Negation of Space, Time, Stillness, Motion, Descending, Ascending, and Transference from Allah

“Woe be upon you! Perhaps you should tell me when He did not exist, so that I can tell you when He did exist. Glory be to Him, who has always been and will always be, the Peerless, the Needless, who has taken neither wife nor son.”

A man came to Abu Ja`far al-Baqir (AS) and asked him: “O Abu Ja`far! Tell me about your Lord. How long has He existed?” Thus, he (AS) answered, Woe be upon you! Verily, it is said to a thing that did no exist and then came into being: Since when did it exist? Verily, my Lord, the Blessed and Exalted, has always been Ever-Living, but not with quality. There is no time limit for Him. Nor is there any quality for His Existence. There is neither any space for Him. He is not in a thing or on anything. He has not created for His Being any space. He is not strengthened after crating anything. Nor was He weak before creating anything. He was not frightened before He originated anything. None of the created things are like Him. He was not powerless over the things before their creation. Nor will He be powerless over them after they have gone. He has always been Ever-Living without an accidental existence. He was the Omnipotent Sovereign before creating anything, and He was the Supreme Sovereign after having brought it into existence. There is no quality for His Essence, nor is there space for Him. He does not have any limit. He is not recognized by a thing that may be His like. He does not age. He does not shout to call anything. Nothing frightens Him. All things become stunned from His Fear. He is Ever-Living, but not a blank living, nor a depicted existence. He neither has a restricted quality, nor an effect that follows up, nor a place that adjoins a thing, but He is the Ever-Living who knows everything, and the Sovereign who always has Omnipotence and Sovereignty. He created what He willed, and He willed with His Will. He is not limited. He has no parts. And He does not perish. He is the First without any quality, and the Last without any space. Everything is Command. Blessed is the Lord of the worlds! Woe be upon you, O questioner! Verily, my Lord cannot be conceived by imagination. Uncertainties do not befall Him. He does not adjoin anything, nor does anything adjoin Him. Incidents do not occur to Him. He is not questioned about anything He does, nor is He places on anything. Slumber does not seize Him, nor does sleep; to Him belongs whatsoever is in the Heavens, whatsoever is in the Earth, whatsoever is between them and whatsoever is below the ground.

A Jewish rabbi came to the Commander of the Faithful (AS), and asked him: “O Commander of the Faithful! Since when has your Lord existed?” He (AS) replied, ”May your mother grieve you! When did He not exist so that it may be asked when did He exist? My Lord preceded the beginning and is without any beginning. He will remain after the end without an end. There is no end and termination to His Destination. He is separated from all ends. He is the Utmost of all Ends.” Then he asked, “O Commander of the Faithful! Are you a Prophet?” So he (AS) answered, “Woe be upon you! Verily, I am but a servant from the servants of Muhammad (sw).”
The Compiler (RA) of this book says: What he (AS) meant was that he was a servant in obedience, and nothing more than that.

Where was our Lord before He created the Heaven and the Earth? Therefore, he (AS) replied, “`Where’ [ayna] is a question about space, and Allah existed when there was no space.”

I asked Abu al-Hasan Musa ibn Ja`far (AS): “For what reason did Allah ascend His Prophet (SA) to the Heavens, from there to the Farthest Lote-Tree [Sidrah], and from there to the Veils of Light. He addressed him and entrusted a secret to him there. So, can Allah be described spatially?” Thus, he (AS) replied, Verily, Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, cannot be subjected to space nor can He be subjected to time. However, He, the Mighty High, intended to honor His angels and the inhabitants of the heavens by giving them a chance to see the Prophet. He also wanted to show the wonders of His Sublimity to the Prophet so that he could describe it to his followers after his descent. It is not at all like the anthropomorphists profess. Glory be to Allah, and Exalted be He, from what they associate!

The head of the rabbis [ra`s al-jalut] said to the Jews. “Verily, the Muslims consider Ali to be the greatest debater and the most learned one among them. Take me to him so that I may ask him a question that will confound him.” Hence, he came to him and asked: “O Commander of the Faithful! Since when has our Lord existed?” Ali (AS) replied:O Jewish man! It is certainly said: “When did it exist?” for something that previously did not exist. However, He has always existed, does exist, and will always exist forever. He has always existed, without quality. O Jewish man! How2 can He have a beginning? He is prior to the beginning, without a beginning, end [ghayah], and termination. He is the End and there is no end to Him. He is the End that is separate from all ends. He is the End of all Ends. Then the Jewish man said: “I bear witness that your religion is true, and that whatever contradicts it is false.”

