Sunni Feedback on The Issues of Infallibility and Ahulbayt [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

The Knowledge of the Unseen & the Knowledge of the Book
This article aims at clarifying two concepts namely Ilm
al-Ghayb (the Knowledge of the Unseen) and Ilm al-Kitab
(the knowledge of the Book) which both seem to be confusing in
many people's mind.

The article provides references to Quran and
both Shi'ite and Sunnite collections of traditions.

The Knowledge of the Unseen
The original meaning of Ghayb in Arabic is that
which has been concealed, and it is with this meaning which
has appeared in the Holy Quran (4:34, 12:52, etc.
) It signifies
a meaning opposite to Hadhir which means present
to the senses, and thus denotes with things to the external
world (i.
e.
, Ma'lumat; known things).

This opposition of Ghayb/Hadhir
(unseen/present) should not be confused with the opposition of
Ilm/Jahl (knowledge/ignorance) in which the latter pair is concerned
with the internal act of knowing.

So it may happen that something
is Ghayb in the dimension of time which does not exist
now but it will be or it was; or in the dimension of place that
is the knowledge of something which is located elsewhere but not
here.

Thus we can divide own our knowledge into two parts:

A)
The knowledge of something which is present to us right here
and right now (Ilm bil Hadhir),
B)
The knowledge of something which we know but is not here now
(Ilm bil Ghayb/Gha'ib; the knowledge of what is concealed from
the senses).

It should be noted however that the above division is according
to general/original linguistic meaning of the term.

The knowledge
of Ghayb itself can be divided in two kinds:

1)
The knowledge that comes to us through our senses, but indirectly.

Examples are our knowledge of history which comes either through
narration from one person to another, by speech or in writing
or through examining the relics and remainings of the past, and
then deducing certain historical facts from them.

2)
The type of the knowledge of Ghayb which does not come through
our senses.

It should be observed that the first type can be by means of ordinary
senses (the five normal senses) or may be by a special sense which
has been given to a person like telepathic sense (if there is
such a thing).

It is, however, only to the second type (the non-sensory
one), that the technical/special meaning of The Knowledge
of Ghayb/Gha'ib is denoted.

The historical events mentioned
in Quran has been named by Quran as the tidings/news of
Ghayb (11:49, 12:102, 25:4-6) which are all the second kind
which did not come via senses.

The Holy Quran is quite specific about the fact that Allah alone
has the knowledge of Ghayb (what is concealed) in the heavens
and the earth.

Quran tells us that there are keys to the Ghayb
which are with Allah:

With Him are the Keys of the Ghayb; non knows them but He.

(Quran
6:59)
and that no one knows anything of Allah's knowledge except if
He will.

Quran tells about the knowledge and the intercession
of the Prophet Muhammad and his twelve successors that:

Who can intercede with Him except the cases He permits?
He knows what is in front of them (the Prophet and the Imams)
and what is behind them, and they encompass nothing of His
knowledge except what He will.

(Quran 2:255)
This shows that the core/keys of the Knowledge of Ghayb is with
Allah, but He may release a news of Ghayb to the one
He wills.

According to the Quran, things which are special property of Allah,
such as creation, giving life, curing without medicine, the knowledge
of what has happened and what will happen, may either be momentarily
given by Him at the moment they are required, or else the power
and ability to do them may be given so that they can be used when
necessary, by the permission of Allah.

An example of the latter
comes in the story of Prophet Jesus (AS) who, according to Quran,
said:

I have come to you with a sign from your Lord; I will CREATE
for you out of clay a figure of a bird, then I will breath into
it, and it will be a bird by leave of Allah; I will also HEAL
the blind and the leper, and BRING TO LIFE the dead, by leave
of Allah.

I will also INFORM you of what things you eat and what
you treasure up in your houses.

Surely, in that is a sign for
you, if you are believers.

(Quran 3:49; see also 5:110)
To give a simple example, consider a person who looks at a monitor
which displays some part of a database located in the hard drive
of a computer.

The user can retrieve any part of this database
and see it on the monitor.

But the whole database is always in
the computer and not in the user's head.

Furthermore, the user
is unaware of any real-time modifications that may happen to this
data base and the formulas behind the modifications.

Allah let the Prophet and Imams know whatever they
needed to know.

However, they don't have the whole knowledge within
themselves.

But Allah would give them whatever they needed any
time.

