used to practise this power on every thing or every corpse
or everyone who met him. He used to practise this power only by
the permission of Allah and on the proper occasion.

If prophets and other
divines acted on the basis of their secret knowledge it would have
meant serious dislocation and disturbance in the affairs of the
people. For example, if a prophet or divine, on the basis of his
secret knowledge, punishes a condemnable man by killing him, there
would be great commotion and agitation among those who see it on
the ground that he killed an innocent man. That is why Allah has
not permitted the basing of conclusions on secret knowledge save
in a few special cases, and has enjoined the following of
observable factors. Thus, despite his being aware of the hypocrisy
of some of the hypocrites, the Prophet extended to them the
treatment that should be extended to a Muslim.

Now, there can be no
scope for the objection that if Amir al-mu'minin knew secret
matters then why did he not act according to them because it has
been shown that he was not obliged to act according to the
requirements of his secret knowledge. Of course, where conditions
so required he did disclose some matters for the purposes of
preaching, admonishing, giving good tidings (of reward) or warning
(against punishment), so that future events could be fore-closed.
For example, Imam Jafar as-Sadiq (p.b.u.h.) informed Yahya ibn
Zayd that if he went out he would be killed. Ibn Khaldun writes in
this connection:

"It has been
authentically related from Imam Jafar as-Sadiq that he used to
apprise some of his relations of the events to befall them. For
example, he warned his cousin Yahya ibn Zayd of being killed but
he disobeyed him and went out and was killed in Juzajan."
(al-Muqaddamah, p. 233).

Nevertheless, where
there was apprehension that minds would get worried it was not at
all disclosed. That is why in this sermon Amir al-mu'minin avoided
more details, in view of the fear that people would begin to
regard him higher than the Prophet. Despite all this people did go
astray about Isa (Jesus), and in the same way about Amir
al-mu'minin also they began to say all sorts of things and were
misled into resorting to exaggeration.