The meaning of terms mentioned in the Book and the Tradition about Monotheism

I said to Abu Ja’far, peace be upon him: The saying of Allah, Exalted is He: «Everything is to perish, except for His Face» (28:88) He said: Everything is to perish and His Face will remain. Indeed, Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He, is Greater than being characterized with a face, however, its meaning is: Everything is to perish, except for His religion and the face from which He is approached.

I asked al-Rida, Ali bin Musa, peace be upon him, about the saying of Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He: «No! Verily, they are, from their Lord, on that Day, indeed, obstructed» (83:15) to which he said: Indeed, Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, is not characterized by a place in which He is embodied and in which His servants will be obstructed from Him, however, He, Exalted and Glorious is He, means that they will be, from the reward of their Lord, obstructed. Also, I asked him about the saying of Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He: «And your Lord came, and the Angels, rows after rows» (89:23) to which he said: Indeed, Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He, is not characterized by coming and going. Exalted is He above movement. He only means by that: And the commandment of your Lord came, and the Angels, rows after rows. Also, I asked him about the saying of Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He: «Do they wait but that Allah will come to them in shadows of clouds, and so the Angels» (2:210). He said: He says: «Do they wait but that Allah will bring to them Angels in shadows of clouds.» [1] This is how it was revealed. Also, I asked him about the saying of Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He: «Allah ridiculed them» (9:78) and about His saying: «Allah derides them» (2:15) and about His saying: «And they plotted, and Allah plotted» (3:54) and about His saying: «They attempt to deceive Allah, whilst He deceives them» (4:142) to which he said: Indeed, Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, does not ridicule, nor mock, nor plot, nor deceive, however, Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He, will reward them with the reward of ridiculing, and the reward of mocking, and the reward of plotting, and the reward of deception. Exalted is Allah above what the wrongdoers say, a Great Highness.

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).

I asked al-Rida, peace be upon him, about the saying of Allah, Glorious and Exalted is He: «They forgot Allah, and so He forgot them» (9:67) so he said: Indeed, Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, does not forget, nor does He omit, but rather, only the made creature forgets and omits. Do you not hear Him, Exalted and Glorious is He, say: «And your Lord has never been forgetful» (19:64)? Rather, He only rewards he who forgot him and forgot the meeting of His Day by making them forget themselves, like how He, Exalted and Glorious is He, said: «And do not be like those who forgot Allah, to which He made them forget themselves. They are the sinful.» (59:19) As well as His saying, Exalted and Glorious is He: «So, today We will forget them like how they forgot the meeting of this day of theirs.» (7:51) Meaning: We abandon them like how they abandoned preparation to this day of theirs.

I asked al-Rida, peace be upon him, about the saying of Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He: «Allah is the Light of the Heavens and the earth» (24:35) so he said: A Guide to the people of Heaven, and a Guide to the people of the earth. In the narration of al-Barqi: The Guidance of those who are in the Heavens, and a Guidance to those who are in the earth.

I said to Abu Abdillah, al-Sadiq, peace be upon him: «Allah is the Light of the Heavens and the earth» (24:35). He said: That is Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He. He said: I said: «the example of His Light» (24:35). He said: Muhammed, may Allah’s blessings be upon him and his Family. I said: «like a lantern» (24:35). He said: The chest of Muhammed, Allah’s blessings be upon him and his Family. I said: «in which there is a lamp» (24:35). He said: In it is the Light of Knowledge, that is Prophethood. I said: «the lamp is within a glass» (24:35). He said: The knowledge of Allah’s Messenger, Allah’s blessings be upon him and his Family, was issued to the heart of Ali, peace be upon him. I said: «as if it is» [2]. He said: For what thing are you reciting: «as if it is”?!» [3] I said: And how do I read it, may I be sacrificed for you? He said: «As if it [4] is a glimmering planet» (24:35). I said: «That is lit from a blessed olive tree, neither of the east, nor of the west» (24:35). He said: That is the Commander of the Believers, Ali bin Abi Talib, peace be upon him, neither a Jew nor a Christian. I said: «Its oil is about to glow, although it has not been touched by fire» (24:35). He said: It is as if knowledge is about to exit the mouth of the Knowledgeable from the Family of Muhammed, Allah’s blessings be upon him and his Family, before he utters it. I said: «Light upon Light» (24:35). He said: The Imam right after the Imam.

