Omnipotence

Does He have the power to place the whole world in an egg, without making the egg bigger or the world smaller?” So Hisham responded: “Can you give me some time?” Therefore, he said: “I shall give you some time.” Then he left from his presence. Hisham went riding to Abu `Abd Allah al-Sadiq (AS) and asked for his permission to enter; hence, he permitted him. He then explained, “O son of the Messenger of Allah (SA)! `Abd Allah al-Daysani came to me with a question that no one can resolve except Allah and you.” Thus, Abu `Abd Allah al-Sadiq (AS) said to him, “What is it that he asked you?” So he replied, “He said to me so and so.” Thus, Abu `Abd Allah al-Sadiq (AS) explained, “O Hisham! How many sense do you have?” “Five.” Hisham answered. So the Imam (AS) asked, “Which is the smallest of the senses?” He said: “The pupil (of the eye).” “What is the size of the pupil?” The Imam (AS) enquired. Hisham responded, “It is the size of a grain of lentil or even smaller than that.” Thus, the Imam (AS) said: “O Hisham! Look ahead and above you, and inform me of what you see.” He replied, “I see the sky, the Earth, houses, palaces, dust, mountains and rivers.” Then, Abu `Abd Allah (AS) said: “Verily, the One who has the power to place what you see in a grain of lentil or seen smaller than that has the power to place the whole world in an egg, without making the world smaller or making the egg bigger.” Hisham threw himself down to the Imam’s feet and kissed his hands, head and feet, and then said: “This is sufficient for me, O son of the Messenger of Allah.” Then he returned to his house. The following day al-Daysani came to him and said; “O Hisham, I have come to you, greeted you, and have not come demanding an answer.” Hisham replied, “Whether or not you came for an answer, I have it.” Hence, al-Daysani left is present. He was informed that Hisham went to the presence of Abu `Abd Allah (AS) and he has taught him the answer. `Abd Allah al-Daysani left, and reached the door of Abu `Abd Allah (AS). He asked for his permission to enter and the Imam permitted him. When he sat down, he said to the Imam (AS), “O Ja`far son of Muhammad! Guide me to my Lord.” Thus, Abu `Abd Allah (AS) asked, “What is your name?” So he walked out on the Imam (AS) and did not inform him of is name. Hence, he friends asked him, “Why did you not tell him your name?” He replied, “If I had told that my name is `Abd Allah, he would have said: `Who is that you are the servant of?” They said to him “Return to him and tell him to guide you to your Lord without asking you your name.” Therefore, he returned to him and said: “O Ja`far! Guide me to my Lord, and do not ask me about my name.” Thus, Abu `Abd Allah (AS) said to him, “Sit down.” He had a young boy, who had an egg in his hand and was playing with it. So Abu `Abd Allah (AS) said: “Young lad, bring me the egg.” So he brought it to him. Abu `Abd Allah (AS) further said: O Daysani, this is a concealed stronghold. It has a solid cover, and inside the solid cover there is soft layer. Inside the soft layer there is the egg-yolk and the albumin. Neither does the egg-yolk mix with the albumin not does the albumin mix the egg-yolk. Each remains in its state. No informer comes out of it to inform of its usefulness nor has a defect informed of its decay. No one knows whether it will make a male or a female. Colors lie that of the peacocks burst out of it. Do you not think that it is the product of Planner [mudabbir]? He put his head down for a long time, then said: “I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, Alone. He has no associates, and Muhammad is His Servant and Messenger, and you are an Imam and a Proof from Allah for His Creation. I repent for the misguidance in which I was in.”

O my God! Your Omnipotence is apparent. However, since You are Shapeless, people are ignorant of You. They try to measure You in a vain efforts to recognize You. However, any measurement of You is other than you. O my Lord! I disassociate myself from those who compare You with Your creation. Nothing is similar to You. My Lord! They cannot comprehend You. If they wanted to recognize You, Your blessings are the best proof for You. O my God! It is sufficient for them to ponder on Your Creation, and to refrain from exploring Your Nature. However, they consider You are your Creation as one and the same. That is why they fail to truly recognize You and consider Your Signs as their Lord and have described you as such. My Lord! You are far above the descriptions of the anthropomorphist.

