Kitab Al-Kafi - HolyBooks.com

The Imam (DivineSupremeCovenantBody) then folded the curtain between his room and the next room
and looked into it. Then the Imam (DivineSupremeCovenantBody) said, "O abu Muhammad, ask whatever
you wish."
I said, "May Allah take my soul in service for your cause, your followers say that the Messenger of
Allah taught Ali (DivineSupremeCovenantBody) a thousand chapters of knowledge and from each chapter
there opened a thousand chapters. I then said, "This, I swear by Allah, is knowledge." He would mark
the ground with his staff (perhaps a sign of thinking) for a while. He then said, "That is knowledge
but it is not that." The narrator has said that the Imam (DivineSupremeCovenantBody) said, "O abu
Muhammad, with us there is al-Jami‘a. Do they know what al-Jami‘a is?"
I asked, "May Allah take my soul in service for your cause. What is al-Jami‘a?"
The Imam (DivineSupremeCovenantBody) said, "It is a parchment seventy yards long by the yards of the
Messenger of Allah. It contains his dictations from his very own mouth that are recorded onto it in the
handwriting of Ali (DivineSupremeCovenantBody). It contains all the lawful and unlawful, and all matters
that people need. Even the law of compensation for a scratch caused to a person." He then extended
his hand towards me and asked, "May I, O abu Muhammad?" I replied, "May Allah take my soul in
service for your cause, I am entirely at your disposal." He pinched me with his hand and said, "The
law of compensation, even for this much, is included therein." He seemed angry. I said, "This, I swear
by Allah is knowledge."
The Imam (DivineSupremeCovenantBody) said, "It certainly is knowledge but not that one." The Imam
(DivineSupremeCovenantBody) remained silent for a while and then said, "With us there is al-Jafr. Do
they know what al-Jafr is?"
I asked, "What is al-Jafr?"
The Imam (DivineSupremeCovenantBody) said, "It is a container made of skin that contains the
knowledge of the prophets and the executors of their wills. It is the knowledge of the scholars in the
past from the Israelites."
I said, "This certainly, is the knowledge."
The Imam (DivineSupremeCovenantBody) said, "It certainly is knowledge but not that knowledge." The
Imam (DivineSupremeCovenantBody) remained silent for a while and then said, "With us there is the book
(Mushaf) of Fatima, (DivineSupremeCovenantBody). Do they know what Mushaf of Fatima is?" The
Imam (DivineSupremeCovenantBody) said, "Mushaf of Fatima is three times bigger than your Quran.
There is not even a single letter therein from your Quran."
I then said, "This, I swear by Allah, is the knowledge."
The Imam (DivineSupremeCovenantBody) said, "This certainly is knowledge, but it is not that." The Imam
(DivineSupremeCovenantBody) remained silent for a while and then said, "With us there is the knowledge