You should know that in logic the word مَنْ (who) is used...

You should know that in logic the word مَنْ (who) is used for questioning concerning a person and the word ما (what) for questioning concerning a given reality or for explaining an abstract noun. Since they told the Noble Messenger (S) that this man is an Allamah, that master questioned them concerning the meaning of Allamah in relation to the character and content of the knowledge that they attributed to him. Hence, he put the question with the word ما.

Epithets are at times made a means for questioning concerning essence, for instance, where the meaning of an attribute is known but not the person to whom the attribute relates. In that case, the question is nut by using the word مَنْ and it becomes مَن العَلََّامَةُ.

But if the person be known and the attribute be unknown, or when the purpose be only to know the attribute, the question is put with the word ما and the question then relates to finding out the attribute, not the person attributed with it, nor the attribute and the person attributed with it as well. In this noble tradition, since it was remarked that this man is an ‘ Allamah , the Prophet’s purpose behind the question was to find out the meaning of the attribute that they ascribed to the man.

Hence, he asked, ‘What is an Allamah ?’ and not, ‘Who is an ‘ Allamah ?’ or ‘Why and for what reason is this man an ‘ Allamah ?’ The explanation given above is clearer than what the authority ( muhaqqiq ) among the philosophers and the philosopher among the authorities, Sadr al-Muta’allihin (Q) says in his exposition of this noble tradition, which we shall refrain from citing due to fear of prolixity and for its being outside the scope of our discussion.

Section 1 We have mentioned earlier that man, to put it briefly, is confronted with three worlds, stations and phases of life: first, the world of the Hereafter, which is the hidden world ( ‘alam al-ghayb ) of spirituality and the intellect; second, the phase of Barzakh, which is the world of khayal lying between the other two worlds; third, the phase of this world, the domain of mulk (corporeality) and the world of appearance ( ‘alam al-shahadat ) .

Each of these phases has its own special perfection and training and requires action appropriate to it. The prophets (A) have been encharged to instruct the people concerning those actions.

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