I asked Abu Ja’far (as) concerning the saying of Allah (swt): «O Iblees, what prevented you from prostrating to what My Hands created? (bi-yadday)» [38:75]. So he said: "The hand, in the words of the Arabs connotes strength and grace. [Allah] has said: «And mention Our servant Dawood, possesser of strength (dhul-yadd)» [38:17] and «The heavens, We constructed [it] with strength (bi-yadd)» [51:47], and «[Allah] strengthened (wa-yaddhum) them with a spirit from Him» [58:22], [all use the word 'hand'] to mean strength. And (the poets) say: 'I have a white hand with so-and-so', meaning grace."

I heard Abu Abdillah, peace be upon him, say: Indeed, to Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He, there are creations which He created from His Light, and a mercy from His mercy to His mercy; they are the observing Eye of Allah, and His hearing Ear, and his Tongue that speaks with his creation by His permission, and His Guardians upon what He has sent down of Justification, Warning or Proof. Hence, by them Allah erases misdeeds, and by them He repels grievance, and by them He sends down mercy, and by them He brings life into a dead and makes dead a living, and by them He tests His creation, and by them He decides in His creation His decision. I said: May I be sacrificed for you, who are these? He said: The Successors.

I asked Abu Ja’far, peace be upon him, of the saying of Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He: «And I blew into him from My Spirit» (15:29). He said: It is a Spirit that Allah chose, selected, added to Himself and preferred over all Spirits, and so He ordered and blew from him into Adam, peace be upon him.

I asked Abu Ja’far, peace be upon him, about the saying of Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He: «And I blew into him from My Spirit» (15:29). How was this blowing? So he said: «Indeed, the Spirit is moving like the wind, and it was only named a Spirit [1] because its name was derived from wind [2], and He only extracted it on the phrase of Spirit because a spirit is homogenic to wind, and He only added it to Himself because He selected it over other spirits, like how He has selected one house among the houses and said: My House, and how He said to a Messenger among the Messengers: My Good Friend, and the likes of so. All of that is created, made, subject to a Lord and is managed.

We were told by ‘Abees bin Hisham, from Abdul-Kareem bin Amru, from Abu Abdillah, peace be upon him, with regards to His saying, Exalted and Glorious is He: «And When I proportioned him and I blew into him from My Spirit» (15:29) that he said: (It means) From My Ability.

The Commander of the Believers, peace be upon him, said in his speech: I am the Guide, I am the Guided, and I am the father of the orphans and the needy and the husband of the widows, and I am the refuge of every weak and the secure place of every fearful, and I am the leader of the believers into Paradise, and I am the Solid Rope of Allah, and I am the Strong Loop of Allah and the Godfearing Word of Allah, and I am the Eye of Allah and His Truthful Tongue and His Hand, and I am the Regard of Allah, about which He says: «For a soul to say: How heartbroken am I for how undutiful I was towards the Regard of Allah» (39:56). And I am the Hand of Allah that is extended towards His servants with mercy and forgiveness, and I am the Door of Humility. The one who knows me and knows my right, then he has known his Lord, because I am the Successor of His Prophet in His earth and His Proof upon His creation; none deny this except for one who rejects Allah and His Messenger.

he heard, from Abu Abdillah, peace be upon him, that he said with regards to the saying of Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He: «And the Jews said: The Hand of Allah is chained» (5:64) They did not mean that it is as such, however, they said: He has completed the matter, and so He does not add nor subtract, to which Allah, Glorified be His Glory, said in denial of their saying: «Chained be their hands! And they were cursed for what they said. Rather, His Hands are extended; He spends how He wishes.» (5:64) Have you not heard Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He, say: «Allah erases what He wishes, and He confirms, and with Him is the Mother of the Book» (13:39)?

I heard him say: «Rather, His Hands are extended» (5:64) so I said: Does He have two hands, like this? And I pointed with my hand towards his hands. Then he said: No, if He was like this, He would have been (a) created (thing).