It is important to understand that what the prophets or
the Imams wish to know is exactly what Allah wished to release
to them.

They do not wish to know anything that Allah do not want
to release to them (among which is the keys to the knowledge of
unseen).

Based on Quran and the transmitted traditions by Ahlul-Bayt, Allah
has two types of knowledge:

1-
The knowledge that is withheld (i.
e.
, Ghayb).

As I mentioned
Nobody has control over this type of knowledge except Allah.

Allah
may inform a news from Ghayb to some of His servants,
but this is different than possessing Ghayb.

In fact,
there is a whole chapter in Usul al-Kafi which discusses this
type of knowledge where it is clearly mentioned that neither the
Imams nor the prophets possess the knowledge Ghayb.

The
Will (Mashiyyah) of Allah operates on this knowledge.

If He wishes
He decrees it.

And If He wishes He modifies it and does not carry
it out.

(See Usul al-Kafi, Kitab al-Hujjah, Tradition #664)

2-
The knowledge that is granted.

This is the knowledge
that Allah fore- ordained (Qadar, Taqdeer), He decrees it, and
carries it out (with no modification).

And this is the knowledge
that has been passed down to the Prophet Muhammad, and then to
the Imams.

(See Usul al-Kafi, Kitab al-Hujjah, Tradition
#664)

If the Prophet or Imams possessed any knowledge about the future,
it is this second type of knowledge (the knowledge of what has
been foreordained), and NOT the first type of knowledge (the Knowledge
of the Unseen).

For the First type of knowledge, Quran states:

Allah removes what He wills, and confirms what He wills,
and with Him is the Essence of the Book.

(Quran 13:39).

The Essence of the Book is the withheld knowledge (Ghayb) which
is only possessed by Allah, and nobody possesses this database
but Him.

Also see the following verses:

He said: The knowledge of that is with my Lord in a Record.

My Lord neither errs nor forgets.

(Quran 20:52)
Now, let us look at the following verse:

He possesses the Ghayb and He does not discloses His Ghayb
to anyone except to such a Messenger as He is well-pleased
with.

(Quran 72:26-27).

From the above verse, it is evident that although Allah alone
possesses the withheld knowledge (Ghayb), but He may disclose
a news from it to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH&HF).

On the other
hand, Prophet Muhammad transferred whatever he was reached from
the news of Ghayb to those who qualified, as the following
verse testifies:

And he (Muhammad) is not niggardly the Knowledge of the
Unseen.

(Quran 81:24).

Therefore, if the news of Ghayb reached to the Prophet Muhammad
(and consequently the Imams of Ahlul-Bayt), it is only because
it was given to him by Allah.

It is for this reason that according
to Quran the messengers are all instructed to tell people that
they do not possess the Knowledge of Ghayb of their own, for it
is reached to them by Allah only as He wishes.

In Usul a-Kafi, it is narrated that:

Ammar al-Sabati said: I asked Abu Abdillah (Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq)
concerning if Imam knows al-Ghayb (Unseen).

He replied: No,
but when he wishes to know something, Allah causes him to know
that.

(Usul al-Kafi, Kitab al- Hujjah, Tradition #666)
Shaikh al-Mufeed (d.
413/1022) who was one the outstanding Shia
scholars said:

Saying that they (Prophet and Imams) possess the knowledge
of Ghayb should be refuted as being something clearly incorrect,
because the attribute of this can only be for someone who possesses
the knowledge of (all) things within himself, not the knowledge
obtained from another.

And this can only be for Allah, to whom
belong Might and Majesty.

All Imamis agree on this except those
who deviated from them and are called Mufawwidah and extremists
(al-Ghulat).

(Awa'il al- Maqalaat, p38).

in fact, neither the prophets nor Imams ever claimed that they
have all the knowledge within themselves.

Obviously they did not
know those of information which was hidden to them.

However, this does not mean that whatever they knew is visible
to us as well.

The information which is considered to be hidden
to us may be visible to them.

Thus the visibility
of knowledge is relative to the person.

The Knowledge of the Book
Quran mentions the second type of knowledge, explained above,
which has been released to the prophets and the Imams.

This is
the knowledge of what has been foreordained and the knowledge
of the rules governing the universe.

This type of knowledge is
known as the knowledge of the Book.

Quran testifies
that some prophets and non-prophets had this type of knowledge
by which they could perform many extraordinary things with the
permission of Allah.

