Shaykh Tusi's Interpretation on the Verses concerning Temporal Knowledge

One of the most important issues in Islamic philosophy and theology is the Divine Knowledge. Knowledge is one the essential attributes of God which comprises the entire datum absolutely and without any conditions. Numerous verses of the Qur’an address the issue of Divine Knowledge, its extent and qualifications. Of these verses are those which suspend the knowledge of Allah to attainment of a condition or occurrence of a situation. In these instances, employing interpretational devices, the exegete of the Qur’an should propose an interpretation consistent with the doctrinal principles, while not confining him to the literal meaning of the verses.
The Shiite theologians and exegetes, based on the rational and traditional arguments, have declared their views on these verses. Among these scholars, Shaykh Tusi is an important personality. He is the head of the Shiite community at his time, a great jurisprudent, theologian and exegete of the Qur’an. It is no exaggeration to say that he is a leading personality in theology and exegesis. In his masterpiece, al- Tebyan exegesis, he interprets the verses on the mentioned issue in complete consistency with theological principles. Addressing the issue, he proposes possible interpretations, which can be studied in four categories. Among these alternatives, identifying the achievement of knowledge as realization of the datum is the most eminent one. Considering Shaykh Tusi’s commentaries of these verses, especially those in literal contradiction with theological principles, is a good model example for all the scholars in this field.