A Systematic Examination of the Hadith “Knowledge Is What Occurs by Night and Day…”
«Exact wording of the hadith: «الْعِلْمُ ... مَا يَحْدُثُ بِاللَّيْلِ وَ النَّهَارِ، الْأَمْرُ مِنْ بَعْدِ الْأَمْرِ، وَ الشَّيْءُ بَعْدَ الشَّيْءِ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ» Part One: Analysis of Key Components (Lexical and Conceptual Analysis) ComponentLexical and Conceptual Analysis«الْعِلْمُ»With the definite article…»
Exact wording of the hadith:
«الْعِلْمُ … مَا يَحْدُثُ بِاللَّيْلِ وَ النَّهَارِ، الْأَمْرُ مِنْ بَعْدِ الْأَمْرِ، وَ الشَّيْءُ بَعْدَ الشَّيْءِ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ»
Part One: Analysis of Key Components (Lexical and Conceptual Analysis)
| Component | Lexical and Conceptual Analysis |
| «الْعِلْمُ» | With the definite article alif-lām indicating the genus (comprehensiveness), this means knowledge in its absolute reality, not one of its branches. After listing all the written books (al-Jāmiʿa, al-Jafr, and the Muṣḥaf of Fāṭima), the Imam (AS) presents this as the ultimate definition and highest reality of knowledge. |
| «يَحْدُثُ» | From the root «حَدَثَ», meaning freshness, unprecedentedness, and absolute newness. This word rules out mere repetition and mechanical processes, emphasizing new creation and God’s original, unprecedented will. |
| «بِاللَّيْلِ وَ النَّهَارِ» | This refers to the setting of time, but not merely to linear time; rather, it means the arena in which events come to pass and God’s will is manifested at every moment. This knowledge flows within the current of time and never ceases. |
| «الْأَمْرُ مِنْ بَعْدِ الْأَمْرِ» | That is, God’s command—whether His creative or legislative will—is issued in an ongoing, connected sequence. Each command pertains to the particular circumstances of its moment, while the next either abrogates it or completes it in a new situation. |
| «الشَّيْءُ بَعْدَ الشَّيْءِ» | That is, phenomena and beings do not have fixed, repetitive identities. Rather, each phenomenon has a unique identity, shaped by the new circumstances of night and day. |
| «إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ» | That is, this process of origination (renewal) has no end and will continue to the very limits of the material world and time. The Imam’s knowledge never reaches an endpoint. |
Part Two: The Limits of This Knowledge (How It Differs from Other Forms of Knowledge)
According to the source text, this kind of knowledge has “distinct boundaries” separating it from other forms of knowledge and raising it to a higher rank:
| Knowledge of “what was and what will be” (the past and futurein general) | Knowledge of “what occurs by night and day…” |
| It concerns general, certain, and static events. | It concerns changing, conditional, and dynamic particulars. |
| Can be recorded in scrollsand books of knowledge. | It transcends every kind of book and flows solely in the Imam’s heart. |
| It is knowledge of “history and certain destiny.” | It is of the nature of being present within the living current of existence and receiving God’s will moment by moment. |
Part Three: The Distinctive Features of «العلم» in This Hadith (Based on the Source’s Analyses)
According to the texts presented, this knowledge has six structural features that distinguish it from other definitions of knowledge:
Knowledge of “the very act of coming to be,” not merely knowledge of “what comes to be.” That is, the Imam witnesses the process of becoming and coming into existence itself, not simply its final result.
Knowledge of “how God’s will is manifested” at every moment. What occurs by night and day is a direct manifestation of divine will, and the Imam knows how this manifestation takes place.
Knowledge of “changes arising from the deeds of God’s servants” and their reciprocal effect on destinies. This knowledge is not static; it changes in response to human actions (related to «يمحو الله ما يشاء و يثبت»).
Knowledge of “اَمْرِ بَیْنَ الْاَمْرَیْن” (effacement and confirmation). When God changes a destiny (effacement) and replaces it with another (confirmation), the Imam perceives that change as it occurs.
Knowledge that is bound up with the Imam’s life. It does not disappear when the Imam passes away; rather, it is handed down to the next Imam, preserving the unbroken chain of wilayah.
Knowledge that lies beyond “ghābir” (the future) and “mazbūr” (the past). In other words, it is not confined to linear time; it transcends even pre-eternity and eternity, and is bound to the very essence of God’s “ongoing will.”
Part Four: The Hadith’s Ontological and Mystical Message
According to the source text’s ultimate interpretation, this hadith defines knowledge not as “preserved information” or “unseen tidings,” but as “being with God” (ʿinda Allāh).
The difference between this and ordinary knowledge is that ordinary knowledge conveys “news of what God has said,” whereas “al-ʿilm” in this hadith means receiving “fresh and new divine traditions” at every moment.
This knowledge is the wellspring of the Prophet’s (PBUH) City of Knowledge, which flows through its gates (ʿAlī and his descendants). It is as though, at every moment, a new book from the Real descends upon the Imam’s heart, unlike anything that has come before.
Thus, this knowledge is “the living, ever-expanding exegesis of Muhammad and the Family of Muhammad (PBUH)”; in the source’s words, it is “God’s artistry through Muhammad and his Family” and “God’s teaching through the City of Knowledge.”
A Final, Systematic Summary
The final definition of “al-ʿilm” according to the hadith:
True knowledge is the continuous, unmediated reception of God’s emerging will and command, unfolding through night and day, in a chain of events, one arising after another, with not the slightest loss of its vitality for all eternity. This knowledge can be contained neither in earlier pages nor grasped through purely rational analogies; rather, it is the preserve of the immaculate heart of the infallible Imam, which is joined to the essence of “یومٌ هُوَ فی شَأن” (Every day He is engaged in a new affair), and is the manifestation of “God’s ever-new tradition” through the words and spirit of Muhammad and the Family of Muhammad (PBUH).