We read in Quran that:

So We did show Abraham the power and the laws of the heavens
and the earth that he might (with understanding) have certitude.

(Quran 6:75)
Also earlier, we quoted a verse of Quran related to Prophet Jesus
who said: I will also INFORM you of what things you eat
and what you treasure up in your houses.

(Quran 3:49; see
also 5:110).

References can also be made in this respect to the
power of the interpretation of the tales given to Prophet Joseph
(AS) (see Quran 12:6,15,21,37), to the language of the birds given
to Prophet David (AS) and Solomon (Sulayman) (AS) (see Quran 21:79).

We also read:

We gave knowledge to David and Solomon, and they both said: Praise
be to Allah Who has favored us above many of His servants who
believe! And Solomon was David's heir.

He said: O
People! we have been taught the speech of Birds and we have
been given (some knowledge) from all things.

This is indeed
manifest favor.

(Quran 27:15-16)
Having the Knowledge of the Book, one can do many
extraordinary things with the permission of Allah.

For example
Quran mentions that at the time of Prophet Solomon (Sulayman),
a person in the name of Asaf, who was the Minister of Solomon
and had only a very small part of the Knowledge of the Book,
was able to bring the throne of Queen Bilqis from another place
of the world within the twinkling of an eye:

The One with whom was just a part of the Knowledge
of the Book said: 'I shall bring it to you within the twinkling
of an eye!' Then when (Solomon) saw (the throne) set in his presence,
he said: 'This is by the grace of my Lord! to test me whether
I am grateful or ungrateful!' (Quran 27:40).

The source of this Divine Knowledge is God.

He gave part of it
to Prophet Adam (2:31), Jesus (5:110/113).

and some people who
were not prophets like Taloot (2:247), and Asaf (see the above
verse).

According to Quran, The knowledge of the Book
is for those who are immersed in Knowledge (3:7, 4:162), who are
given authority by Allah (4:83), who are assigned by Allah as
referee (16:43, 21:7), who are the stars of Guidance (6:97).

According to some traditions, the Knowledge of The Book is a part
of the Greatest Name of Allah.

The Greatest Name of Allah consists
of seventy three units.

These are not letters, but they are rather
the knowledge of governing the universe.

In one of the traditions
in Usul al-Kafi, Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (AS) explained this issue
as well as the mystery of the action of Asaf, the Minister of
Solomon:

Abu Ja'far (AS) said: Verily, the Greatest Name of Allah
consists of seventy three units (Harf).

Asaf possessed only one
unit of it, and when he spoke it (i.
e.
, used it) the ground between
him and the throne of Bilqis (the Queen of Sheba/Saba) folded/subsided
so that he could take the throne with his hands, and then the
ground opened out and returned to what it was originally in less
than the twinkling of an eye.

We (Ahlul-Bayt) have seventy two
units of the Greatest Name, and one unit remained with Allah which
is kept exclusively in His knowledge of Unseen (Ilm al-Ghayb);
and there is no efficacy or power except by Allah, the High, the
Great.

(Usul al-Kafi, Kitab al-Hujjah, Tradition #613)
As stated in Verse 27:40 of Quran, the one who possessed a small
part of the Knowledge of the Book, was able to bring
the throne of King Bilqis from another place of the world within
the twinkling of an eye.

So those who have the whole Knowledge
of the Book should be able to do more! The whole knowledge
of the Book was with Prophet Muhammad and his twelve successors.

Allah, Exalted, said in Quran:

(O' Prophet) say: Enough for witness between me and you
is Allah and he who possesses the Knowledge of the Book.

(Quran 13:43)

From the verse, it is clear that in the phrase he who possesses
the Knowledge of the Book, Quran is specifically referring
to a person other than Allah and Prophet Muhammad.

Of course,
the source of this knowledge is Allah and He possesses it and
He also granted it to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH&HF) in full.

However, the choice words in the above verse shows that he
who possesses the Knowledge of the Book referred specifically
in the above verse, is a person (or persons) other than Allah
and His Prophet (PBUH&HF).

It refers to Imam Ali (AS) and
the Imams after him (see below for details).

Also notice that in the above verse, Allah does NOT say a
part of the knowledge of the Book while Allah used the phrase
a part of for the case of minister of Solomon.

Some Sunnis have mentioned that the above verse refers to Abdullah
Ibn Sallam, the Jewish Rabbi who converted to Islam.

some other
Sunnis said that it refers to all scholars of the Jews and the
Christians who found the attributes of the incoming Prophet in
their ancient scriptures.

