2 thoughts on “Knowledge of Unseen between Islam & Shi’ism”
Assalaamu `Alaykum,
This hadeeth of the “Imaam’s knowledge is like the dirham in your hand” is NOT in our hadeeth books! This same wording of the hadeeth of “like the dirham in your hand” is in our books, but it is talking about Malak al-Mawt (Angel of Death) and his power and how he can take lives from people who are in the east and west at the same time. Wow!
Taken from al-Faqeeh, vol. 1, pg. 134, hadeeth # 354 (Mursal Hadeeth):
وَ قَالَ الصَّادِقُ ع قِيلَ لِمَلَكِ الْمَوْتِ ع كَيْفَ تَقْبِضُ الْأَرْوَاحَ وَ بَعْضُهَا فِي الْمَغْرِبِ وَ بَعْضُهَا فِي الْمَشْرِقِ فِي سَاعَةٍ وَاحِدَةٍ فَقَالَ أَدْعُوهَا فَتُجِيبُنِي قَالَ فَقَالَ مَلَكُ الْمَوْتِ ع إِنَّ الدُّنْيَا بَيْنَ يَدَيَّ كَالْقَصْعَةِ بَيْنَ يَدَيْ أَحَدِكُمْ يَتَنَاوَلُ مِنْهَا مَا شَاءَ وَ الدُّنْيَا عِنْدِي كَالدِّرْهَمِ فِي كَفِّ أَحَدِكُمْ يُقَلِّبُهُ كَيْفَ يَشَاءُ
And Imaam al-Saadiq (AS) said: ‘It is say to Malak al-Mawt: ‘How can you seize the souls and some of them are in the west and some of them are in the east at the same time? He said: ‘I pray for it and I am answered.’ Malak al-Mawt said: ‘The world is between my hands like a bown is between your hands, you can take from it whatever you wish. And the world is with me like a dirham in the palm of your hands, you can turn it however you wish’
The same wording is in al-Qummi’s tafseer twice, same chain (SaHeeH sanad – Ikhtilaaf on the book):
فقال ملك الموت ما الدنيا كلها عندي فيما سخرها الله لي و مكنني منها إلا كالدرهم في كف الرجل يقلبه كيف يشاء
فقلت له يا ملك الموت أ كل من مات أو هو ميت فيما بعد أنت تقبض روحه قال نعم قلت و تحضرهم بنفسك قال نعم و ما الدنيا كلها عندي فيما سخرها الله لي و مكنني منها إلا كالدرهم في كف الرجل يقلبه كيف يشاء
This is absurd, you cannot take a hadeeth that is a special attribute of the Angle of Death and just add it as a characteristic of the Imaam.
Unless someone can find this hadeeth that is mentioned, I would gladly like to say I was wrong, but I have search and searched for this hadeeth and it is nowhere to be found.
Wa `Alaykum Assalam
Allah says in his gloriouse Quran:
Say o Mohammad I am human being same like u, but I receive “wahi” or inspiration from Allah.. So they were human and there is no doubt that several times Allah says to tel your umma o Mohammad unseen knowledge is just for Allah.. If I would know the unseen I would collect the best ones(khair) and removed the worst(shar)..
Allah give them hedaya and guide all of us to the path of Quran and way of rasul Allah sw
gift2shias.com 
Assalaamu `Alaykum,
This hadeeth of the “Imaam’s knowledge is like the dirham in your hand” is NOT in our hadeeth books! This same wording of the hadeeth of “like the dirham in your hand” is in our books, but it is talking about Malak al-Mawt (Angel of Death) and his power and how he can take lives from people who are in the east and west at the same time. Wow!
Taken from al-Faqeeh, vol. 1, pg. 134, hadeeth # 354 (Mursal Hadeeth):
وَ قَالَ الصَّادِقُ ع قِيلَ لِمَلَكِ الْمَوْتِ ع كَيْفَ تَقْبِضُ الْأَرْوَاحَ وَ بَعْضُهَا فِي الْمَغْرِبِ وَ بَعْضُهَا فِي الْمَشْرِقِ فِي سَاعَةٍ وَاحِدَةٍ فَقَالَ أَدْعُوهَا فَتُجِيبُنِي قَالَ فَقَالَ مَلَكُ الْمَوْتِ ع إِنَّ الدُّنْيَا بَيْنَ يَدَيَّ كَالْقَصْعَةِ بَيْنَ يَدَيْ أَحَدِكُمْ يَتَنَاوَلُ مِنْهَا مَا شَاءَ وَ الدُّنْيَا عِنْدِي كَالدِّرْهَمِ فِي كَفِّ أَحَدِكُمْ يُقَلِّبُهُ كَيْفَ يَشَاءُ
And Imaam al-Saadiq (AS) said: ‘It is say to Malak al-Mawt: ‘How can you seize the souls and some of them are in the west and some of them are in the east at the same time? He said: ‘I pray for it and I am answered.’ Malak al-Mawt said: ‘The world is between my hands like a bown is between your hands, you can take from it whatever you wish. And the world is with me like a dirham in the palm of your hands, you can turn it however you wish’
The same wording is in al-Qummi’s tafseer twice, same chain (SaHeeH sanad – Ikhtilaaf on the book):
فقال ملك الموت ما الدنيا كلها عندي فيما سخرها الله لي و مكنني منها إلا كالدرهم في كف الرجل يقلبه كيف يشاء
فقلت له يا ملك الموت أ كل من مات أو هو ميت فيما بعد أنت تقبض روحه قال نعم قلت و تحضرهم بنفسك قال نعم و ما الدنيا كلها عندي فيما سخرها الله لي و مكنني منها إلا كالدرهم في كف الرجل يقلبه كيف يشاء
This is absurd, you cannot take a hadeeth that is a special attribute of the Angle of Death and just add it as a characteristic of the Imaam.
Unless someone can find this hadeeth that is mentioned, I would gladly like to say I was wrong, but I have search and searched for this hadeeth and it is nowhere to be found.
Wa `Alaykum Assalam
Allah says in his gloriouse Quran:
Say o Mohammad I am human being same like u, but I receive “wahi” or inspiration from Allah.. So they were human and there is no doubt that several times Allah says to tel your umma o Mohammad unseen knowledge is just for Allah.. If I would know the unseen I would collect the best ones(khair) and removed the worst(shar)..
Allah give them hedaya and guide all of us to the path of Quran and way of rasul Allah sw