I asked al-Rida (AS): “O son of the Messenger of Allah! What do you say about the tradition which people narrate from the Messenger of Allah (SA) that he said: `Verily, Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, comes down from the heaven of this world every night?’” Thus, he (AS) replied, May the curse of Allah be upon those who alter words from their place! By Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, sends down an angel from heaven to this world during the third part of every night, and the first part of Friday night. Hence, He commands him, so he calls, “Is there any supplicant on whom I can bestow his wish? Is there anyone who is repenting so that I can forgive him? Is there anyone seeking forgiveness so that I may forgive him? O seekers of goodness, come! O seekers of evil, abstain!” He constantly proclaims this till dawn breaks. When dawn breaks, he return to his place in the realm of heaven. My father related to me this on the authority of my grandfather from the Messenger of Allah (SA).

I asked my father the master of the worshippers [Sayyid al-`Abidin] (AS): O father! Inform me about when our grandfather the Messenger of Allah (SA) ascended to heaven to meet His Lord, the Mighty and High, and He commanded him to complete fifty daily prayers. Why did he not ask for any relief for his Ummah, until Musa son of `Imran (AS) said to him to go back to his Lord and ask for relief as your Ummah does not have the strength for that? Thus, he (AS) answered, O son! Verily, the Messenger of Allah (SA) was not going to suggest anything to his Lord, the Mighty and High, nor reconsider anything He had commanded him to so. Therefore, when Musa (AS) asked him to do so, he had interceded for his Ummah to the Prophet (SA); it did not suffice for him to reject the intercession of his brother Musa (AS). So he (SA) returned to his Lord, the Mighty and High, and asked him for relief until He lowered the obligation to five daily prayers. He says, I then asked: “O father! Then why did he not return to his Lord, the Mighty and High, and ask Him for relief from five daily prayers?” He (AS) therefore, replied, O son! He (SA) intended to relieve his Ummah by means of the word of Allah, the Mighty and High: “Whoever brings a good deed, he shall have ten like it.” Do you not see that when he (SA) descended to the Earth, Jibra`il (AS) revealed to him: “O Muhammad! Verily, your Lord sends you His Greetings, and says: They are five for fifty, My word shall not be changed, nor am I in the least unjust to the servants.” He says: then I asked, “O father! Did Allah, the Exalted, not mention that He cannot be described in terms of space?” So he (AS) responded, “Of course, exalted is Allah from that.” Therefore, I asked, “Then what is the meaning of the word of Musa(AS) to the Messenger of Allah (SA): `Go back to your Lord?’” Thus, he (AS) replied, The meaning of this is the same as the Word of Ibrahim (AS): Surely I fly to my Lord; He will guide me, and the word of Musa (AS): And I hastened on to Thee, my Lord, that Thou might be pleased, and His Word, the Mighty and High: Therefore fly to Allah. This means pilgrimage to the House of Allah. O son! Verily, the Ka`bah is House of Allah; therefore, whoever makes pilgrimage to the House of Allah ahs endeavored to reach Allah. The mosque are House of Allah; therefore, whoever proceeds to them has proceeded to Allah, and endeavored to visit Him. The praying person, so long as he is prayer, is standing before Allah, Lofty be His Majesty. The people staying in the planes of `Arafat are standing before Allah, the Mighty and High. Verily, for Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, are places in His Heavens, whoever is ascended to them is ascended to Him. Do you not hear Allah, the Mighty and High, that To Him ascend the angels and the Spirit, and He, the Mighty and High, says: To Him do ascend the good words: and the good deeds, lift them up.

Whoever claims that Allah is in a thing, from a thing, or on a thing, has become an infidel. If Allah, the Mighty and High, were on something then He would have been carried. If He were in something then He would have been surrounded, and if He were from something then He would have been caused.

“Verily, whoever claims that Allah, the Mighty and High, is in a thing or from a thing or on a thing ahs uttered a lied.” The Compiler (RA) of this book says: The proof that Allah, the Mighty and High, is not in space is that space is caused. The proof has already been established that Allah, that the Mighty and High, is without beginning, and existed prior to the existence of space. It is not permissible to say that the Self-Sufficient [Ghani] without Beginning [Qadim] may be in need of anything, nor that He may change from what He has always been. Therefore, it is correct to say that He is not in a place since He has never been subjected to space. The proof for this is (to be found in the following traditions):

I asked Ja`far ibn Muhammad (AS), “Is it permissible for you to say: Verily, Allah, the Mighty and High, is in a place?” Thus, he (AS) replied, “Glory be to Allah, and Exalted be He, from that! Verily, if He were subjected to space, He would have been caused since anything that exists in a place is in need of space. Anything that is in need of space is accidental, because the Eternal has no needs.

