Divine Unity and‬‬ Negation of Anthropomorphism

Al-Tawḥīd|Volume 1|Book 2|Chapter 2

Al-Tawḥīd

Book 2, Chapter 2

Divine Unity and‬‬ Negation of Anthropomorphism

Hadith #1

1 - حدثنا أبي رضي الله عنه، قال: حدثنا سعد بن عبد الله، قال: حدثنا أحمد بن أبي عبد الله، عن أبيه محمد بن خالد البرقي، عن أحمد بن النضر، وغيره، عن عمرو بن ثابت، عن رجل - سماه - عن أبي إسحاق السبيعي، عن الحارث الأعور قال: خطب أمير المؤمنين علي بن أبي طالب عليه السلام يوما خطبة بعد العصر، فعجب الناس من حسن صفته وما ذكر من تعظيم الله جل جلاله، قال: أبو إسحاق: فقلت للحارث: أوما حفظتها؟ قال: قد كتبتها، فأملاها علينا من كتابه: الحمد لله الذي لا يموت، ولا تنقضي عجائبه، لأنه كل يوم في شأن من إحداث بديع لم يكن الذي لم يولد فيكون في العز مشاركا، ولم يلد فيكون موروثا هالكا، ولم يقع عليه الأوهام فتقدره شبحا ماثلا ولم تدركه الأبصار فيكون بعد انتقالها، حائلا الذي ليست له في أوليته نهاية، ولا في آخريته حد ولا غاية، الذي لم يسبقه وقت، ولم يتقدمه زمان، ولم يتعاوره زيادة ولا نقصان، ولم يوصف بأين ولا بمكان الذي بطن من خفيات الأمور، وظهر في العقول بما يرى في خلقه من علامات التدبير، الذي سئلت الأنبياء عنه فلم تصفه بحد ولا بنقص بل وصفته بأفعاله، ودلت عليه بآياته ولا تستطيع عقول المتفكرين جحده، لأن من كانت السماوات والأرض فطرته وما فيهن وما بينهن وهو الصانع لهن، فلا مدفع لقدرته الذي بان من الخلق فلا شئ كمثله، الذي خلق الخلق لعبادته وأقدرهم على طاعته بما جعل فيهم، وقطع عذرهم بالحجج، فعن بينة هلك من هلك وعن بينة نجا من نجا، ولله الفضل مبدئا ومعيدا. ثم إن الله وله الحمد افتتح الكتاب بالحمد لنفسه، وختم أمر الدنيا ومجئ الآخرة بالحمد لنفسه، فقال: ﴿وقضي بينهم بالحق وقيل الحمد لله رب العالمين﴾ . الحمد لله اللابس الكبرياء بلا تجسد، والمرتدي بالجلال بلا تمثل، والمستوي على العرش بلا زوال، والمتعالي عن الخلق بلا تباعد منهم، القريب منهم بلا ملامسة منه لهم، ليس له حد ينتهي إلى حده، ولا له مثل فيعرف بمثله، ذل من تجبر غيره، وصغر من تكبر دونه، وتواضعت الأشياء لعظمته، وانقادت لسلطانه و عزته، وكلت عن إدراكه طروف العيون، وقصرت دون بلوغ صفته أوهام الخلائق، الأول قبل كل شئ والآخر بعد كل شئ، ولا يعد له شئ، الظاهر على كل شئ بالقهر له، والمشاهد لجميع الأماكن بلا انتقال إليها، ولا تلمسه لامسة ولا تحسه حاسة، وهو الذي في السماء إله وفي الأرض إله، وهو الحكيم العليم، أتقن ما أراد خلقه من الأشياء كلها بلا مثال سبق إليه، ولا لغوب دخل عليه في خلق ما خلق لديه، ابتدأ ما أراد ابتداءه، وأنشأ ما أراد إنشاءه على ما أراده من الثقلين الجن والإنس لتعرف بذلك ربوبيته، وتمكن فيهم طواعيته. نحمده بجميع محامده كلها على جميع نعمائه كلها، ونستهديه لمراشد أمورنا ونعوذ به من سيئات أعمالنا، ونستغفره للذنوب التي سلفت منا، ونشهد أن لا إله إلا الله، وأن محمدا عبده ورسوله، بعثه بالحق دالا عليه وهاديا إليه، فهدانا به من الضلالة، واستنقذنا به من الجهالة، من يطع الله ورسوله فقد فاز فوزا عظيما، ونال ثوابا كريما، ومن يعص الله ورسوله فقد خسر خسرانا مبينا، واستحق عذابا أليما، فانجعوا بما يحق عليكم من السمع والطاعة وإخلاص النصحية وحسن المؤازرة وأعينوا أنفسكم بلزوم الطريقة المستقيمة، وهجر الأمور المكروهة، وتعاطوا الحق بينكم، وتعانوا عليه، وخذوا على يدي الظالم السفيه، مروا بالمعروف، وانهو عن المنكر، واعرفوا لذوي الفضل فضلهم، عصمنا الله وإياكم بالهدي، و ثبتنا وإياكم على التقوى، وأستغفر الله لي ولكم.

