Grand Ayatollah Shirazi remarks on knowledge of Sayyida Zainab, peace be upon her

The daily scholarly meeting of Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Sadiq al-Hosseini al-Shirazi was held on Saturday, the 15th of Rajab. In this session, just like the previous meetings, the Marja answered the questions of the attendees about various jurisprudential issues.

Grand Ayatollah Shirazi discussed the famous phrase capturing the essence of the knowledge of Sayyida Zeinab, peace be upon her, and said: The meaning of “the learned scholar without a teacher” is that the knowledge of Sayyida Zainab, peace be upon her, was an exceptional knowledge, nothing like the conventional knowledge that others acquire from a teacher since childhood.

His Eminence continued: Of course, the knowledge of the 14 Infallibles, peace be upon them, has a different nature, and no one’s knowledge in the world can compare to their knowledge. However, a portion of the exclusive knowledge of the Ma’sumeen has been granted to Sayyida Zainab, peace be upon her, but, of course, it does not match up to the supreme knowledge of the 14 Ma’sumeen.

Emphasizing the fact that “Major Infallibility” is exclusive to the 14 Infallibles, peace be upon them, the Marja said: Sayyida Zainab, peace be upon her, did not possess the “Major Infallibility”, because it is exclusive to the 14 Infallibles, peace be upon them, but she undoubtedly possessed a degree of “Minor Infallibility”.

Grand Ayatollah Shirazi also touched on Sayyida Zeinab’s possession of “Wilayah Takwiniyyah”, and explained: Although Zainab al-Kubra possessed “Wilayah Takwiniyyah”, whether the extent and scope of this Wilayah was the same as that of her mother, Sayyida Fatima al-Zahra, peace be upon her, is an issue. The apparent interpretation of mutawatir narrations indicates that there may be manifestations of Wilayah Takwiniyyah in individuals other than the Infallibles. A person like Sayyida Zainab al-Kubra can certainly achieve this, where some figures outside the circle of Ahlul-Bayt (peace be upon them) have achieved levels of the Wilayah Takwiniyyah. There are some accounts showing that Ibn Fahd al-Helli possessed some manifestations of Wilayah Takwiniyyah.

Regarding the authority of intercession in Sayyida Zainab al-Kubra, peace be upon her, his Eminence said: Even some believers have the position of and authority for intercession, and this is undoubtedly one of the capacities of Sayyida Zainab, peace be upon her.