“We have come to ask you three questions. If you can answer all the three question, we will know that you are the Most Learned.” The Imam (AS) said: “Ask.” They said: “Let us know about Allah: Where is He? How is He? And what does He rely upon?” Hence, he (AS) replied, “Verily, Allah, the Mighty and High, created the quality of `how;’ therefore `how’ does not apply to Hi. He has created space; thus, He is not in need of space. And He relies upon His Omnipotence.” They said: We testify that you are Most Learned One.” The Compiler of this book (RA) says: The meaning of his statement `He relies upon His Omnipotence’ is that He relies on His Being, because Omnipotence is one of the Essential Attributes of Allah, the Might and High.

I was in the presence of Abu Mansur al-Mutatabbib when he said: One of my companions related to me that: I was sitting in the Sacred Mosque of Mecca with Ibn Abu al-`Awja’ and `Abd Allah ibn alMuqaffa` when Ibn al-Muqaffa`asked pointing at the place of circumambulation [Tawaf], “Do you see these created beings?”. He said: “There is not a single human being among them, except the Shaykh who is sitting over there (meaning Ja`far ibn Muhammad). The rest are nothing but riffraff and beasts.” So Ibn Abu al-`Awja’ answered him, “How is it that you apply the term (human being) to this shaykh and no to the others?” “Because I have seen in him what I do not see in them,” he replied. Thus, Ibn Abu al-`Awja’ enquired, “I must confirm for myself what you have said regarding him.” Then, Ibn al-Muqaffa` replied to him, “Do not even go there! For, verily, I fear that you may destroy what you already have!” He said: “This is not your view. In fact, you fear that I will regard your view as weak once I see the one whom you have praised.” Ibn al-Muqaffa` then replied, “If you suspect this then go to him, to have y our doubts removed. Do not be stubborn. It will protect you from hesitation. Inform him of what may benefit or harm you.” The reporter says that Ibn Abu al-`Awja’ got up and Ibn al-Muqaffa` and I remained. Then he returned to us and said: “O Ibn al-Muqaffa`! He is not a human being, even though he may be a mystic [ruhani] in this world. If he desires, he appears as a body. If he desires, he conceals himself as a spirit. This is what he is.” He asked, “How is that?” He replied, “I sat near him. When there was no one there other than me, he (AS) said to me, “If things are as people claim, and if they believed in what they professed, (referring to the people circumambulating the Ka`bah), then they are safe, and you are destroyed. However, if the matter is the way you all say it, and it certainly is not, then you are both equal.” I asked him, “May Allah have mercy on you! What is it that we say and what is it that they say? My statement and their statement is nothing but the same.” He (AS) responded, “How can your statement and their statement be one when they say that they have a return, reward, and punishment. They affirm that the sky has a Lord and it is inhabited while you claim that the sky is wasteland and there is no one there.” Ibn Abu al-`Awja’ says that I availed the opportunity from him and asked him, What ha stopped Him, if the matter is the way you say it, to appear to His Creation and call them to His service so that any two of them may not differ from each other? Why has He hidden Himself from them, and has sent the Messengers to them? If He had directly come in contact with them, more would believe in Him. Thus, he (AS) replied to me, Woe to you! How is He hidden from you when He showed you His Omnipotence in your own self? He brought you into being when you did not exist. His Omnipotence is shown in your old age after youth, in your strength after weakness, and in your weakness after strength; in your illness after health, and your health after illness; in your pleasure after anger, and your anger after pleasure; in your sadness after happiness, and your happiness after sadness; in liking after disliking, and in disliking after liking; in deciding after refusing, and in refusing after deciding; in kindness after meanness, and in meanness after kindness, in your exhortation after apprehension, and apprehension after exhortation; in your hope after despair, and your despair after hope; in the idea which was not in your imagination, and in the distance between what you believe from your mind. He was still counting to me (the proofs of) His Omnipotence in my own self, which I could not reject, until I started believing that Allah would appear between me and him.

Iblis said to `Isa the son of Maryam (AS): “Does Your Lord have the omnipotence to place Earth inside an egg, without making the Earth smaller or the egg any bigger?” Thus, `Isa (AS) replied, “Woe unto you! Verily, Allah cannot be described with limits. Who has more power than He who diminishes the Earth, and enlarges the egg?”

