RE: [IslamCity] Seeing Allah in dreams, waking, and the afterlife

Mon, 12 Sep 2005 15:24:39 -0700

SERMON 186

 

About the Oneness of Allah.  This sermon contains principles of knowledge, which no other sermon contains.

 

He who assigns to Him [different] conditions does not believe in His oneness, nor does he who likens Him grasp His reality.  He who illustrates Him does not signify Him.  He who points at Him and imagines Him does not mean Him. Everything that is known through it has been created, and everything that exists by virtue of other things is the effect [of cause].  He works but not with the help of instruments.  He fixes measure but not with the activity of thinking.  He is rich but not by acquisition.

 

Times do not keep company with Him, and implements do not help Him.  His Being precedes times.  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 there is nothing 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 inimical things.

 

He fuses together diverse things, brings near remote things and separates things that 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 “mundhu” (1) [i.e. since] disproves their eternity, the word “qad” (that denotes nearness of time of occurrence), 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 which He has Himself made to occur, and how can a thing revert to Him which he first created, and how can a thing appear in Him which He first brought to appearance.  If it had been not 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 behove 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 or keep Him erect.  He is not inside things or outside them.  He conveys news, but not with the 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 memorise.  He determines, but not by exercising His mind.  He loves and approves without any sentimentality [of heart].

 

He hates and feels angry without any painstaking.  When He intends to create someone, He says, “be” and there is, but not through a voice that strikes [the ears] is that call heard.  His speech is an act of creation.  His like never existed before this.  If it 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 between 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 flaw, and whatever He strengthened did not show sign of 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 everything in the earth by virtue of His sublimate and dignity.  Nothing from the earth that He may ask for neither defies Him, nor does it opposes Him so as to overpower Him.  No swift-footed creature 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 someone 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 exists 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 if all the animals of the earth, whether birds or beasts, stabled cattle or pasturing ones, 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 into 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 realising that 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, 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 the power to prevent it, it would have existed forever.  When He made anything of the world, the making of it did not cause Him any difficulty, and the creation of anything 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 overwhelming 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 cumbers of anything 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 with His power.  Then after its destruction, He will resuscitate it, but not for any need of His own towards it or to seek the assistance of any of its things against it, or to change over from 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 needlessness and plenty, nor from disgrace and lowliness towards honour and prestige

 

)     The meaning is that the sense for which the words ”mundhu”, “qad” and “lawla” have been formed is opposed to the attributes of “Ever”, “Eternal” and “Perfect”.  Therefore, their application to anything would prove that they have come into existence from non- – existence and are imperfect.  For example,  “mundhu” is used to denote time, as is “qad wujidamundhu kadha” [this thing is found since so – and – so].  Here a time limit has been stated, and anything for which a limit of time can be described cannot exist from ever or forever.  The word “qad” shows [indicating the present perfect tense] the immediate past.  This sense can also apply to a thing that is limited in time.  The word “lawla” is used to denote the negation of something in another thing, as “ma ahsanahu wa akmalahu lawla annahu  kadha” [how handsome and perfect would be if it were so – and – so].  Therefore, the thing for which this word is used would be in need of others in handsomeness and perfection, and would remain deficient by itself.

 

 

Sermon by Imam Ali Bin Abi Talib (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)




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{Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.}
(Holy Quran-16:125)

{And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33)

The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim]

The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)  also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all."
[Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah]
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