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Asaf ibn Barakhya and His Knowledge of Some of the Book
It is known that God, the Mighty and High, granted Prophet Solomon extensive authority not only over man but over the jinns and birds, as well. At that time when jinns and (a group of) people were gathering around him, Solomon asked them “Which one of you can bring the throne of Bilkis to me before she comes to me in submission? The glorious Qur’an says, an efreet of the jinns said, “I will bring it to you before you rise from your place” (27:39)
Then, “The one who had some knowledge of the Book said, “I will bring it to you in the winking of an eye” (27:40) and this he did.
As commentators say the “Book” in the mentioned verse means “the guarded tablet”. Both Shi’ite and Sunnite commentators say that the phrase “the one who has some knowledge of the Book” is Asaf ibn Barakhya, Prophet Solomon’s wizir, who had a surprising and extraordinary power because he had a some knowledge of the Book (the guarded tablet).
It is obvious that there are different grades of purity; the more perfect purity is, the more extensive the knowledge and power will be. We have learnt from the holy Qur’anic verse “None shall touch it except the purified ones” that the acquaintance with the facts in “the guarded tablet” results from a particularly divine purity.
The verse of Tatheer has established the idea that this purity, which is granted to Ahl al–Bayt, is equal to the purity of the Messenger of God. It is, therefore, not strange if one says that the Commander of the Faithful, Ali, and the other infallible Imams of the Shi’ates (p.b.u.th) are acquainted with the facts in the guarded Tablet.
Accordingly Th’alibi, whom the Sunnite scholars7 of the Qur’an commentary consider an imam (leader) a hafiz, and a Sheikh master in the Qur’an commentary, and whose narrations the leading scholars in ilm–al–rijal8 regard as “sound and trustworthy\", states in his commentary al–Kashf wa al–Bayan,9 that by “the one who has knowledge of the Book” it is meant the Commander of the Faithful, Ali (as). Hakim Hasakani,10 in his Shawahid al–Tanzeel,11 a commentary (of the Qur’an), quotes a few Companions such as Abu Sa’id Khidri, Abdullah ibn Salam and ibn Abbas to have said same the same thing.
Furthermore, Abu Sa’id Khidri and Abdullah ibn Salam are quoted to have asked the Prophet (saws): “Who is meant by “the one” in the verse: “except the one who has knowledge of the Book”? The Prophet (saws) told them that it was Ali (as) Sa’id ibn Jubayr, Abi Saleh and Mohammad ibn Hanafiyyeh have reported the same hadith.
Various narrators have also reported that Abdullah ibn ‘Ata was once accompanying Imam al–Baqir, peace be upon him and ibn Salam’s son passed by. So ibn ‘Ata, referring to ibn Salam, asked Imam al–Baqir (as), “Is this the son of the one who has knowledge of the Book? The Imam said, “No, he is not”. The one who has knowledge of the Book is the Commander of the Faithful, Ali ibn Abi Talib (as).
As regards the Qur’anic verse 43 of Ra’d chapter: “And those who disbelieve say: You are not a messenger. Say: Allah is sufficient as a witness between me and you and the one who has knowledge of the Book”, Ibn Shahr Ashoob12 states in his book Manaqib13: Mohammad ibn Muslim, Abu Hamzah Thumali, and Jabir ibn Yaqzi quoting Imam al–Baqir (as), Ali ibn Fazzal, Fuzayl ibn Yasar and Abu Basir quoting Imam al–Sadiq (as) and Ahmad ibn Mohammad Halabi and Mohammad ibn Fuazyl quoting Imam al–Rida (as) that they said: “the one who has knowledge of the Book” is the Commander of the Faithful, Ali (as) and the other infallible Imams (p.b.u.th.). This account is also quoted from Imam Musa ibn Ja’far (as), Zayd ibn Ali, Mohammad ibn Hanafiyyeh, Salman Farsi, Abu Sa’id Khidri and Ismail Sadi.