The above interpretation does not seem to be correct.

The
knowledge of the Book as Quran mentions in one more place,
is not as simple as recognition of the attributes of the incoming
Prophet in the scripture.

The knowledge of the Book
includes the knowledge of governing rules in the Universe.

As
Quran stated, Asaf had only a very small part of the Knowledge
of the Book, and was able to do that extraordinary thing.

Thus this type of power has no connection with just knowing the
name of an incoming prophet from a book.

Furthermore, if the Sunni
interpretation is correct, then it means whenever Muslims have
a question, they should refer to Christians and Jews, because
they have the whole knowledge of the Book while Muslims do not!

Some may argue that if the above verse is referring to Imam Ali
and the rest of the twelve Imams, then what sort of evidence will
this be for the unbelievers who would not accept the words of
Muslims by saying the above verse to them?

The answer is that the verse starts with the phrase: And
the Kuffar (unbelievers) say: You are not a messenger.

Say: Sufficient
as witness is.

As such, the verse is about Kuffar (unbelievers).

They don't believe in Allah either.

Therefore, the same question
may rise again: If the Kuffar do not believe in Allah, then what
sort of evidence will be for them to say Allah is the witness?

The above verse is, in fact, just a threat by the Prophet (PBUH&HF)
to unbelievers, that that will be accounted on the day of judgment
for their blasphemy, and he (the Prophet) has enough two witness
for that: One is, Allah, the Creator, and the other one is Imam
Ali, the Prince of Believers.

In general, it refers to all the
twelve Imams.

But at that time of the Prophet he was just Imam
Ali (AS).

Witness to the fact that he who possesses the Knowledge
of the Book in verse 13:43 refers to Imam Ali (AS) and no
other companions of the Prophet, is the numerous traditions reported
by both Shia and Sunni.

It is confirmed in the authentic Sunni
books that Imam Ali was the MOST knowledgeable man in the Muslim
community after the Prophet (PBUH&HF).

Those who testified
this fact include: The Prophet (PBUH&HF), Imam Ali himself,
Abu Bakr, Umar, Aisha, and many other companions.

The Holy Prophet (PBUH&HF) informed his followers of the very
existence of a man who was the treasurer of Knowledge of the Holy
Prophet (PBUH&HF), and he had declared to them that if they
want to reach the Knowledge of the Holy Prophet, they should take
that Knowledge from the treasurer:

The Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HF) said: I am the City
of Knowledge, and Ali is its Gate.

So whoever intends to enter
the City and the Wisdom, he should enter from its Gate.

Sunni references:

Sahih al-Tirmidhi, v5, pp 201,637
al-Mustadrak, by al-Hakim, v3, pp 126-127,226, Chapter of
the Virtues of Ali, narrated on the authority of two reliable
reporters: one, Ibn Abbas, whose report has been transmitted through
two different but chain of authorities, and the other, Jabir Ibn
Abdullah al-Ansari.

He said this tradition is Authentic (Sahih).

Fadha'il al-Sahaba, by Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v2, p635, Tradition
#1081
Jami' al-Saghir, by Jalaluddin al-Suyuti, v1, pp 107,374;
Also in Jami' al-Jawami'; Also in Tarikh al-Khulafaa, p171.

He
said this tradition is accepted (Hasan).

