عبد الله بن محمد

“No one quarrels except for the one whose chest is narrowed.”

Commander of the Faithful (AS) was asked: “Shall we not guard you?” He (AS) said: “The guardian of every man is his death.”

Messenger of Allah (SA) said: There are many beggars with unkempt hair, who are covered in dust, and who wear nothing but two tattered garments, who are turned away when they knock on doors. If they swear by Allah, the Mighty and High, He will keep their oath.

O He Who existed before anything existed! O He Who created everything! O He Who will remain after everything perishes! O He besides Whom there is no god! O He Who is served in the highest of the heaves! O He Who is served in the lowest of the Earths! And O He Who is served between them, and below them!

I asked Abu Ja`far al-Baqir (AS): “Verily, the people in our presence are talking increasingly about the attributes of Allah. What should we say? So, he (AS) replied, “It is abhorred [makruh]. Do you not hear Allah, the Mighty and High, saying that And that to your Lord is the end of all. Speak about other than that.”

“They indeed had the ability. Allah knew that they would have carried out their duty had it been a short and advantageous journey.”

A servant cannot act or move unless the ability to act is given to him by Allah, the Mighty and High. Verily, the legal capacity [taklif] from Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, has occurred after the capability. Thus, no one has legal capacity except the capable.

“No.” It was asked from him, “Then, is it bestowed by Allah, the Mighty and High?” He replied, “The servants do not have a part in it. The only things they obtain are their actions.” Then he added, “The actions of the servants are created with decreed creation, and not with constitutional creation. In other word, Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, has always been All-Knowing of their decrees, even before their creation.”

“O Commander of the Faithful! Do you not fear anything at this point?” He (AS) replied, And what should I fear? There is no anyone except that with him are two angels assigned to him so that he does not fall into a well or an animal does not hit him or he may not fall from a mountain until the decree comes for him. When that which is decreed comes, they vacate from between him and the decreed.

A man asked `Umar ibn al-Khattab, “O Commander of the Faithful! What is the meaning of `Glory be to Allah’ [subhan Allah]?” He replied, “Verily, there is a man within these walls who informs when asked, and informs when there is silence.” So the man entered and it was `Ali ibn Abu Talib (AS); hence, he asked, “O Father of Hasan! What is the meaning of `Glory be to Allah’?” He (AS) answered, “It is revering the Glory of Allah, the Mighty and High, and the negation of whatever every polytheist attributes to Him. Therefore, when a servant says this, all the angels bless him.”

8. `Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn `Abd al-Walid said: Ahmad ibn al-Fadl ibn al-Mughirah said: Abu Nasr Mansur ibn `Abd Allah ibn Ibrahim al-Isfahani said: `Ali ibn `Abd Allah said: al-Husayn ibn Bashshar, that I asked Abu al-Hasan `Ali ibn Musa al-Rida (AS): “Does Allah know the things which have not occurred that if they did occur how would they be or He does not?” He (AS) said: Verily, Allah, the Exalted be He, is aware of all things even before they come into existence. Allah, the Mighty and High, says: Surely, We wrote what you did,1 and He says to the people going to the Hell: And if they were sent back, they would certainly go back to that which they are forbidden, and most surely the are liars.2 Hence, Allah the Mighty and High, knew that if He sent them back, they would certainly go back to what they were forbidden. And he said to the angels when they said: What! Wilt Thou place in it such as shall make mischief in it and shed blood, and we celebrate Thy praise and extol Thy holiness? He said: Surely, I know what you do not know.3 Therefore, the Knowledge of Allah, the Mighty and High, is eternal, and embraces all things even before they are created. Blessed be our Lord, the Exalted, the Elevated, and the Great, who created things and had knowledge of them prior to their creation. Verily, our Lord has always been All-Knowing, All-Hearing, and All-Seeing.

`Umarah ibn Zayd related to me on the authority of `Amar ibn Muhammad ibn Sa`sa`ah ibn Sawhan that My father related to me on the authority of Abu alMu`tamar Muslim ibn Aws who said I attended a gather of `Ali (AS) in the Mosque of al-Kufah. There a man stood up whose color was pale, as if he was a Yemeni Jew, and said: “O Commander of the Faithful! Describe your Creator, and praise Him for us such that we may see Him.” Hence, `Ali (AS) praised his Lord, and exalted His Greatness, the Mighty and High, in the following words: All praise be to Allah, who is the First not from something, nor hidden in something, and who does not vanish nor unite with something. He is not an imaginary delusion. He is neither a shape that He may be watched, not a body so He may have parts. He is not with an end that He may terminate. He is not accidental [muhdath] so He may be seen. He is neither covered that He may be uncovered, not is He with veils so He may be comprised. He was there, but no space was there to carry Him in its sides, nor any carrier to life Him with its power. Neither has He come into being after not being there. In fact, the imaginations are baffled to assume a shape for the One who formed all things and is still without space, and does not decline with the variation of time. He does not transform from one quality to another. He is far from the supposition of hearts. He is Exalted above all things and varieties. He is the Single, and the Knower of the Unseen. Thus, the meanings of the creation are negated from Him, and their secrets are not hidden from Him. He is the Known without quality. He is not perceived through the senses and not compared with people. Eyes do not perceive Him. Thoughts cannot encompass Him. Intellects cannot assess Him, and imaginations cannot imagine Him. Hence, any likeness of Him conceived by the intellect is limited. And how could He be described with shapes and praised with eloquent tongues? He neither occurred in things, so it may be said that He is in them, nor left them, that it may be said that He is obvious. Neither is He free from them so it may be said `where.’ He is neither so close to them as to stick to them, nor so far from them as to be split. But He is in the things without quality. He is closer to us than our jugular vein, and further ways than what is most far. He has neither created things with the origin of eternity, nor from prior examples. In fact, He created what He created, and made it strong. He imagined what He imagined and beautified it. Thus, praise be Him who is Unique in His Elevation. Hence, nothing can refuse to Him His decree. Nor does He gain anything through the obedience of His Creation. His Response to callers is quick. The Angels in the Heavens and the Earth are submissive to Him. He addressed Moses with words without limbs, instruments, lips or uvulas. Praise be Him and Exalted is He from attributes. Thus, whoever supposes that the God of the Creation is limited then he is ignorant of God, the Creator. The Compiler of this book says: The sermon is detailed; we have extracted from it the required passage.