An Answer to Nassir al-Qafari’s Objections to Imamate and Imam’s Knowledge in the light of Inspiration and Revelation

The pivot on which all al-Qafari’s doubts and objections to Imam’s knowledge turn is the characteristics the Shiites hold for the Imams. Nasir al-Qafari aims to undermine the main pillar of the Shiite creed on Imamate. By his doubts, al-Qafari wants to say that Imams prove themselves superior to prophets; they are endowed with the source of revelation in order to have revealed knowledge. Accordingly, the knowledge with the Shiites is more than that with other Muslims, and this issue created division and hypocrisy among Muslims. He has made references to Usul alKafi in order to raise his doubts. In their research and through a descriptive-analytic method, the authors aim to examine Imam’s knowledge and to answer some of al-Qafari’s doubts. The outcome shows that Imams are the heirs of holy Prophet and follow his manner; they acquire their knowledge from three sources: the Qur’an and its exegesis, inheriting hadith from previous prophets and Imams and gifted knowledge.