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IMAM ALI (AS)'S SERMON ON TAUHEED IN NAHJUL BALAGHA
The Gateway
of Knowledge of the City of
Knowledge– The Holy Prophet (S)
had delivered 241 sermons
collected in Nahjul Balagha. He
had referred to Allah’s
attributes in the following
sermons: sermon # 45, 49, 65,
85, 90, 94, 109, 133, 152, 160,
163, 179, 183, 185, 186, 191,
198, and 211. His sermon #186 on
Tauheed is reproduced below:
Time does not
keep company with Him, and
implements do not help Him. His
being precedes time. His
Existence precedes non-existence
and His eternity precedes
beginning. By His creating the
senses it is known that He has
no senses. By the contraries in
various matters it is known that
He has no contrary, and by the
similarity between things it is
known that nothing is similar to
Him. He has made light the
contrary of darkness, brightness
that of gloom, dryness that of
moisture, and heat that of cold.
He produces affection among
hostile things.
He fuses
together diverse things, brings
near remote things, and
separates things which are
joined together. He is not
confined by limits, nor counted
by numbers. Material parts can
surround things of their own
kind, and organs can point out
things similar to themselves.
The word “munzu” (since)
disproves their eternity, the
word “qad” (that denotes
nearness of time of occarence),
disproves their being from ever
and the word “lawla” (if it were
not) keep them remote from
perfection.
Through them
the Creator manifests Himself to
the intelligence, and through
them He is guarded from the
sight of the eyes.
Stillness and
motion do not occur in Him, and
how can that thing occur in Him,
who He has Himself made to
occur, and how can a thing
revert to Him whom He first
created, and how can a thing
appear in Him which He first
brought to appearance. If it had
not been so, His Self would have
become subject to diversity, His
Being would have become
divisible (into parts), and His
Reality would have been
prevented from being deemed
Eternal. If there was a front to
Him there would have been a rear
also for Him. He would need
completing only if shortage
befell Him. In that case signs
of the created would appear in
Him, and He would become a sign
(leading to other objects)
instead of signs leading to Him.
Through the Might of His
abstention (from affectedness)
He is far above being affected
by things which affect others.
He is that
which does not change or vanish.
The process of setting does not
behoove Him. He has not begotten
anyone lest He be regarded as
having been born. He has not
been begotten otherwise He would
be contained within limits. He
is too High to have sons. He is
too purified to contact women.
Imagination cannot reach Him so
as to assign Him quantity.
Understanding cannot think of
Him so as to give Him shape.
Senses do not perceive Him so as
to feel Him. Hands cannot touch
Him so as to rub against Him. He
does not change into any
condition. He does not pass from
one state to another. Nights and
days do not turn Him old. Light
and darkness do not alter Him.
It cannot be
said that He has a limit or
extremity, or end or
termination; nor do things
control Him so as to raise Him
or lower Him, nor does anything
carry Him so as to bend Him or
keep Him erect. He is not inside
things or outside them. He
conveys news but not with tongue
or voice. He listens, but not
with the holes of the ears or
the organs of hearing. He says,
but does not utter words. He
remembers, but does not
memorize. He determines, but not
exercising His mind. He loves
and approves without
sentimentality (of hart). He
hates and feels angry without
any painstaking. When He intends
to create someone, He says “Be”
and there he is, but not through
a voice that strikes (the ears)
is that call heard. His speech
is an act of His creation. His
like never existed before this.
If had been eternal it would
have been the second god.
It cannot be
said that He came into being
after He had not been in
existence because in that case
the attributes of the created
things would be assigned to Him
and there would remain no
difference them and Him, and He
would have no distinction over
them. Thus, the Creator and the
created would become equal and
the initiator and the initiated
would be on the same level. He
created (the whole of) creation
without any example made by
someone else, and He did not
secure the assistance of any one
out of His creation for creating
it.
He created
the earth and suspended it
without being busy, retained it
without support, made it stand
without legs, raised it without
pillars, protected it against
bending and curving and defended
it against crumbling and
splitting (into parts). He fixed
mountains on it like stumps,
solidified its rocks, caused its
streams to flow and opened wide
its valleys. Whatever He made
did not suffer from any flow,
and whatever He strengthened did
not show any weakness.
He manifests
Himself over the earth with His
authority and greatness. He is
aware of its inside through His
knowledge and understanding. He
has power over every thing in
the earth by virtue of His
Sublimity and dignity. Nothing
from the earth He may ask for
defies Him, nor does it oppose
Him so as to overpower Him. No
swift-footed creator can run
away from Him so as to surpass
Him. He is not needy towards any
possessing person so that he
should feed Him. All things bow
to Him and are humble before His
greatness. They cannot flee away
from His authority to some one
else in order to escape His
benefit or His harm. There is no
parallel for Him who may match
Him and no one like Him so as to
equal Him.
He will
destroy the earth after its
existence, till all that exist
on it will become non-existent.
But the extinction of the world
after its creation is no
stranger than its first
formation and invention. How
could it be? Even all the
animals of the earth, whether
birds or beasts, stabled cattle
or pasturing one, of different
origins and species, dull people
and sagacious men—all jointly
try to create (even) a mosquito
they are not able to bring it to
being and do not understand what
is the way to its creation.
Their wits are bewildered and
wandering. Their powers fall
short and fail, and return
disappointed and tired, knowing
that they are defeated and
admitting their inability to
produce it, also realizing they
are too weak (even) to destroy
it.
Surely, after
the extinction of the world,
Allah, the Glorified, will
remain alone with nothing else
beside Him. He will be, after
its extinction, as He was before
its production: without time or
place or moment or period. At
this moment period and time will
not exist, and years and hours
will disappear. There will be
nothing except Allah, the One,
and the All-Powerful. To Him is
the return of all matters. Its
initial creation was not in its
power; and the prevention of its
extinction was (also) not in its
power. If it had power to
prevent it, it would have
existed for ever. When He made
anything of the world, the
making of it did not cause Him
any difficulty, and the creation
of any thing which He created
and formed did not fatigue Him.
He did not create it to heighten
His authority nor for fear of
loss or harm, nor to seek its
help against an over whelming
foe, nor to guard against any
avenging opponent with its help,
nor for the extension of His
domain by its help, nor for
boasting (over largeness of His
possession) against a partner,
nor because He felt lonely and
desired to seek its company.
Then after its creation He will
destroy it, but not because any
worry has overcome Him, in its
upkeep and administration, nor
for any pleasure that will
accrue to Him, nor for the
cumbrousness of any thing over
Him. The length of its life does
not weary Him so as to induce
Him to its quick destruction.
But, Allah the Glorified has
maintained it with His kindness,
kept it intact with His command
and perfected it with His Power.
Then, after its destruction, He
will resuscitate it, but not for
any need of His own towards it,
nor to seek assistance of any of
its things against it, nor to
change over the condition of
loneliness to that of company,
nor from the condition of
ignorance and blindness, to that
of knowledge and search, nor
from paucity and need towards
needless and plenty, nor from
disgrace and lowliness towards
honor and prestige. |
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