Kulayni’s Usul al–Kafi, through an authoritative chain of transmission, quotes Barid ibn Mua’wiyyeh, a companion of Imam al–Baqir (as) to have asked the Imam: “Who is meant by ‘the one’ in the Qur’anic verse: ‘And those who disbelieve say: Allah is sufficient as a witness between me and you and the one who has knowledge of the Book’?”
The Imam answered, “The verse means none other than us (the infallible Imams), and Ali (as) as the foremost and best of us after the Prophet (saws)”.
We can find an interesting comparison in hadiths between the one who has knowledge of the Book i.e. Ali ibn Abi Talib (as) and the infallible Imams on the one hand and the one who has some knowledge of the Book (Asaf ibn Barkhya) on the other, which is as follows: “Imam al–Sadiq (as) has said, ‘The one who has knowledge of the Book is the Commander of the Faithful, Ali ibn Abi Talib (as)’. When asked: ‘Who is superior, the one who has some knowledge of the Book (i.e. Asaf ibn Barkhya) or the one who has knowledge of the Book (i.e. Ali ibn Abi Talib)?’, the Imam answered, “Comparing the knowledge of the one who has some knowledge of the Book with of the one who has knowledge of the Book is like comparing the small amount of water that touches the wing of a mosquito with the water of the sea”.14
These discussions aim to establish the idea that by “ÇáßÊÇÈ the Book” in the verse “the one who has knowledge of the Book” it is meant “the guarded tablet”. If it is taken to mean any book because it is preceded by the definite article ‘the’, it will denote any book including “the guarded tablet”, such as the earlier Scriptures and the holy Qur’an.
The phrase “the one who has knowledge of the Book”, however, means Imam Ali (as), and his acquaintance with the facts in “the guarded tablet” is inferred from the verse, “None it except the purified ones” and from the verse of Tatheer.
His being aware of the every detail of the holy Qur’an is understood from many hadiths, including the hadith of Thaqalayn15 which confirms that the Household of the Prophet (Ahl al–Bayt), will never separate from the Qur’an, an indication that Imam Ali (as), has complete knowledge of the Qur’an. Were there anything in the Qur’an of which he was unaware, he would be separated from the Qur’an. Therefore, such a proposition counters this hadith.
Imam Ali’s knowledge of the divine Scriptures can be inferred from the hadiths quoted by both the Shi’ite and the Sunni narrators. It is related that Imam Ali has said, “If the cushion (on which a judge sits) was folded for me, I woud judge among the people of the Torah by their Torah, among the people of the Gospels by their Gospels, and among the people of Psalms by their Psalms”.16
Notes:
7. – Dhahabi, a Sunnite great authority on ilm al-rijal says on vol. 17, p. 435, of his Siyar a’lam al-Nubalah’, “al-imam, the one who knows the Qur’an by heart, the most knowledgeable, allamah, and a master in Exgesis of the Qur’an\".
8. – Abdul Gafir al-Nayshaburi in his book Tarikh Nayshabur, p. 109 regards Tha’libi as trustworthy in transmitting hadiths.
9. – Al-Kashf wa al-Bayan, vol. 5, pp. 303–3, Dar Ihya’ al-Turath al-Arabiyyah; Beirut.
10. – See Dhahabi’s words concerning Hasakani, chapter five, the commentary on the Qur’anic verse of Sadiqin.
11. – Shawahid al-Tanzeel, reviewed by Sheikh Mohammad Baqir Mahmodi, vol,. 1, p. 400.
12. – Dhahabi’s praise of Shahr Ashoob was previously mentioned while explaining the verse of Sadiqin, the trhful.
13. – Manaqib, ibn Shahr Ashoob, vol. 2, p. 29, Alama Publications, Qum.
14. – Nur al-Thaqalayn, vol. 4, pp. 87–88.
15. – Sunan of Tirmidhi, vol. 5, p. 622; Ahmad’s Musnad, vol. 3, pp. 14, 17, 26, and 59; also, vol. 5, pp. 188–9; Nisa’i’s Khasa’is Amir al-Mumenin (p.b.u.h.) pp. 84–5.
16. – Fara’id al-Simtayn, vol. 1, pp. 339–341; Shawahid al-Tanzeel, vol. 1, p. 366, tradition 384.
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