A Narrative Analysis and Explication of Imam's Knowledge of Words with the Approach of Criticizing the False Claimants

One of the main characteristics of Divine proofs is the knowledge specific to the Imamate. Shiite speculative theologians and traditionalist have defined the ranges for this knowledge that among their views¡ there are the minimums and maximums. What Shiite unanimously agrees about is the Imam’s knowledge of Divine licit and illicit and the Qur’anic gnostic knowledge among which is the knowledge of correct recitation of Qur’an; however¡ in some cases¡ like the ability to speak all the languages around the world¡ there are some differences in viewpoints among the theologians like Sheikh Mofid and the traditionalist like Sheikh Sadouq. Sheikh Mofid does not consider this limitation as a rational must while Sheikh Sadouq considers it as a must. It should be mentioned that the people of the house have used the method of asking scientific questions and Imam’s knowledge of the words in order to introduce the lies of the claimants. The result of this discussion is firstly some of the theologians have considered this issue as a rational must; secondly¡ although Sheikh Mofid and his followers do not consider this issue as a rational must¡ they do not consider it as an abstainer; thirdly¡ the successive and valid traditions imply the necessity of this characteristic for the infallible Imam. The method of this article is descriptive-analytic which has revealed the false claims of some of the contemporary claimants with the narrative analysis. Undoubtedly¡ their inability in mastering several languages and religious knowledge indicates their null claims and in fact¡ this ability is a measure for the truth or falsity of the claim of Imamate.