The meaning of “knowledge of the unseen” is knowledge of what cannot be perceived by senses or reasoning, such as knowing what was in the past while no one told about it, and knowing what will be in the future while it has no known cause at present, and this necessitates that only Allah know the unseen; because He is the Only One Who knows things without senses or reasoning, and anyone else, because he is a created being with limits and limbs, knows things by senses and reasoning, and therefore cannot know something that he does not sense or find evidence for; as Allah Almighty has explicitly stated it in His Book and said: ﴿ إِنَّمَا الْغَيْبُ لِلَّهِ﴾[1]; “The unseen belongs to Allah alone,” and said: ﴿وَعِنْدَهُ مَفَاتِحُ الْغَيْبِ لَا يَعْلَمُهَا إِلَّا هُوَ ۚ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا فِي الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ ۚ وَمَا تَسْقُطُ مِنْ وَرَقَةٍ إِلَّا يَعْلَمُهَا وَلَا حَبَّةٍ فِي ظُلُمَاتِ الْأَرْضِ وَلَا رَطْبٍ وَلَا يَابِسٍ إِلَّا فِي كِتَابٍ مُبِينٍ﴾[2]; “And the keys of the unseen are with Him; none but He knows them,” and said: ﴿ لَا يَعْلَمُ مَنْ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ الْغَيْبَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ﴾[3]; “None in the heavens or on the earth knows the unseen but Allah.” Based on this, it is impossible for humankind to know the unseen, and there is no difference in this between the Prophet and others; because that is what humanity requires, and there is no difference in humanity between the Prophet and others; as Allah Almighty has explicitly stated it and said: ﴿قُلْ إِنَّمَا أَنَا بَشَرٌ مِثْلُكُمْ﴾[4]; “Say: ‘I am just a human being like you,” and said: ﴿قُلْ لَا أَقُولُ لَكُمْ عِنْدِي خَزَائِنُ اللَّهِ وَلَا أَعْلَمُ الْغَيْبَ وَلَا أَقُولُ لَكُمْ إِنِّي مَلَكٌ﴾[5]; “Say: ‘I do not tell you that the treasures of Allah are with me, nor do I know the unseen, nor do I tell you that I am an Angel,’” and said: ﴿قُلْ لَا أَمْلِكُ لِنَفْسِي نَفْعًا وَلَا ضَرًّا إِلَّا مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ ۚ وَلَوْ كُنْتُ أَعْلَمُ الْغَيْبَ لَاسْتَكْثَرْتُ مِنَ الْخَيْرِ وَمَا مَسَّنِيَ السُّوءُ﴾[6]; “Say: ‘I do not possess any benefit or harm for myself except for what Allah wills, and if I had known the unseen, I would have increased all good and no harm would have touched me.’” Therefore, there are many examples of the Prophets’ unawareness of the unseen, such as the unawareness of Adam of Satan’s intention when he invited him to eat from the forbidden tree, the unawareness of Nuh of the fact that his son would not be saved until he saw him drowned, the unawareness of Ibrahim and Lut of the Angels until they introduced themselves, the unawareness of Ya‘qub of the story and whereabouts of Yusuf until the messenger came to him, the unawareness of Musa of the fact that the chieftains conspired to kill him until a man came to him from the farthest end of the city, the unawareness of Sulayman of the whereabouts of the hoopoe and what was happening in the land of Saba until the hoopoe came to him and told him about it, and despite this, he was not certain of it until it became clear to him, the unawareness of Ayyub of the fact that his wife did not commit indecency, to the extent that he swore to whip her a hundred times, the unawareness of Yunus of the fact that his people would soon repent, and therefore, he left them in anger, and the unawareness of the Prophet of some hypocrites from the people of Medina; as Allah Almighty has informed of this and said: ﴿لَا تَعْلَمُهُمْ ۖ نَحْنُ نَعْلَمُهُمْ﴾[7]; “You do not know them. We know them.” Based on this, a fortiori the Imams of the Ahl al-Bayt did not know the unseen either; because they were also human beings like other people and were not superior to the Prophet in knowledge or deed.

