Doors of Knowledge of Ahl-ul-Bayt (A.S): part 2
Familiarity with all Languages
Abu Baser: I said to Imam Kazim (A.S): I may be sacrificed to you, how is an Imam recognized? He replied: By certain characteristics.
The first of them is that there has already been a reference to him by his father, so that this may be a proof to people. He is asked and he replies and if they are silent in a certain instance he proceeds to talk (and gives the answer to the question they have had in mind) and he foretells about future and speaks to people in any language necessary. Then he said to me: O Aba Muhammad! Before you stand up I let you know of a sign. Shortly afterwards, a man from Khurassan entered upon us. He talked to the Imam in Arabic, and the Imam answered him in Persian. The man from Khorassan said to the Imam: I may be sacrificed to you, by Allah what impede me from talking to you in Persian was that I supposed you do not speak it well enough. The Imams (A.S) said: Glory be to Allah! If I could not answer you all right, then what would my superiority be over you? Then he said to me: O Aba Muhammad! None of the people’s speech nor that of any bird or animal or every living thing is hidden to the Imams. Anyone who does not have these characteristics is not an Imam.
Abu Hamza Nasir, the retainer of the Imam: I frequently heard al-Imam al-Askari (A.S) speak to his retainers in their own languages, including Turkish, Roman, and Slavic. I got bewildered and asked: This man has been in Medina and was not shown up until the demise of Abul Hassan (A.S); nor has anybody seen him, how is this possible? I was talking to myself when his Holiness (A.S) came toward me and said: The Exalted and Almighty Allah has distinguished His hujjah from His other creatures in every aspect and has bestowed on him the familiarity with various languages and genealogy and death moments and other happenings, otherwise there would have been no difference between the hujjah and those over whom the hujjah is appointed and incumbent.
About familiarity with the Language of the Birds and Any other Animal Imam Ali (A.S) said: Like Solomon, the son of David, we too are acquainted with the language of the birds and any sea and land animal. Imam Ali (A.S): We have become familiar with the language of the birds and enjoyed everything which is in itself a great virtue.
Awareness of What Has Been and Will Be
Imam Ali (A.S): Had there not been a verse in the Book of Allah, I would have informed you about what has existed and will exist until the Day of Resurrection; and that noble verse is as follow: “Allah doth blot out or confirm what He pleaseth; with Him is the Mother of the Book” (13:39).
Sayf al-Tammar: Together with a group of the Shias, we were in the company of Imam al-Sadiq (A.S) in Hijr. His Holiness (A.S) said: I swear to the Lord of Kaba and the House of Allah-repeating it three times-that if I were with Moses and Khidr, I would tell that I was more learned than them, and would inform them of the things they did not have access to, since Moses and Khidr had been given awareness of the past and not of the present and the future up to the Resurrection Day; whereas we have inherited such awareness from the Holy Prophet(PBUH) in a perfect manner.
Imam Reza (A.S): Is it not true that Allah says: “He (alone) knows the unseen, nor does He make anyone acquainted with His mysteries, except a Messenger whom He has chosen” (72: 26,27) and the Holy Messenger(PBUH) is Allah’s chosen one and we are inheritors of the Holy Prophet(PBUH) whom Allah lets know of whatever of His mysteries that He wishes, and he has taught us of whatever that has been and will be until the Resurrection Day?
