Whereupon Amir al-mu'minin laughed and said to the man who...

As regard knowledge of hidden things, that means knowledge of the Day of Judgement, and the things covered by Allah in the verse: **“** Verily, Allah is He with Whom is the knowledge of the Hour; He sends down the rain, and He knows what is in the wombs.

No soul knows what it will earn tomorrow, and no soul knows in what land it will die..” (Qur'an, 31:34) Therefore, Allah alone knows what is there in the wombs, whether male or female, ugly or handsome, generous or miserly, mischievous or pious, and who will be the fuel for Hell and who will be in the company of the Prophets in Paradise. This is the knowledge of the hidden things which is not known to anyone save Allah.

All else is that whose knowledge Allah passed on to His Prophet and he passed it on to me, and prayed for me that my bosom may retain it and my ribs may hold it.

Alternative Sources for Sermon 128 (1) Al-Tabari, Ta'rikh, VI, 48; (2) Ibn al-'Athir, al-Nihayah, (b.j.r); (3) al-Saduq, al-'Amali; (4) al-'Amidi, Ghurar, 329; (5) al-Karajiki, Ma`dan, 226; (6) al-Bayhaqi, al-Mahasin, 41; (7) al-Jahiz, al-Hayawan, II, 90. [^1]: `Ali ibn Muhammad was born in the village of Warzanin in the suburbs of Ray and belonged to the Azariqah sect of the Kharijites.