1. My father said: Sa`d ibn `Abd Allah said: Ahmad ibn Abu `Abd Allah on the‬‬ ‫‪authority of his father Muhammad Khalid Barqi; on the authority of Ahmad ibn Nadr and‬‬ ‫‪others; on the authority fo `Amr ibn Thabit; on the authority of a man who he named on the‬‬ ‫‪authority of Abu Ishaq Safi`i; on the authority of al-Harith al-A`war who said:‬‬ One day, the Commander of the Faithful `Ali ibn Abu Talib gave a sermon after `Asr (afternoon) prayer. The people were astonished by the beautiful words with which he praised Allah, Exalted be His Majesty. Abu Ishaq said: I asked Harith, “Did you not memorize it?” He answered, “I wrote it down.” So he dictated it to us from his script:
All praise belongs to Allah who does not die, and Whose wonders shall never come to an end. He exercises His (Universal) Power everyday, creating things that did not exist before; Who does not beget any who could claim to share in His Glory and Might; and Who is not begotten to die so that He could leave an heir behind. He is beyond all imagination; hence, He cannot be regarded as a visible shape. He is too far beyond the reach of sight to leave any mental impression of Him. His Beginning has no beginning, and His End has no end. Time does not outlast Him. Excess and loss cannot affect Him. He cannot be described in terms of when, what and where. He is Hidden among the hidden. He is Manifest in the mind through His Signs, and through His Wisdom in His Creation.
When questioned about Him, the prophets did not describe Him in terms of any limit, scope, extent or in terms of constituents. Rather, they described Him in terms of His Functions, and they led people towards Him through His Signs. The minds of the intellectuals do not dare deny His Existence. There can be no denying the Might of the Creator of the heavens and the Earth, and all that is between them. He is totally distinct from His Creation. Nothing resembles Him. He brought His Creation into existence so that He would be obeyed and worshipped. He gave human beings the strength to serve Him, and he rebutted their excuses through the best of arguments. Thus, whoever meets his doom does so knowingly and justifiably. It is through His Grace that redemption is secured by the redeemed, and it is Allah’s Grace that prevails in this life and the life to come.
Then, Allah, to Whom all praise is due, inaugurated the function of this worldly life with His Own Praise, and wound up the function of this worldly life, and the next life, with His Own Praise. As He Himself says: And judgment shall be given between them with justice, and it shall be said: All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. All praise is due to Allah Who, despite having no body, has adorned Himself with the Robes of Greatness and Grandeur, and has covered Himself with the Mantle of Awe and Reverence, without having any corporal form. He occupies the Celestial Throne unceasingly. He is far above His Creation, without being far, and without being in mutual contact with them. Neither has He any limit which may end in any limit, nor is there anything like Him through which He can be recognized. Whoever claims to be holy, except Him, is bound to be humiliated. Whoever magnifies himself is bound to be humbled. All things bow before His Greatness and are obedient to His Lordship and Might.
The function of the eyes becomes tired in searching for Him. The imagination is unable to reach His Attributes. He existed before any beginning, and nothing preceded Him. He is the Last of All, and there is no last for Him at all. With His Might He holds sway over all things. He observes all places without making any movement. No touch can ever touch Him nor can any sense ever sense Him. And He it is Who is Allah in Heavens and Allah in the Earth; and He is the Wise, the knowing. Whatever He intended to create He planned for it soundly and correctly without there being any example of it before, and without being tired thereby (in creating whatever He wanted to create). He started whatever He needed to start, and made whatever He wanted to make. He intended to create two weights, the jinn and humankind, so that they should recognize His Lordship on the basis of all these means (of revealed wisdom in His Creation referred to above), and be able to obey Him (consciously).
We glorify Allah with all words of praise for the bounties He has bestowed. And we seek guidance from Him in our righteous affairs. Furthermore, we seek refuge from Him against our misdeeds. We solicit His Forgiveness for our past sins. We bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad in His Servant and Messenger whom Allah raised with truth, who leads to Allah, and who guides towards Him. Thus, He rescued us from misguidance through him, guiding us to the right path, and through him freed us from ignorance. Hence, whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger, he indeed achieves a mighty success, and has secured divine blessings in abundance. And whosoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger surely suffers a manifest loss, and deserves a humbling chastisement.
Hence, strive to listen, obey counsel with sincerity, and share the burden with others effectively and gracefully. Help yourself by sticking to the right path, and in avoiding wicked deeds. Give to others what is right, and take from others what is right. Cooperate with me (the Imam) by means of these tasks. Seize the idiotic oppressor, tie him, and bind him. Promote the good, and prohibit the evil. Learn to appreciate the worth of illustrious people. May Allah keep us secure and steady on the right path, and keep us constant in abstaining from evil! I beg Allah for our forgiveness!