Divine Power of Aimmah (a.s)

Divine Power of Aimmah (a.s)

There are various discussions in the society with regards to asking for your needs directly from Aimmah (a.s.). Some people question the permissibility of asking from them and some question about their capability. Various books and treatises are available on the first question and we would not deal with it in this article. In this small discussion we will deal with the second question – capability of the Aimmah (a.s.) in answering our needs.

Allah (swt) has gifted them with Divine Knowledge and Divine Power which makes them able to do many things which are unimaginable for a mortal like us.

Hazrat Ameerul Momeneen (a.s.) wrote to Sahl bin Hunaif:  “I swear to Allah that when I tore out the door of Khaibar and then threw it at a distance of forty ells, my body did not feel the weight and the strength I used to perform this act was not a result of my dietary consumption.  I was supported by the supreme power and by (My) soul, which shines from the light of his lord…”  [Bisharat Al-Mustafa Le Shiyate Murtaza, Chp.5 H.25]

Holy Quran has pointed to his fact through this verse

وَكُلَّ شَيْءٍ أَحْصَيْنَاهُ فِي إِمَامٍ مُّبِينٍ

“And we have kept the account of everything in an evident Imam” [36:12]

The tafseer of this ayat is found in the sermon of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.a) on the day of Ghadeer, as narrated by Imam Muhammad Baqir (as).

“….O People! There is no knowledge except that Allah has kept its account in me. And all the knowledge that I have, have taught Ali and the Pious ones from his progeny [Imam’s (as)] and He [Ali (as)] is the evident Imams that has been mentioned by Allah in Chapter of  Yasin, “And we have kept the account of everything in an evident Imam”.          [Al-Yaqin, Sayyid Ibn Tawus, Pg. 350]

Let us have a look at some of the incidences which show the divine power

Power over the lion in the portrait

Janabe Ali ibn Yaqteen narrates : “Harun Ar-Rashid was looking for someone who could make fun of Abul Hassan Musa ibn Ja’far (as), belittle him and defeat him in arguments in a meeting. A magician volunteered to do so. When they spread the table to eat, the magician put a spell on the bread so that whenever Abul Hassan (as) wanted to grab a piece of bread to eat, it would fly away from his hands. Harun was very pleased and laughed lot at this. 

Then Abul Hassan (as) turned to the picture of a lion which was on a portrait and said, “O Lion! Seize this enemy of God!” The narrator of the tradition added, “Then the picture of the lion turned into a big lion, jumped on the magician, and tore him up.”

Then Harun and all his companions who were present were watching got scared, fainted and fell down. When they regained consciousness, Harun told Abil Hassan (as), “I beg you by the right I have over you to ask the picture to return that man.” Then the Imam (as) said, “If the Cane of Moses (as) returned the canes and the ropes which it swallowed, this picture will also return that man.”

[Source: Uyoon akhbar ur raza, Vol 1, Chapter 8, Pg.95,96]

Aimmah (as) travelling through many worlds: 

Muhammad bin Abdullah Al-Razi Al-Jaamoorani, from Ismail bin Moosa from his father, from his grandfather, from Abd Al-Samad bin Ali who said : A man came up to Imam Ali bin Husain (as). Imam Ali bin Husain (as) said to him, "Who are you?” The man said, "I am a astrologer." Imam (as) said, "So you are a fortune-teller."
Imam (as) then looked at him and then said, "Shall I show you a man who since the time you have come to us, moved through 14 worlds, with each world being 3 times bigger than this world, without having moved from his place?"
The man said, "Who is He?" Imam (as) said, "I and if I wish, I can inform you what you ate and what you have stored in your house."

[Source: Basaair Al-Darajaat, Vol. 8, Chapter. 12, Hadees. 13]

Story of the falling wall:
 Abdullah bin Ubayy met Jadd bin Qais and said: Muhammad is an extremely clear magician but Ali is not so clever. Therefore, invite Ali for a feast in your house and after digging the foundations of the walls of your garden, make some men stand behind holding that wall with the help of wooden planks. When Ali and his companions begin to eat, let the wall fall on them, so that all may die together. The cursed one did so. 

When Ali (a.s.) arrived, he gave that wall a support of his holy hand and prevented it from falling. Then he asked his faithful companions to start eating reciting: Bismillaah. Ali (a.s.) himself also began to eat with them. When all ate perfectly, then also he kept the wall, which was thirty yards long, fifteen yards high and two yards thick, from falling. 

His faithful companions said: O Sir! How can it be that we continue eating and you continue to hold this heavy wall from falling. How hard it is for your honor. Amirul Momineen (a.s.) replied: I find this wall lighter than the morsel of food in my right hand. 

Jadd bin Qais then fled away from there imagining that Ali (a.s.) and his companions will be killed under the falling wall and then the Prophet will call him to giving compensation. He hid in the house of Abdullah bin Ubayy. Finally they came to know that Ali (a.s.) had stalled the wall from falling with his left hand and was eating with his companions with his right hand and that they had not been crushed under the wall.

Hearing this, Abushuroor and Abuddawahi, who were the original planners of this plots said: Ali is very expert in the magic of Muhammad, so we cannot defeat him. At last when all had eaten, Ali (a.s.), with his left hand, made that wall  stand upright, filled up its gaps and returned from there with his companions safely. Seeing him back, the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) told Ali (a.s.): O Abul Hasan! Today you acted like brother Khizr (a.s.). He had also repaired a falling wall. Almighty Allah had made that job easy for Khizr (a.s.) through our Ahlul Bayt’s supplication.

[Source: Tafseer of Imam Hasan Askari(as), Sura Baqara, Verse 23-25]