The commentators have discussed this kind of knowledge in details and they regard it as one of the great graces of God on Adam. It is the personification of his great attribute; it speaks about his capability as the chosen designate of God.

It is often said, “It means the knowledge of languages” So the knowledge of all kinds of linguistics cannot be attribute because this view is not compatible with the verse. The term “Ghaibus Samawati wal Ardh” means those hidden secrets of the heavens and the earth that were hidden even from the eyes of the angels.

Others say, “It means the names of the God’s signs especially about the infallible ones whose souls were created before this universe. This kind of explanation is supported by certain traditions.

It is also certain that such traditions do not explain the origins through the norms of the explanations and the knowledge of the names are not especially connected with these norms.

But many commentators says, “The word “Ism” means names and Musamma means that which has a name. God endowed Adam the knowledge of the names of all creation, all kinds of industry, the extraction of ores, the planting of trees their features and benefits (or God kept them in secret).

 This is why Adam was able to recognize all the secrets and apply them for his progeny. This ensured a great prominence for Adam and which he attained and passed on to his children.

We read a hadith from Imam Sadiq in this regard. He said, “The land, the mountains, the branches, the medicines “He then looked at the surface beneath him and said, “This is the land the knowledge of which was given to Adam.” (1) (The precise knowledge of all living things on earth)

This tells us that Adam had all this knowledge.

The late Allama Tabatabai has written in his commentary Al Mizan, “Firstly, we conclude from the explanations of the verse

that the hidden facts of the heavens and the earth which are beyond the purview of this universe and that its general and vast meaning as hinted by the word “ Kulloha” ( all) so the word “Hum” is plural. This means that these names of the existing things are secreted in the word “Ghaib” He further adds, “When I think about the objects named then I find life and knowledge and find them to be secrets of the heavens and the earth; then I attribute it to the words of God as described in verse 21 of Surah Hajar that says:

“But there is not a thing but with Us are its treasures, and We do not send it down but in a known measure.”

In the end the Allama says “So I conclude that all those that were presented before the angels were extra-ordinary creations that were under God’s preservation for they were screened away from the angels. God has bestowed all the names with well being for all and has extracted whatever exists in the heavens and earth from these names. (2)

So the knowledge of the names is a very vast knowledge which includes all the realities in this universe

In verse 14 of Surah Qassas God has spoken about Abraham:

“We granted him wisdom and knowledge.”

In verse 252 of Surah Baqarah God has spoken about David:

“These are the signs of God with truth do We rehearse them to you and verily you are one of the Messengers.”

In Verse 79 of Surah Anbiya God has spoken about David and Solomon:

“Then We made Solomon understand it; to each one We gave wisdom and knowledge, and We made the mountains and the birds subservient to David.”

In verse 74 of Surah Anbiya God has spoken about Lot;

“And We made them leaders, guiding (the people) by Our command and We revealed to them the doing of good.”

He has repeated the same meaning in verse 22 of Surah Yusuf about Joseph:

“And when he attained his prime We gave him authority and the knowledge.”

We should ponder on the fact that he word “Ilman” has been used as “Nakra” or common noun here and defines the infallibility that we cannot comprehend. Some people have taken the word “Hukm” as judgment and some as Prophethood; yet others have taken it to mean that special knowledge that makes a person know the differences between the good and the bad. In other words it means the intelligence and awareness to make correct judgments and to separate them. (3) The conclusion is that all these explanations only say what we have already discussed.

In verse 110 of Surah Maidah God speaks about Jesus:

“When I strengthened you with the holy spirit that you did speak to the people (when still an infant) in the cradle and when grown up, and when I taught you the Book, and the Torah and the Evangel.”

In verse 113 of Surah Nisaa God speaks about the Last Messenger: “And God has sent down to you the Book and the wisdom and has taught what you did not know and God’s grace on you is very great.”

In other places He has named the apostles, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Noah, David, Solomon, Job, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, and Zachariah, John the Baptist, Jesus, Elijah, Ishmael, Isaiah, Jonah and Lot.

God has given these eighteen great Apostles 3 distinct features. Verse 89 of Surah Anam says:

“This is God’s guidance; He guides whoever among His servants He pleases.”

This is not just specific for those named above but for all apostles of God and they are: The Divine Books, the authority, and the prophethood. It is imperative for us to understand that each one of them had a book or that a book was revealed to each one of them and the apostle who followed another was the guardian of the previous book also.

There is another very eloquent explanation in the Qura’n about the Last Messenger, his khalifas and the infallible ones. The term used in “Raasikhuna fil-ilmi” or those “firmly grounded in knowledge”. The verses of the Qura’n divided into 2 categories; those that are clear and those that ambiguous and no one knows the true meanings but God (It is necessary to reflect upon the verses to understand them) Verse 7 of Al Imran says:

“And those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say: We believe in it, the whole of it is from our Lord” and none will grasp its meaning except the men of understanding.”

It should be noted that he commentators have written extensively about this verse and they say that a pause is necessary after the word “Jalalah”. The term “Raasikhuna fil ilm” has been mentioned separately for us to understand that those grounded in knowledge who believe firmly on the ambiguous verses though the meanings are not hidden from them or that this term is for God to tell us that they are all sent by Him. Those that are grounded in knowledge receive all the knowledge from God

We have taken the second stand in Tafsir Amthal and have given 4 proofs of our contention (4)

The term “those grounded in knowledge” proves that these great apostles did have a large knowledge. This is why according to the author of Mafuradat says the term “Ar-rusuukh” means the confirmation of all things.

We conclude from all the verses cited above that the apostles and the infallible ones had great knowledge.

1. Tafsir Majmaul Bayan vol.1 page 76

2. See Tafsir Al Mizan vol.1 for the verse being discussed. By saying this, the Allama it seems has echoed the idea of Plato or the Asharis.

3. Please see Tafsir Majmaul Bayan vol.5 page 222 for the explanation of verse 22 of Surah Yusuf.

4. Tafsir Amthal for the details of the explanation of this verse