al-Kabir, by al-Tabarani (d.
360); Also in al-Awsat
Ma'rifah al-Sahaba, by al-Hafidh Abu Nu'aym al-Isbahani
Ihyaa al-Ululm, by al-Ghazzali
History of Ibn Kathir, v7, p358
History of Ibn Asakir
Tarikh, by al-Khateeb al-Baghdadi, v2, p337; v4, p348; v7,
p173; v11, pp 48-50; v13, p204
al-Isti'ab, by Ibn Abd al-Barr, v3, p38; v2, p461
Usdul Ghabah, by Ibn al-Athir, v4, p22
Tahdhib al-Athar, by Ibn Jarir al-Tabari
Majma' al-Zawa'id, by al-Haythami, v9, p114
Bahr al-Asateed, by al-Hafidh Abu Muhammad Hassan Samarghandi
(d.
491)
Siraj al-Muneer, by al-Hafidh Ali Ibn Ahmad Azizi Shafi'i
(d.
1070), v2, p63
Manaqib, by Ali Ibn Muhammad Ibn Tayyib al-Jalaabi Ibn Maghaazi
(d.
483)
Firdaws al-Akhbar, by Abu Shuja'a Shirwayh Hamadani al-Daylami
(d.
509)
Maqtal al-Husain, by Khateeb Kharazmi (d.
568), v1, p43
Manaqib, by Khateeb Kharazmi (d.
568), p49
Alif Ba'a, by Abul Hajjaaj Yusuf Ibn Muhammad Andulesi (d.
605),
v1, p222
Matalib al-Su'ul, by Abu Salim Muhammad Ibn Talhih Shafi'i
(d.
652), p22
Jawahi al-Aghdi'in, by Noor al-Din al-Shafi'i (d.
911)
Yanabi' al-Mawaddah, by al-Qundoozi al-Hanafi, in Chapter
14
Tadhkirat al-Khawas al-Ummah, by Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi (d.
654),
p29
Kunz al-Baraheen, by Shaikh Khathri
Kifayat al-Talib, by Yusuf al-Ganji al-Shafi'i (d.
658), Chapter
58
Kanz al-Ummal, by al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, part 15, p13, Traditions
#348-379
al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Ch.
9, section
2, p189
Hafidh Salah al-Din al-Ulai, after copying the weakening arguments
by al-Dhahabi, has remarked There are in this only mean
attempts to oppose for the sake of opposition, and not a single
valid argument.

Ahmad Ibn Muhammad Ibn Siddeeq al-Hasani al-Maghribi, from
Cairo, has compiled a magnificent book named Fat'h al-Mulk
al-Ali bi Sihah Hadith-e-Bab-e-Madinat al-Ilm to prove the
genuinness of the very above tradition.

This book was printed
in the year 1354 AH in Matba' al-Islamiyyah, Egypt.

Also reported by Ibn Adi on the authority of Ibn Umar, and
by al-Bazzar on the authority of Jabir Ibn Abdillah al-Ansari


and more .

In the Arabic form of this Hadith, the word The Knowledge
comes as al-Ilm which has the article al
which makes the word universal.

This means that in the city of
knowledge of the Prophet (PBUH&HF), all kind of the knowledge
(which could possibly be attained by human being) existed.

Remark: The above tradition also supports the infallibility
of Imam Ali (beside what is conveyed by Quran 33:33 on the issue
of infallibility of Ahlul-Bayt).

The reason behind the non-intentional
mistakes is lack of knowledge, i.
e.
, not to know what is right
to do at the time.

Therefore, if Imam Ali (AS) contained all the
knowledge of the Prophet (PBUH&HF), it reasons that if the
Prophet was infallible, so is Imam Ali (AS).

In addition to that, al-Tirmidhi also recorded that:

The Messenger of Allah said: I am the House of Wisdom and
Ali is it's door.

Sunni references:

Sahih al-Tirmidhi, v5, pp 201,637
Ibn Jarir al-Tabari recorder this tradition and wrote: We
believe this tradition to be genuine and authentic.

(as
quoted by al-Muttaqi al-Hindi in Kanz al-Ummal, v6, p401)
Jami' al-Saghir, by Jalaluddin al-Suyuti, v1, p170; Also in
Jami' al-Jawami'
al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar Haythami, Ch.
9, section
2, p189

Moreover:

The Messenger said to his daughter Fatimah al-Zahra (AS): Would
it not please you that I have married you to the first Muslim
in my nation, their most knowledgeable, and their greatest
in Wisdom.

Sunni reference: Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v3, p136; v5, p26
Similarly, Barida narrated:

The messenger of Allah (PBUH&HF) said to Fatimah (AS) that:
I gave you in marriage to the best in my Ummah, the most
knowledgeable in them, the best in patience in them, and the
first Muslim among them.

Sunni reference: Kanz al-Ummal, by al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, v6, p398
Abu Bakr said: May Allah never put me in a situation where
I can not have access to Abul Hasan (i.
e.
, Ali) to solve a problem.

Similarly, Sa'id al-Musayyib said: Umar Ibn al-Khattab used
to beg God to preserve him from a perplexing case which the father
of al-Hasan was not present to decide.

Furthermore Umar
said: If there was not Ali, Umar would have perished.