Yes, it is possible that Allah informs His Prophet of what was in the past while no one has told him about it, and of what will be in the future while it has no known cause at present; as He has said: ﴿وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيُطْلِعَكُمْ عَلَى الْغَيْبِ وَلَكِنَّ اللَّهَ يَجْتَبِي مِنْ رُسُلِهِ مَنْ يَشَاءُ﴾[8]; “Allah does not inform you about the unseen, but He selects from among His Prophets whomever He wills,” and said: ﴿عَالِمُ الْغَيْبِ فَلَا يُظْهِرُ عَلَى غَيْبِهِ أَحَدًا ۝ إِلَّا مَنِ ارْتَضَى مِنْ رَسُولٍ فَإِنَّهُ يَسْلُكُ مِنْ بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِ رَصَدًا﴾[9]; “He is the Knower of the unseen. He never discloses His unseen to anyone; except to one He selects from among the Messengers. Then He dispatches a sentinel before and behind him.” However, it is not considered the Prophet’s knowledge of the unseen; because Allah is the One Who has informed him of it. Also, if the Prophet informs his companions and Ahl al-Bayt of it, it is not considered their knowledge of the unseen; because the Prophet is the one who has informed them of it, and it has been made clear that “a knower of the unseen” does not apply to someone who has been informed by someone else of what was or will be in the unseen. Therefore, none of the Sahabah or the Ahl al-Bayt claimed to know the unseen, but rather they frankly denied it; as it has been said in Nahj al-Balaghah, which is one of the most authentic books of Shias, that Ali informed people of the tribulation that the Turks would cause in the future. «فَقَالَ لَهُ بَعْضُ أَصْحَابِهِ: لَقَدْ أُعْطِيتَ، يَا أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ، عِلْمَ الْغَيْبِ؟! فَضَحِكَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ وَقَالَ لِلرَّجُلِ، وَكَانَ كَلْبِيًّا: يَا أَخَا كَلْبٍ، لَيْسَ هُوَ بِعِلْمِ غَيْبٍ، وَإِنَّمَا هُوَ تَعَلُّمٌ مِنْ ذِي عِلْمٍ»[10]; “Therefore, some of his companions said to him: ‘O Amir al-Mu’minin, have you been given knowledge of the unseen?!’ He laughed and said to the man, who was from Banu Kalb: ‘O brother from Banu Kalb! This is not knowledge of the unseen but what has been learned from the one who possessed knowledge,” meaning the Prophet . Al-Kashshi (d. 4th century AH) has narrated in his Rijal with an authentic chain of narrators from Abdullah ibn al-Mughirah that he said: «كُنْتُ عِنْدَ أَبِي الْحَسَنِ -يَعْنِي مُوسَى بْنَ جَعْفَرٍ- عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ أَنَا وَيَحْيَى بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ الْحَسَنِ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ، فَقَالَ يَحْيَى: جُعِلْتُ فِدَاكَ، إِنَّهُمْ يَزْعُمُونَ أَنَّكَ تَعْلَمُ الْغَيْبَ! فَقَالَ: سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ! سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ! ضَعْ يَدَكَ عَلَى رَأْسِي، فَوَاللَّهِ مَا بَقِيَتْ فِي جَسَدِي شَعْرَةٌ وَلَا فِي رَأْسِي إِلَّا قَامَتْ! ثُمَّ قَالَ: لَا وَاللَّهِ، مَا هِيَ إِلَّا وِرَاثَةٌ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ»[11]; “Yahya ibn Abdullah ibn Hasan (ibn Ali) and I were in the presence of Abu al-Hasan -that is, Musa ibn Ja‘far- . Then Yahya said: ‘May I be sacrificed for you! They think you know the unseen!’ He said: ‘SubhanAllah! SubhanAllah! Put your hand on my head! By Allah, not a hair on my body or my head has remained except that it has raised!’ Then he said: ‘No, by Allah! It is nothing but an inheritance from the Messenger of Allah .’” Also, he has narrated with an authentic chain of narrators from Abu Basir that he said: «قُلْتُ لِأَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ -يَعْنِي جَعْفَرَ بْنَ مُحَمَّدٍ الصَّادِقَ- عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: إِنَّهُمْ يَقُولُونَ! قَالَ: وَمَا يَقُولُونَ؟ قُلْتُ: يَقُولُونَ تَعْلَمُ قَطْرَ الْمَطَرِ وَعَدَدَ النُّجُومِ وَوَرَقَ الشَّجَرِ وَوَزْنَ مَا فِي الْبَحْرِ وَعَدَدَ التُّرَابِ! فَرَفَعَ يَدَهُ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ وَقَالَ: سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ! سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ! لَا وَاللَّهِ، مَا يَعْلَمُ هَذَا إِلَّا اللَّهُ»[12]; “I said to Abu Abdullah -that is, Ja‘far ibn Muhammad al-Sadiq- : ‘They say (something)!’ He said: ‘What do they say?’ I said: ‘They say you know raindrops, the number of stars and the leaves of trees, the weight of what is in the sea, and the number of grains of sand!’ Then he raised his hand to the heaven and said: ‘SubhanAllah! SubhanAllah! No, by Allah! No one knows them but Allah.’” Al-Kulayni (d. 328 AH) has narrated in al-Kafi[13], which is the most important book among Shias, with his chain of narrators from Sadir al-Sayrafi that he said: «كُنْتُ أَنَا وَأَبُو بَصِيرٍ وَيَحْيَى الْبَزَّازُ وَدَاوُدُ بْنُ كَثِيرٍ فِي مَجْلِسِ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ إِذْ خَرَجَ إِلَيْنَا وَهُوَ مُغْضَبٌ، فَلَمَّا أَخَذَ مَجْلِسَهُ قَالَ: يَا عَجَبًا لِأَقْوَامٍ يَزْعُمُونَ أَنَّا نَعْلَمُ الْغَيْبَ! مَا يَعْلَمُ الْغَيْبَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، لَقَدْ هَمَمْتُ بِضَرْبِ جَارِيَتِي فُلَانَةَ، فَهَرَبَتْ مِنِّي، فَمَا عَلِمْتُ فِي أَيِّ بُيُوتِ الدَّارِ هِيَ!»; “Abu Basir, Yahya al-Bazzaz, Dawud ibn Kathir, and I were in a gathering of Abu Abdullah (Ja‘far ibn Muhammad) . He came to us while he was angry. When he sat in his place, he said: ‘How strange it is that some people think we know the unseen! Nobody knows the unseen but Allah the Exalted, the Majestic! Indeed, I wanted to discipline my bondwoman, so-and-so, but she ran away from me and I did not know in which room of the house she was,’” and other similar narrations from the Ahl al-Bayt in this regard that reach the level of tawatur and are in line with the Book of Allah. Therefore, the great scholars of Shias have explicitly said since ancient times that attributing knowledge of the unseen to the Ahl al-Bayt is a clear example of exaggeration about them and is considered disbelief and polytheism; as Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Babawayh, known as Shaikh al-Saduq (d. 381 AH), one of their great scholars, has said in the book Kamal al-Din Wa Tamam al-Niʻmah[14]: «مَنْ يَنْحَلُ لِلْأَئِمَّةِ عِلْمَ الْغَيْبِ، فَهَذَا كُفْرٌ بِاللَّهِ وَخُرُوجٌ عَنِ الْإِسْلَامِ عِنْدَنَا»; “Whoever attributes knowledge of the unseen to the Imams, it is disbelief in Allah and is considered as going beyond the bounds of Islam in our opinion.” He has said somewhere else[15]: «وَالْغَيْبُ لَا يَعْلَمُهُ إِلَّا اللَّهُ، وَمَا ادَّعَاهُ لِبَشَرٍ إِلَّا مُشْرِكٌ كَافِرٌ»; “No one knows the unseen but Allah, and no one claims it for a human being but a polytheist disbeliever.” Also, Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Nu‘man, known as Shaikh al-Mufid (d. 413 AH), one of their great scholars too, has said in the book Awa’il al-Maqalat[16]: «فَأَمَّا إِطْلَاقُ الْقَوْلِ عَلَيْهِمْ بِأَنَّهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ الْغَيْبَ فَهُوَ مُنْكَرٌ بَيِّنُ الْفَسَادِ، لِأَنَّ الْوَصْفَ بِذَلِكَ إِنَّمَا يَسْتَحِقُّهُ مَنْ عَلِمَ الْأَشْيَاءَ بِنَفْسِهِ، لَا بِعِلْمٍ مُسْتَفَادٍ، وَهَذَا لَا يَكُونُ إِلَّا اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، وَعَلَى قَوْلِي هَذَا جَمَاعَةُ أَهْلِ الْإِمَامَةِ إِلَّا مَنْ شَذَّ عَنْهُمْ مِنَ الْمُفَوِّضَةِ وَمَنِ انْتَمَى إِلَيْهِمْ مِنَ الْغُلَاةِ»; “As for the saying that the Imams of the Ahl al-Bayt know the unseen, it is incorrect and clearly false; because this description only befits the one who knows things by himself, not by knowledge that he has used (from someone else), and it is for none but Allah the Exalted, the Majestic. All those who believe in the Imamate (of the Ahl al-Bayt) follow this belief of mine, except for a small number of the Mufawwidah and those of Ghulat who belong with them.”

It is hereby understood that knowledge of the unseen belongs to Allah alone, and it is not permissible to attribute it to other than Him. This is what Muslims from all Islamic sects agree upon, except for a small group of Shia Ghulat and Sufis. The evidence for that is the Book of Allah and the mutawatir Sunnah, not the illusion that if Allah’s Caliph on the earth knows the unseen, the free will of an obligated person will be removed; because knowledge of the unseen of Allah’s Caliph is not greater than Allah’s knowledge of it, and when Allah’s knowledge of it does not conflict with the free will of an obligated person, then a fortiori His Caliph’s knowledge of it does not conflict with it, and undoubtedly, Allah’s knowledge of the unseen is sufficient for one who intends to avoid sins; as He has said: ﴿وَكَفَى بِرَبِّكَ بِذُنُوبِ عِبَادِهِ خَبِيرًا بَصِيرًا﴾[17]; “Your Lord is sufficient as the One Who knows and sees the sins of His servants,” and if the human being does not fear knowledge of Allah Almighty, then his fear of knowledge of others will not benefit him; as He has said: ﴿يَسْتَخْفُونَ مِنَ النَّاسِ وَلَا يَسْتَخْفُونَ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَهُوَ مَعَهُمْ إِذْ يُبَيِّتُونَ مَا لَا يَرْضَى مِنَ الْقَوْلِ ۚ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ بِمَا يَعْمَلُونَ مُحِيطًا﴾[18]; “They hide from people and do not hide from Allah, while He is with them when they say things at night that He does not approve of, and Allah is Fully Aware of what they do.”