mojtaba
Active Member
Usool al-Kaafi, H 220, Ch. 2, h 6.
It is narrated from Imam abu Abdallah (a.s.)[ the Sixth Imam of shia ], who said this to an atheist when asked him: "What is He(God)?"
"He (Allah) is a thing but different from all other things. Get from my saying the proving of a meaning.
He is a thing in the sense of the reality of things except that He does not have a body and form. He isn't seen or touched and He does not comprehend with the five senses. Imaginations can not comprehend Him and the timeless (Dahr) times does not reduce Him and the times do not change Him."
The man asking questions then said, "Do you say that He hears and sees?" The Imam said, "He does hear and see: He hears without a hearing organ and sees without a means. He hears by Himself and He sees by Himself. My saying "He hears without a hearing organ and sees without a means; He hears by Himself and He sees by Himself" does not mean that He is a thing and His-self is another thing but that I only meant to express my self thereby as I was questioned and explained to you as you had asked a question. Indeed, He hears with the whole of His-self but not in the sense that His whole self has parts but that I intended to explain it to you and to express my self. All I meant thereby is that He does hear, see and He is all-knowing and is the expert in knowing without any multiplicity in His-self or meaning.
The man asking questions then said, "What then is He?" The Imam said, "He is the Lord. He is the One Who is worshipped and He is Allah. When I say Allah, it does not mean establishing the proof for these letters (of alphabet) like Alif, Lam, Ha’(Allah), al-Ra’ or al-Ba’(Rab, i.e. Lord) but I intend thereby the meaning of a thing and a thing that is the Creator of all things and the Designer of all things. These letters only refer to the meaning that is called Allah, al-Rahman (the Beneficent), al-Rahim (the Merciful), al-‘Aziz (the Majestic) etc., of the other such names and He is the One Who is worshipped, the Majestic, the Glorious One."
The man then asked, "Does the question how apply to Him?" The Imam said, "No, this question does not apply to Him because it is the aspect of qualities and limitations. However, it is necessary to avoid abandoning and analogizing Him because negating Him is denying His existence and refusing to accept Him as the Lord and abandoning Him altogether.
Whoever would analogize Him with other things from His creatures he has proved the qualities of the creature in Him, the creatures that do not deserve being called the Lord. It, however, is necessary to believe that the question how applies to Him only in a way that would not apply to things other than Him and things other than Him would not deserve and share Him in it. The how question can not apply to Him if it would limit Him or make Him the subject of knowing for others."
It is narrated from Imam abu Abdallah (a.s.)[ the Sixth Imam of shia ], who said this to an atheist when asked him: "What is He(God)?"
"He (Allah) is a thing but different from all other things. Get from my saying the proving of a meaning.
He is a thing in the sense of the reality of things except that He does not have a body and form. He isn't seen or touched and He does not comprehend with the five senses. Imaginations can not comprehend Him and the timeless (Dahr) times does not reduce Him and the times do not change Him."
The man asking questions then said, "Do you say that He hears and sees?" The Imam said, "He does hear and see: He hears without a hearing organ and sees without a means. He hears by Himself and He sees by Himself. My saying "He hears without a hearing organ and sees without a means; He hears by Himself and He sees by Himself" does not mean that He is a thing and His-self is another thing but that I only meant to express my self thereby as I was questioned and explained to you as you had asked a question. Indeed, He hears with the whole of His-self but not in the sense that His whole self has parts but that I intended to explain it to you and to express my self. All I meant thereby is that He does hear, see and He is all-knowing and is the expert in knowing without any multiplicity in His-self or meaning.
The man asking questions then said, "What then is He?" The Imam said, "He is the Lord. He is the One Who is worshipped and He is Allah. When I say Allah, it does not mean establishing the proof for these letters (of alphabet) like Alif, Lam, Ha’(Allah), al-Ra’ or al-Ba’(Rab, i.e. Lord) but I intend thereby the meaning of a thing and a thing that is the Creator of all things and the Designer of all things. These letters only refer to the meaning that is called Allah, al-Rahman (the Beneficent), al-Rahim (the Merciful), al-‘Aziz (the Majestic) etc., of the other such names and He is the One Who is worshipped, the Majestic, the Glorious One."
The man then asked, "Does the question how apply to Him?" The Imam said, "No, this question does not apply to Him because it is the aspect of qualities and limitations. However, it is necessary to avoid abandoning and analogizing Him because negating Him is denying His existence and refusing to accept Him as the Lord and abandoning Him altogether.
Whoever would analogize Him with other things from His creatures he has proved the qualities of the creature in Him, the creatures that do not deserve being called the Lord. It, however, is necessary to believe that the question how applies to Him only in a way that would not apply to things other than Him and things other than Him would not deserve and share Him in it. The how question can not apply to Him if it would limit Him or make Him the subject of knowing for others."