"Verily, Allah (swt) was always without time and space, and He was like He was. No place is free from Him, nor is any place occupied by Him, nor des He dissolve in any place. Nowhere is there a secret counsel between three persons but He is the fourth of them, nor (between) five but He is the sixth of them, nor less than that nor more but He is with them where so ever they are. There is no veil between Him and His Creation other than His Creation. He is Veiled without a Veil, and He is Covered without a Cover. There is no god but He, the Great, the Exalted."

Harun ibn `Uqbah al-Khuza`I reported to me, on the authority of Asad ibn SA`id al-Nakha`I that `Amr ibn Shimr reported to me, on the authority of Jabir ibn Yazid al-Ju`fi that Muhammad ibn `Ali al-Baqir (AS) said: O Jabir! The people of Syria have slandered Allah, the Mighty and High, in the most terrible way. They claim that Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, places His Foot on the Dome of the Rock when He ascends to heaven. Verily, it was but a servant from among the servants of Allah who placed his foot over the stone; hence, Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, commanded us to take it as a place of prayer. O Jabir! Verily, Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, has no rival [nazir] or anything that resembles him. Exalted is He from the attribute of the attributers! He is far above the imaginations of the imaginers. He is covered from the eyes of the seeing. He does not decline with the decliners, and does not set with the transitory. There is nothing whatsoever like unto Him; He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing.

“Verily, the people who are circumambuling (the Ka`bah) are passing in front of you.” Thus, he (AS) replied, “The One to whom I pray to is closer to me than they are.”

`Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Aswad said, on‬‬ the authority of Ja`far ibn Muhammad (AS), on the authority of his father (AS‬‬) The Messenger of Allah (SA) had two Jewish friends who believed in Musa, the Messenger of Allah (AS). They used to come to Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (SA) and listen to him. They both had read the Torah, the scriptures of Ibrahim and Musa (AS), and had knowledge of previous books. When Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, made His Messenger (SA) die, they both came asking for the one vested authority after him, and said: “Verily, a prophet does not die but he leaves behind a Caliph who executes all affairs in his Ummah after him, who is the closet to him in relation from his Household, of great significance and high prestige.” Then one of them asked his companion, “Do you know who is vested with authority after this Prophet (SA)?” The other one replied, “I do not know him except for the description which I have found in the Torah that he will bald and pale. Verily, he is the closest of the people to the Messenger of Allah.” Thus, when they both entered medina, and asked about the Caliph, they were guided to Abu Bakr. When they looked at him they both said: “This is not our Companion.” Then they asked him, “What is your relationship with the Messenger of Allah (SA)?” He answered, “Verily, I am a man from his family. He was the husband of my daughter, `A’ishah.” They both enquired, “Is there any other relationship?” He responded, “No.” They both said: “This is not the relationship. Inform us, where is your Lord?” He replied, “Above the seven heavens.” They responded, “Do you have anything else to add?” He said: “No” They said: “Lead us to the one who is more learned than you. For verily, you are not the man we find described in the Torah who is successor of this Prophet and his Caliph.” Abu Bakr became furious as a result of their statement and got up. Then he guided them to `Umar. This was because Abu Bakr knew that if they confronted `Umar, he would surely hit them. Hence, when they appeared to `Umar, they asked, “What is your relationship with this Prophet (SA)?” He answered, “I am from his family, and he was the husband of my daughter Hafsah.” They both asked, “Is there any other relationship?” He responded, “No.” They both said: “This is not the relationship that we seek to establish. It is not the description which we find the Torah.” Then they asked him, “Where is your Lord?” He replied, “Above the seven heavens.” They asked, “Do you have anything else to add?” He said: “No.” They both said: “Take us to the one who is more learned than you.”Hence, he guided them to `Ali, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. When they both arrived in his presence and looked at him, one of them said to his companion, “Verily, he is the man whom we find described in the Torah. He is the successor of this Prophet (SA), his Caliph, husband of his daughter, father of the two grandsons [sibtayn] and father of the Riser [qa’im] who will come with the Truth after him,” Then they asked `Ali (AS), “O man! What is your relationship to the Messenger of Allah?” He (AS) replied “He was my brother. I am his heir, his successor, the first to believe in him, and the husband of his daughter Fatimah (AS).” They said to him, “This is the closest and most perfect relationship. This is the description which we find in the Torah.” Then they asked him, “Where is your Lord, the Mighty and High?” `Ali, blessings and salutations be upon him, replied to them, “If the two of you desire, I could inform you about the life of your Prophet Musa (AS), and if you desire, I could inform you about the life of our Prophet Muhammad (SA).” They said: “Inform us of the lifetime of our Prophet Musa (AS).” `Ali (AS) responded, Four angels came; an angel from the east, an angel from the West, an angel from the Heaven, and an angel form (below) the Earth. Then the one from the east asked the one from the west, “Where have you come from?” He said: “I have come form my Lord.” The one from the west asked the one from the east, “Where have you come from?” He replied, “I have come from my Lord.” The one who came down from the Heaven asked the one which came out from the Earth. “Where have you come from?” He answered, “I have come from my Lord. And the one which came out form the Earth asked the one which came down form Heaven, “Where have you come from?” He said: “I have come from y Lord.” This took place during the lifetime of your Prophet Musa (AS), and as for what was in the lifetime of our Prophet Muhammad (SA), then that is His word in His Decisive Book: `Nowhere is there a secret counsel between three persons but He is the fourth of them, nor (between) five but He is the sixth of them nor less than that nor more but He is with them where so ever they are.” The two Jewish men enquired, “Then what has stopped your two companions from putting you in the place which you deserve? We swear by the One who revealed the Torah to Musa (AS): Verily, you are the True Caliph. We find your description in our Book, and we read it in our synagogues. Verily, you are more worth of this affair and more entitled to it than the one who has snatched it away from you.” `Ali (AS) replied, “The two of them preceded themselves and obstructed me. Their accountability is with Allah, the Mighty and High. They will be stopped and questioned (on the Day of Judgment).”

