حمزة

Imam Ali ibn al-Husayn said to me, “O abu Hamzah, Allah cannot be defined by the created things. Our Lord is far above being described through the attributes. How can the infinite be defined by the finite? ‘ No mortal eyes can see Him, but He can see all eyes. He is All-kind and All-aware.’” (6:103)

Ali b. al-Husayn عليهما السلام said to me: O Aba Hamza - Verily Allah is not described with finiteness. Our Lord is above description so how can He be described with finiteness one who cannot be limited and (one whom) “eye-sight cannot overtake Him while He overtakes the eye-sights and He is the Subtle, the Aware” [6:103]?

I asked Abu Ja`far al-baqir (AS) about the Word of Allah, the Mighty and High: Everything is perishable but He (His Face). He (AS) replied:Everything will perish, but the Face [al-wajh] will remain. Verily, Allah, the Mighty and High, is Greater than being attributed with a face. However, the meaning of this is that everything will perish except His Religion and Face, from which He bestows.

I wrote to Abu al-Hasan al-Kadhim (AS) asking him whether Allah had a body or an image. Hence he (AS) wrote in reply: “Glory be to Him who has nothing whatsoever like unto Him,”

“I wrote to Imam abu al-Hassan (al-Thalith 3rd (a.s.) asking about the body and form (of Allah). He wrote in reply, ‘Glorious is He similar to Who there is nothing. He is not a body nor has He any form.’” This Hadith has also been narrated by Muhammad ibn abu ‘Abdallah without giving the name of the person (from whom he has heard).

"I wrote to Abu al-Hasan al-Kadhim (AS) asking him about the body and the appearance of Allah; therefore, he (AS) wrote to me: “Glory to the One who has nothing like Him, and who has no body and no image.”

Harun ibn al-Juham from abu Hamza from Imam Ali ibn al-Husayn (a.s.) has reported the following. “Even if all those in heavens and earth would gather together to speak of the greatness of Allah they will not be able to do so.”

“I heard abu Ja’far (a.s.) saying, ‘There is nothing greater in rewards than testifying to the truth and believing in the meaning of the testimony of belief in Allah: ‘No one deserves to be worshipped except Allah’, Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, Who has no equal and no one shares Him in any issue. ’”

Nafi’ ibn al-Azraq (ibn Qays al-Hanafi, Abu Rashid [d.65/685], the head of al-Azariqah — one of the great sects of the Kharijites) asked Imam abu Ja’ far (a.s.). “Please tell me when did Allah come into existence?” The Imam replied, “(Tell me) when did Allah not exist, so that I would tell you when He came into existence. Glory belongs to Him, Who existed and will exist eternally. The One Self-sufficient, the Eternal, the Absolute, Who has not held for Himself no female companion or any child.”

“I saw Ali ibn al-Husayn (a.s.) when sitting place one foot over his thigh. I said, ‘People dislike this sitting posture and say, “It is the sitting posture of the Lord.’” The Imam said, ‘I sit this way to relieve myself of tiredness. The Lord does not tire and slumber or sleep cannot overcome Him.’”

Verily, Allah, Blessed and Exalted be He, is free from His Creation, and His Creation is free from Him. Whatever can be defined by the word “thing” is a creation other than Allah, the Mighty and High. Allah, the Exalted, is the Creator of all things.

” Verily, nothing resembles Allah, the Mighty and High.

“There is nothing greater in reward than testifying that: 'There is no god but Allah, because nothing equals Allah, the Mighty and High, and nobody shares His Power.'"

I asked Abu Ja`far al-Baqir (AS) about the Word of Allah, the Mighty and High: And breathed into him of My Spirit. He (AS) replied, “Allah created, chose, selected, and related the Spirit to Himself, favoring it over all the spirits. Thus, He commanded and breathed from it into Adam.”

Na’fi b. al-Azraq asked Aba Ja’far عليه السلام saying: Inform me about Allah - when was He? He (the Imam) said to Him: Woe be upon you! You inform me when wasn’t He then I will inform you when He was. Glory be to the One who is and has always been Singular, Eternal, not betaking to Himself partner nor off-spring.

Inform me about Allah. Since when has He existed? Therefore, he (AS) replied to him, “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.”

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.

“Allah, the Most Holy is Whose name, the Most High is Whose praise, the Most Glorious are Whose attributes. He is the Most Sacred, the Most Holy, the only One in oneness. He is eternal, the First and the Last, the Manifest and the Hidden. There is no beginning for Him. He is the Most Exalted in His highness. The Highest in power, Exalted in authority, the greatest in kingdom, the Most bountiful, His Highness is the Most High. He is the One whose praise no one can complete, and can not bear the knowledge of His Lordship. No one is able to limit Him because it is not possible to reach Him with qualities.”

“I stated before abu ‘Abdallah (a.s.) that I have heard Hisham ibn al-Hakam quoting you that Allah is a body of Self-subsisting nature and is from light. He can very clearly be recognized and He bestows such knowledge to whoever among His creatures He wills.” The Imam said, “Glorious is He, Whom no one knows how He is except He Himself. There is no one similar to Him and He is All-hearing, All-seeing. He cannot be limited, nor can He be felt or touched or moved. Eyes cannot see Him nor any of the senses can comprehend Him. He cannot be contained in anything, nor has He any body or form or figure or confine.”

I said to Abu `Abd Allah al-Sadiq (AS): I heard Hisham ibn al-Hakam narrating from you that Allah, the Mighty and High, has a Needless body of Light; His Recognition is necessary, and He grants it to whoever He desires from His Creation. He (AS) said: Glory to Him who is known only to Himself! There is none like Him, and He is the AllHearing and the Al-Seeing. He cannot be confined, sensed, touched, or felt. The senses perceive Him not, and nothing can comprehend Him. He does not have a body or an image, nor lineation or delineation.