Sunni references:

Fadha'il al-Sahaba, by Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v2, p647, Tradition
#1100
al-Isti'ab, by Ibn Abd al-Barr, v3, p39
Manaqib, by al-Khawarizmi, p48
al-Tabaqat, by Ibn Sa'd, v2, p338
al-Riyadh al-Nadhirah, by Muhibbuddin al-Tabari, v2, p194
Tarikh al-Khulafaa, by Jalaluddin al-Suyuti, p171

Aisha once said: He (Ali) was the most knowledgeable person
among those who remained on the Sunnah (of the Prophet).

Sunni References:

al-Tabaqat, by Ibn Sa'd
Tarikh al-Khulafaa, by Jalaluddin al-Suyuti, p171
al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar Haythami, Ch.
9, section
3, p196
Ibn Asakir

Ibn Abbas (RA) said: There was 18 exclusive virtues for
Ali which was not for any other person in the Muslim community.

Sunni Reference: al-Awsat, by al-Tabarani
Ibn Mas'ud said: We were talking that the most trustful
referee/Judge in Medina to solve the problems was Ali.

Sunni References:

Tarikh al-Kabir, by al-Bukhari (the author of Sahih), v1,
part 2, p6
Fadha'il al-Sahaba, by Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v2, p646, Tradition
#1097
al-Mustadrak, by al-Hakim, v2, p352
Tarikh al-Khulafaa, by Jalaluddin al-Suyuti, p171
al-Isti'ab, by Ibn Abd al-Barr, section of word Ain,
v2, p462; v3, p39
al-Tabaqat, by Ibn Sa'd, v2, p338, He also reported that Umar
said: Ali was our Judge.

Tahdhib al-Tahdhib, by Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, v1, p84
Majma' al-Zawa'id, by al-Haythami, v9, p116
al-Riyadh al-Nadhirah, by Muhibbuddin al-Tabari, v3, p213

Furthermore:

Ibn Mas'ud said: The Holy Quran has outward and inward meanings,
and Ali Ibn Abi Talib has the knowledge of both.

Sunni references: Hilyatul Awliyaa, by Abu Nu'aym, v1, p65
Much of the knowledge of the Prophet was transferred to Imam Ali
(AS) when the Prophet was taking his last breath:

Imam Ali said: The Messenger of Allah at that time (before
his last breath) taught me a thousand chapters of knowledge, every
one of which opened for me one thousand other chapters.

Sunni references:

Kanz al-Ummal, by al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, v1, p392
Hilyatul Awliyaa, by al-Hafidh Abu Nu'aym
Nuskhatah, by Abu Ahmad al-Faradi

Furthermore, Imam Ali (AS) once said:

By Allah, I am the Brother of the Messenger of Allah and
his friend and his cousin and the inheritor of his knowledge.

Who has a better title for succeeding him than me?

Sunni references:

al-Khasa'is al-Alawiyyah, al-Nisa'i
al-Mustadrak, by al-Hakim v3, p112
al-Dhahabi in his Talkhis of al-Mustadrak has admitted the
above words to be genuine.

Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v5, p40

Also Imam Ali (AS) himself frequently stated in his sermons:

Ask me before you lose me.

By Allah, if you ask me about
anything that could happen up to the Day of Judgment, I will tell
you about it.

Ask me, for, by Allah, you will not be able to ask
me a question about anything without my informing you.

Ask me
about the Book of Allah, for by Allah, there is no verse about
which I do not know whether it was sent down at night or during
the day, or whether it was revealed on a plain or in a mountain.

Sunni References:

al-Isabah, by Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, v4, p568
Tahdhib al-Tahdhib, by Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, v7, pp 337-338
Fat'hul Bari, by Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, v8, p485
Tarikh al-Khulafaa, by al-Suyuti, p124
al-Itqan, by al-Suyuti, v2, p319
al-Riyadh al-Nadhirah, by Muhibbuddin al-Tabari, v2, p198
at-Tabaqat, by Ibn Sa'd, v2, Part 2, p101
al-Isti'ab, by Ibn Abd al-Barr, v3, p1107

Sa'id Ibn Musayyib as well as Umar Ibn al-Khattab said:

No companion of the Prophet ever said 'Ask me' except Ali.