“Inform me about the face [wajh] of the Lord, the Blessed and Exalted.” Hence, `Ali (AS) called for some fire and dry wood and then set fire to it. When it blazed, `Ali (AS) asked, “Where is the face of this fire?” The Christian replied, “It has a face from all sides.” `Ali (AS) responded, “This fire is supervised and produced yet its face is not know, while its Creator does not resemble it. And Allah’s is the East and the West, therefore, whither you turn, thither is the Face of Allah. No secret is hidden from our Lord.” The Compiler of this book says: The tradition is detailed; we have extracted from it the required passage.

Messenger of Allah said: Verily, when Musa ibn `Imran whispered to his Lord saying, “O my Lord, are You far from me so I may shout to You or are You close to me so I may whisper to You?” Therefore, Allah, Lofty be His Majesty, revealed to him, “I am in the Gathering of whoever remembers Me.” So Musa (AS) asked, “O my Lord, in what state shall I remember you?” Thus, He replied, “O Musa, remember Me in every state.”

A group of people were mentioned before him (AS) who claimed that Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, comes down to the Heaven of this world. He therefore replied, Verily, Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, does not come down, and does not need to come down. Verily, for Him both Close and Far are alike. What is close is not far from Him, and what is far is not close to Him. He is never in need, but everything is in need of Him. He is the Almighty. There is no god but He, the Honorable, the All-Wise. As for the statement of the attributers: “Verily, He, the Blessed and Exalted, comes down,” the only ones who say such a thing are those who describe Him in terms of decrease and increase. Every moving thing requires something that moves it or by which it is moved. Thus, they assumed with Allah assumptions; hence, they were destroyed. So beware of limiting Him or seeing boundaries for Him such as decrease and increase, motion and decline, or rising and sitting. For, verily, Allah is loftier than the attribute of the attributers, the description of the describers, and the imagination of the imaginers! Rely on the Honorable, the Most Merciful, who sees you when you stand, when you bend, and when you prostrate.

I do not say: Verily, He is definite so I remove Him from His place, nor do I bound Him to a place that He may be confined to it. Nor do I set Him a boundary that He may move within something with support or by means of limbs. Nor do I limit Him with words that are thrust from the mouth. The Blessed and Exalted says: “Be and it is,” by His Will, and without any hesitation in desire, the Peerless, the Needless. He is not in need of an associate in His Sovereignty, nor an associate to open the doors of His Knowledge for Him.

“Verily, Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, cannot be described in terms of space, motion, translocation or stillness. Rather, He is the Creator of time, space, motion and stillness. Exalted is Allah from what they say, the Elevated, the Great.

“No, I swear by the One Hidden over the seven heavens.” Consequently, `Ali (AS) tapped him on his back, and asked him: “Who is hidden over the seven heavens?” He replied, “Allah, O Commander of the Faithful!” He (AS) responded, “You are wrong. May your mother grieve you! Verily, there is no veil between Allah, the Mighty and High, and His Creation, because He is with them wherever they may be.” He asked, “What is the penalty of what I have said: O Commander of the Faithful?” He (AS) replied, “That you should know that Allah is with you wherever you are” He asked: “Should I feed the poor?” Imam `Ali (AS) replied, “No, for verily, you have sworn by other than your Lord.”

A man passed in front of al-Hasan ibn `Ali ibn Abu Talib (AS) while he was praying and one of the people in his gathering stopped him. When he (AS) finished his prayer, he asked the man: “Why did you stop him?” He answered: “O son of the Messenger of Allah! He passed between you and the prayer niche [mihrab].” Thus, he (AS) replied, “Woe unto you! Verily, Allah, the Mighty and High, is closer to me from anyone passing between me and Him.”