I heard Abu `Abd Allah al-Sadiq (AS) that “Verily, Allah, the Mighty and High, cannot be described.” Zurarah said: Abu Ja`far al-Baqir (AS) said: “Verily, Allah, the Mighty and High, cannot be described. And how could He be described when He has said in his Book: And they do not assign to Allah the attributes due to Him? Thus, whatever they assign Him, He is greater than that.”

My father (AS) say: My father (AS) said: “Verily, Muhammad ibn `Ali ibn al-Hanafiyyah was a calm man. While he was performing the circumambulation of the Ka`bah – pointing with his hand – al-Hajjaj approached him and said: “I am interested in killing someone who has your eyes.” Muhammad replied to him, “Nay! Verily, for Allah, Blessed be His name, are 300 moments everyday in His Creation. Then probably one of them may suffice you instead of me (implying the moment of death may come to you any time).”

“Be you both protectors;” therefore, they were as Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, has said. The Compiler of this Book (RA) says: The meaning of the statement: He is Light, is that He is the One who Illuminates and He is the Guide. The meaning of His Word: “Be you two protected” is the Holy Spirit [al-Ruh al-Muqaddas] and the Angel Drawn Near. What is intended by this is that Allah was there when there was nothing with Him, so He intended to create His Messengers, His Proofs, and His Witnesses. Thus, He created before them the Holy Spirit, through which Allah, the Mighty and High, supports His Messengers, Proofs and Witnesses, may the blessings of Allah be upon them all. It is through the Holy Spirit that Allah guards them from the deception and the whispers of Satan. Allah directs them, succeeds them and assists them through true thoughts. Then He created the Trustworthy Spirit [al-Ruh al-Amin] through whom the Mighty and High sent revelation to the Messengers, and said to both of them: `Be you both protector’ for My Prophets, Messengers, Proofs, and Witnesses. He helps them through the two, assists them with their hands, and guards them through the two. Based on this concept, it is said the Just Ruler is the Protector appointed by Allah to guard His Earth and His Servants. The oppressed seek shelter from him, the fearful and wayfarers feel safe by him, and through him the weak demand justice from the strong. This is Allah’s Ruler and His Proof, which the Earth is not fee from until the Day of Judgment.

The Commander of the Faithful (AS) was asked: “Does Your Lord have the power to place the Earth in an egg, without making the Earth smaller or the egg any bigger?” He answered, “Verily, Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, cannot be described by means of limits. However, what you have asked is impossible.”

A man came to the Commander of the Faithful (AS) and asked: “Does Allah have the power to place the Earth in an egg, without making the Earth smaller or the egg any bigger?” Thus, he (AS) replied, “Woe unto you! Verily, Allah cannot be described by means of limits. Who has more power than H who diminishes the Earth and enlarges the egg?”

A man came to al-Rida (AS) and enquired: “Does Your Lord have the power to place the heavens and the Earth and whatever is between them inside an egg?” Hence, he (AS) replied, Of course he can! In fact, He has placed it in something even smaller than an egg. He has placed it all in your eye, while it is smaller than an egg. For when you open it, you see the Heavens and the Earth and whatever is in between them. IF he has willed, He would have blinded you from it all.

Muhammad ibn `Isa, on the authority of Muhammad ibn `Arafah that I asked al-Rida (AS): “Did Allah create things through His Omnipotence or without it?” Thus, He (AS) replied, You cannot say that Allah created things using His Omnipotence since that would mean that Allah created things by means of His Omnipotence. In so doing, you are saying that His Omnipotence is something other than Him. You are saying that He used His Omnipotence as a tool with which He creates, and that would be polytheism. When you say that Allah has created things using His Omnipotence, it is as if you consider Omnipotence to be separate from Him, and that He obtains His Power over things through it. However, Allah is neither weak nor incapable, nor is He is need of others. Muhammad ibn `Ali, the Compiler of this book says: When we say that Allah is Omnipotent, we negate any inability from Him. We do not affirm that Omnipotence co-exists along with Him, because He, the Mighty and High, is the One and Only. I will explain the difference between the attributes of essence and attributes of action under the chapter, Allah willing.

