محمد

I asked Abu `Jafar the Second (AS), “What is the meaning of the One?” He answered, “He is the One whose Divine Unity [al-Tawhid] is profess by all. As Allah, the Mighty and High, says: And if you as them, Who created the Heavens and the Earth, they will certainly say, Allah.1

I heard Abu Abdillah Ja’far ibn Muhammad, peace be upon him, say: "Surely, Allah has enforced our authority, and made it obligatory upon people to love us. By Allah, we do not say anything out of caprice or our desire, and we do not act according to our views. We do not say except that which our Lord, Most High, has said."

I asked Abu Ja`far al-Baqir (AS): “May I be your ransom! What is the meaning of the Needless [al-Samad]?” He (AS) answered: “He is the Master on whom all depend in major and minor.”

I wrote to Abi al-Hasan Ali b. Muhammad عليهما السلام asking him about the position of Hisham b. al-Hakam regarding ‘the body’ and the position of Hisham b. Salim regarding ‘the human form’. He wrote: Leave the confusion of the confused, seek refuge in Allah from the Shaytan, the (true) position is not what was said by the two Hishams.

purified [Tayyib], `Ali ibn Muhammad, and Abu Ja`far al-Jawad (AS) both said: “He who claims that Allah has a body, do not give him the poor-rate, and do not pray behind him.”

I heard Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah say The Command of the Faithful (AS) related to me: “The Messenger of Allah (SA) will take hold of Allah’s Waistband [hujzah]. We will take hold of the Prophet’s Waistband, and our Shi`ites will take hold of our Waistband.” I asked, “O Commander of the Faithful, what is the Waistband.” He answered, “Allah is greater than being characterized with a waistband or other than that. However, the Messenger of Allah (SA) will take hold of Allah’s Affair [amr]. We will take hold of the Prophet’s Affair, and our followers [Shi`ah] will take hold of Our Affair.”

I asked Abu `Abd Allah al-Sadiq (AS): “What is the Proof that Allah is One?” He (AS) replied, “The Proof that Allah is One can be seen in the continued management of creation and its perfection in all aspects. As the Mighty and High says: If there had been in them any gods except Allah, they would both have certainly been in a state of disorder.”

I asked Abu Ja`far Muhammad ibn `Ali the Second (AS), “What is the meaning of the One [al-Wahid]? He replied, “He is the One whose Divine Unity [al-Wahdaniyyah] is professed by all tongues.”

“The Jews asked the Messenger of Allah (s.a.), ‘Describe for us the genealogy- of your Lord.’” The Prophet waited for three days and gave no reply. Then the following verses were revealed to him: In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful (Muhammad), say, “He is the only God (112:1). God is Absolute (112:2). He neither begets nor was He begotten (112:3). There is no one equal to Him (112:4). The same Hadith has been narrated by Muhammad ibn Yahya from Ahmad ibn Muhammad from Ali ibn al-Hakam from abu Ayyub.

I wrote to Abu al-Hasan al-Kadhim (AS) asking hm about what Hisham ibn al-Hakam said about the body of Allah, and what Hisham ibn Salim had said about the image of Allah. So he (AS) replied to me: “Leave the confusion of the baffled, and take refuge in Allah from Satan. Things are not as the two Hishams claim.

“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).

“Beware of thinking about Allah’s self. If you would like to think about the greatness of Allah, think about His great and wonderful creations.”

I asked Abu’l-Hasan, Ali bin Muhammed al-Askari, peace be upon him, about the saying of Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He: «The earth, all of it, is His grasp on the Day of Resurrection, and the Heavens are bent in His Right» (39:67) to which he said: That is the expression of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, to he who likened Him to His creation. Do you not see that He said: «And they did not appraise Allah His true appraisal» (39:67) when they said: «The earth, all of it, is His grasp on the Day of Resurrection, and the Heavens are bent in His Right»? Moreover, He, Exalted and Glorious is He, said: «And they did not appraise Allah His true appraisal, when they said: Allah did not send down unto a human being, anything.» (6:91) Furthermore, He, Exalted and Glorious is He, Extolled Himself from grasping and (possessing) a right hand, as He said: «Glorified is He, and Exalted, from what they associate.» (9:66).

Muhammad ibn `Isa ibn `Ubayd that I asked Abu al-Hasan `Ali ibn Muhammad al-`Askari (AS) that the Word of Allah, the Mighty and High: And the whole Earth shall be in His Grip on the Day of Resurrection and the Heavens rolled up in His Right Hand.Consequently, he (AS) replied, This is a condemnation from Allah, Blessed and Exalted be He, for those who compare Him to His Creation. Have you not see that He said: and they do not assign to Allah the attributes due to Him when they say: Allah has not revealed anything to a mortal, then the Mighty and High eliminated (anthropomorphic elements of) the Grip, and the Right Side from Himself and, hence, He said: Glory be to Him, and may He be exalted above what they associate (with Him).

Messenger of Allah (sw) said: ”Jibra’il came to me while I was in between al-Safa and al-Marwah and said: `O Muhammad! Blessed is any member of your Ummah who professes that `There is not god but Allah, Unique’ with sincerity.”

I asked Abu al-Hasan al-Kadhim (AS): “Did the Messenger of Allah (SA) see his Lord, the Mighty and High?” Hence, he (AS) replied: “Yes, he saw Him by means of his heart. Have you not heard Allah, the Might and High that the heart was not untrue in (making him see) what he saw.1 That is to say, he did not see Him with his eyes, but he saw Him with the heart.”

I asked Abu `Abd Allah al-Sadiq (AS) to interpret: The nature made by Allah is which He has made men. He (AS) replied, “It is Divine Unity.”

he heard Abu Ja'far (al-Baqir) (as) say: "Allah (azwj) existed when nothing else existed. He eternally knows whatever comes into being. His knowledge of things before their coming into existence and afterwards is exactly the same."

I heard him (the Imam) saying: Allah Mighty and Majestic was there and there was nothing other than Him. He always knew what was to be. His knowledge of it before it came into being is identical to His knowledge of it after it comes into being.

"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.”