Sunni References:

Fadha'il al-Sahaba, by Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v2, p647, Tradition
#1098
al-Isabah, by Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, v2, p509
al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar Haythami, Ch.
9, section
3, p196
al-Faqih wal Mutafaqih, by al-Khateeb al-Baghdadi, v2, p167
Tarikh al-Khulafaa, by Jalaluddin al-Suyuti, p171
al-Tabaqat, by Ibn Sa'd, v2, p338
al-Isti'ab, by Ibn Abd al-Barr, v3, p40
al-Riyadh al-Nadhirah, by Muhibbuddin al-Tabari, v3, p212
al-Dhakha'ir al-Uqba, by Muhibbuddin al-Tabari, p83

The conclusion is that he who possesses the Knowledge of
the Book in verse 13:43 refers to Imam Ali (AS) and no other
companions.

And if a part of Knowledge of the Book,
provided a supernatural power for Asaf, then it is clear that
those who have the whole knowledge of the Book, have more ability
of this type by leave of Allah.

Also according to the above tradition written in Sihah Sittah,
in which the Prophet (PBUH&HF) said I am the City of
Knowledge, and Ali is its Gate.

So whoever intends to enter the
City and the Wisdom, he should enter from its Gate, it is
clear that the only source of knowledge after Prophet Muhammad
(PBUH&HF) was Imam Ali (AS), and those who seek other sources
do not gain the genuine Sunnah of the Prophet because nobody can
enter this City from a direction other than its door.

Concluding Remarks
It should be emphasized that The Twelver Shia Scholars believe
that neither the Prophet nor the Imams possess the Knowledge of
Ghayb with the special meaning used in Quran, since this type
of knowledge is something which belongs to Allah only.

However,
as Quran mentions news of Ghayb have been transmitted
to the Prophet Muhammad, and from that channel, it has been transmitted
to the Imams of Ahlul-Bayt.

What they fully possess is the Knowledge
of the Book described above.

It should also be noted that the prophets and Imams share with
the rest of humanity the means for obtaining knowledge which Allah
has given: the senses, the intellect, etc.

They also possess special
powers and means which other people do not have.

In carrying out
the commands of Allah in which people have also responsibility,
and likewise in ordinary behavior, the prophets and Imams only
make use of the first way of knowing, that is the commonly available
means.

The second means (extraordinary means) is only used by
them in duties and works which are connected with their position
of prophethood and Imamat.

Thus in matters such as knowing the beginning of the month, passing
judgment, finding out if something is unclean or pure, etc.

, they
make use of ordinary means such as sighting of the moon, and so
forth, which anyone else employs.

The extraordinary means of knowledge
can not be the basis for their action, and what they volitionally
do must be determined by the means available to everyone.

Thus,
such knowledge has spiritual aspect as being the Representative
of Allah (Khalifatullah), and the reason for it must be sought
on this level, and it is not for the purpose of influencing and
controlling the events on the level of ordinary understanding.

And Allah knows best.

Side Comments
A contributor mentioned that there exists another version of the
tradition of The City of Knowledge where the Prophet
states: I am the city of knowledge and Ali is its gate,
and Abu Bakr is its foundation, Umar its walls and Uthman its
roof.

To answer this, I would like to first mention this weak tradition
is not reported in any of the six sound collections of the Sunnis,
where as the correct version of the tradition provided in our
article is, in fact, in the Sihah Sittah of the Sunnis.

Adding the words to the genuine traditions of the Prophet, was
another trick which the falsifiers of tradition narrators resorted
to during the time of the Umayad.

When they found that a tradition
was so widespread amongst the people that there was no way to
deny or refute it, they decided to add a paragraph or words, or
to change some phrases so as to dampen the impact of the tradition
or to make it lose its intended meaning.

This trick is not hidden to the objective researchers who refute
these additions which, most of the time, indicate the lack of
intelligence of the falsifiers and their lack of wisdom in contrast
to the light of the Prophetic traditions.

Even some well known
Sunni scholars were aware of such forgeries and have rated many
of such traditions as forged or weak due to the discrepancy in
the Isnad as well as the contents.

For instance, in the above forged tradition, we can observe the
saying Abu Bakr is it's foundation means the knowledge
of the Prophet (PBUH&HF) is derived from the knowledge of
Abu Bakr and this is disbelief (Kufr).

Likewise, the statement
Umar is its walls means Umar prevents people from
entering the city, i.
e.
, prevents them from getting to the knowledge.

Also the saying Uthman is it's roof is undoubtedly
absurd since there is no city which has a roof!!!

All praise is due to the Lord of the Worlds, who has given us
intelligence through which we will be able to differentiate between
the truth and falsehood, and He has made clear to us the Right
Path and then tests us by many things so that they can bear witness
on the day of judgment.