He is One, Unique, and Evident to His Creation. He encompasses everything by supervision, omniscience, and omnipotence. Nothing in the Heavens and the Earth is distant from him, be it the size of an atom, or smaller or larger than that they he does not encompass through His knowledge. He encompasses everything by means of His Knowledge, but not by means of His Essence, because space is comprised of four dimensions. If He embraces everything by means of His Essence, there would imperatively be a boundary for Him.

Prophets are infallible?” He (AS) replied: “Certainly.” He asked him (AS) about some verses from the Qur`an. Among his questions was: “Then tell me about the Word of Ibrahim (AS): My Lord! Show me how Thou givest life to the dead, He said: What! And do you not believe? He said: Yes, but that my heat may be at ease.”1 Al-Rida (AS) replied, Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, revealed to Ibrahim (AS) that I will choose a friend for Me from among My Servants such that I will even revive the dead for him if he asks Me to do so. It then occurred to Ibrahim (AS) that he was that friend. Thus, he asked, “My Lord! Show me how Thou givest life to the dead.” He said: “What! And do you not believe?” He said: “Yes, but my heart will be at ease knowing that I am your Friend.” Then Allah said: Then take four of the birds, then train them to follow you, then place on every mountain a part of them, then call them, they will come to you flying; and know that Allah is Mighty, Wise.” Then Ibrahim (AS) took an eagle, a peacock, a duck, and a rooster. He chopped them into pieces and mixed them up. He then placed a part of their mixed flesh on top of each of the ten hills in that area. He held each bird’s beak in his hand. He placed some seeds and water near himself and called out to them. The various parts of beach bird started to fly towards each other until a perfect body was formed. Each body went towards its own head and joined it to become a living bird. Then Ibrahim (AS) let their beaks go. The birds flew and then landed. They drank water, ate some seeds, and said: “O Prophet of Allah! You have brought us back to life. May Allah bring you back to life.” Ibrahim (AS) said: “It is Allah who brings back to life and takes away life. He has power over all things.” Al-Ma`mun said: “May Allah bless you, O Abu al-Hasan!” The Compiler of this book says: The tradition is detailed; we have extracted from it the required passage. I have transmitted all of it in the book `Uyun Akhbar al-Rida (AS).

I asked Abu `Abd Allah al-Sadiq (AS) about the Word of Allah, the Mighty and High: And He is Allah in the Heavens and in the Earth.1 He (AS) replied, “He is like that in every place.” I asked, “By His Essence?” He (AS) responded, Woe unto you! Place implies restriction. If you say: He is in a place by His Essence, it necessarily implies restrictions and other than that. However, He is Evident in His Creation. He encompasses whatever He created through His Knowledge, Omnipotence, Omniscience, Reign, and Sovereignty. His Knowledge of whatever is in the Earth is not less than His Knowledge of what is in the Heavens. Nothing is far from Him. His Knowledge, Omnipotence, Reign, Sovereignty, and Omniscience embrace all things.

“There is a verse in the Qur`an, that surely strengthens us (the atheists).” I said: “Which one is it?” So he answered, “And He it is who is God in the Heavens and God in the Earth.”1 I did not know how to respond to him; therefore, when I went for hajj, I informed Abu `Abd Allah la-Sadiq (AS). He replied, This is a statement from an evil atheist. When you return to him, say to him: “What is your name in Kufah?” And he will say to you so-and-so. Then ask him, “What is your name in Basra?” And he will say the same name. Then say to him: “Such is Allah, our Lord. He is God in the Heaven, and God in the Earth. He is God in the oceans, and god in every place.” Hisham says: When I returned I went to Abu Shakir and informed him (of what Abu `Abd Allah said to me). Thus, he said: “This is transmitted from Hijaz.”

When Musa (AS) went to Mount Sinai. He called unto his Lord, the Mighty and High, “O Lord, show me your treasures!” Thus, Allah replied, “O Musa! Verily, My Treasure is that when I intend something, I say to it: `Be and it is.’” The Compiler of this book (RA) says: Among the proofs upon the Omnipotence of Allah, the Mighty and High, is: the world is a creation of the Creator, since things can only be created by One who is Omnipotent. The disabled cannot walk, and the incapable cannot carry out actins. Hence, it is correct to say that one who created the world is Omnipotent. If something other than this is possible then it would be possible for us to fly without wings, and to perceive without the senses. And therefore, if the possibility of the latter is against logic, then so is the first.