I wanted to ask you about a subject that occupies my thinking, and I fear falling into doubts that I can do without. The Prophet (s) and the Ahl al-Bayt (a),, do they know all the matters of the Unseen?
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For example: Imam al-Hasan (a) died poisoned at the hands of his wife, and everyone says that he knew he would die poisoned at her hands,, but I am not convinced that he knew, because if he had known, this would have been suicide and not submission to the divine decree and destiny. Likewise the rest of the Imams—did they really know how they would die??
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the All-beneficent, the All-merciful
And blessings and peace be upon the noblest of creation, our master Muhammad, and his pure family
Peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings
The Greatest Prophet (s) and his pure Household (a) have knowledge of the Unseen to the extent that Allah informs them of it, and not the divine knowledge of the Unseen. There are two kinds of knowledge of the Unseen: knowledge that Allah has reserved exclusively for Himself, and knowledge that He teaches His friends (awliyāʾ), as has been established from the Qurʾan.
The issue of the Infallibles' knowledge of their deaths is an accepted and established matter. To understand this, we must be aware that suicide, which you kindly mentioned—namely, that a person ends his life without a legitimate reason and by his full will—this suicide has been forbidden by the Shariʿa. But the Imam's undertaking an act in which the enemies of Allah had lain in wait for him, and his proceeding to undertake it in response to the command of Allah the Exalted—this is not considered suicide..
The great difference is the command of the Shariʿa, not our own standards.. Just as the Shariʿa commanded the Muslims to pray toward Jerusalem (al-Quds), and then turned the qibla toward the Kaʿba by a command from Allah, likewise we distinguish between what is called suicide and what does not fall under suicide. The most important aim in a person's life is his responding to the command of Allah the Exalted.
The decree of Allah the Exalted must be carried out, and before it the criteria differ. If we read the words of Allah the Exalted on the tongue of the Prophet Abraham:
“So We gave him the good news of a forbearing son. When he was old enough to assist in his endeavour, he said, ‘My son! I see in dreams that I am sacrificing you. See what you think.’ He said, ‘Father! Do whatever you have been commanded. If Allah wishes, you will find me to be patient.’” (Qurʾan 37:101–102)
questions may arise about this incident, which was not completed, but which was begun and in which there was submission to the command of Allah. The questions are of the kind: that this act by the Prophet contradicts the Shariʿa, because it is not permissible for a father to kill his son; and also that the son was forbearing (ḥalīm), that is, his qualities were lofty, and forbearance does not let a person become angry, so he was innocent and could not have committed a crime for which he would deserve the punishment of being killed.
But what changed the equation was the command of Allah the Exalted and submission to Him, Almighty.
Here I present a narration on which it is good for us to reflect, and it answers this problem:
The report of Durays al-Kunasi, for he said: I heard Abu Jaʿfar say, while some of his companions were with him: (I am amazed at people who take us as their guardians, make us Imams, and describe obedience to us as obligatory upon them like obedience to the Messenger of Allah (s), and then they break their own argument and argue against themselves through the weakness of their hearts, so they diminish our right and find fault in that with one to whom Allah has given the proof of the true knowledge of us and of submission to our command. Do you think that Allah, Blessed and Exalted, made obedience to His friends obligatory upon His servants, and then hides from them the reports of the heavens and the earth, and cuts off from them the sources of knowledge in what comes before them of that on which their religion stands .
Then Humran said to him: May I be made your ransom, what do you say about the matter of the uprising of ʿAli ibn Abi Talib, al-Hasan and al-Husayn (a), their going forth and their rising for the religion of Allah—mighty is His mention—and what befell them of the tyrants' killing them and prevailing over them until they were killed and overcome?
Abu Jaʿfar (a) said: (O Humran, Allah, Blessed and Exalted, had ordained that upon them, decreed it, executed it and made it definite by way of choice, and then brought it to pass. It was by knowledge that had come to them beforehand from the Messenger of Allah (s) that ʿAli, al-Hasan and al-Husayn rose, and it is by knowledge that those of us who kept silent kept silent. Had they, O Humran—when there descended upon them what descended of the command of Allah Almighty and of the tyrants' being given the upper hand over them—asked Allah Almighty to ward that off from them, and importuned Him in seeking the removal of the tyrants' dominion and the passing away of their rule, He would then have answered them and warded that off from them; and then the ending of the tyrants' term and the passing of their rule would have been quicker than a strung necklace whose thread snapped and whose beads scattered. That which befell them, O Humran, was not for a sin they had committed, nor as punishment for a disobedience in which they had opposed Allah; rather, it was for ranks and an honor from Allah that He willed them to attain. So do not let differing views carry you away concerning them).
(al-Kafi / Chapter: That the Imams know the knowledge of what has been and what will be, and that nothing is hidden from them.
