عَنِ الْفَيْضِ بْنِ الْمُخْتَارِ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ أَبَا عَبْدِ اللهِ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ يَقُولُ إِنَّ سُلَيْمَانَ بْنَ دَاوُدَ قَالَ عُلِّمْنا مَنْطِقَ الطَّيْرِ وَ أُوتِينا مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَ قَدْ وَ اللهِ عُلِّمْنَا مَنْطِقَ الطَّيْرِ وَ عِلْمَ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ
Al-Faiz Ibn al-Mukhtaar reports, “I heard (Imam) Aba Abdillah (al-Sadeq – peace be on him) say,
‘Surely, Sulaiman Ibn Dawood said, ‘We have been taught the language of the birds and we have been given from everything’ while indeed, I swear by Allah, we (Imams of the Ahle Bait) have been taught the language of the birds and the knowledge of everything’.”
References:
1. Basaaer al-Darajaat, p. 344, H. 17, Chapter 14
2. Al-Ikhtesaas, p. 293
3. Behaar al-Anwaar, vol. 27, p. 264, H. 11, Chapter 16
Notes:
1) In the above narration, Imam (peace be on him) compares the knowledge of Prophet Sulaiman (peace be on him) in the light of the Holy Quran with that of the infallible Imams (peace be on them).
2) The divine Prophets (peace be on them) were given part of the knowledge while the infallible Imams (peace be on them) were given the entire created knowledge. The same comparison can be inferred from the verse of Surah Naml (27): Verse 40 and Surah Ra’d (13): Verse 43.
3) The above narration also proves the superiority of the Imams (peace be on them) over the divine Prophets (peace be on them) 4) Importantly, the Imams (peace be on them) have always attributed all their perfections like knowledge, power, etc. to Allah the Almighty. They never claimed that these perfections belonged to them essentially and originally. Therefore, whoever denies any of these perfections is in reality denying the power of Allah the High.