Chapter On Attribute Of Essence (Sifat al-DhDhat) Of Allah
H 284, Ch. 12, h 1
Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from Muhammad ibn Khalid al-Tayalisi from
Safwan ibn Yahya from ibn Maskan from abu Basir who has said the following.
"I heard abu ‘Abdallah (a.s.) saying, ‘The Exalted, the Glorious, Allah,
our Lord, is Eternal. Knowledge is His self even if there is nothing to be known. Hearing
is His self even if there is nothing to be heard. Seeing is His-self even when there is
nothing to be seen. Power is His self even if there is nothing to feel the power. When He
brought things into existence the perceptible objects became the objects of His knowledge,
His hearing applied to audible objects, His seeing to visible objects and His power to the
objects that feel power.’"
Abu Basir adds; "I further asked, ‘Has Allah always been in motion?" He replied, "Allah is High Exalted above that. Motion is an attribute that is created through action." I asked, "Did Allah always have the ability to speak?" He replied, " Speech is a created attribute and not an eternal one. Allah, the Majestic, the Glorious, existed when there was nothing able to speak."
H 285, Ch. 12, h 2
Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Muhammad ibn al-Husayn from ibn
abu ‘Umayr from Hisham ibn Salim from Muhammad ibn Muslim who has said the following.
"I heard abu Ja‘far (a.s.) saying, ‘Allah, to Whom belong Might and
Majesty, existed when nothing else existed. He eternally knows whatever comes into being.
His knowledge of things before their coming into existence and afterwards is exactly the
same.’"
H 286, Ch. 12, h 3
Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Muhammad ibn al-Husayn from Safwan
ibn Yahya from al-Kahili who has said the following.
"I wrote to abu al-Hassan (al-Kazim) (a.s.), praising Allah in my letter as,
‘All praise belongs to Allah to the limit of His knowledge.’" He wrote back
to me, "Do not say, "To the limit of His knowledge because there is no limit to
His knowledge. Instead say, "All praise belongs to Allah to the limit of His
pleasure."
H 287, Ch. 12, h 4
Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Sa‘d ibn ‘Abdallah from Muhammad ibn ‘Isa from Ayyub ibn Nuh, who wrote to abu al-Hassan (al-Thalith (a.s.) asking him about Allah, the Majestic, the Glorious. "Did He know all things before creating and giving them being, or did He not know until He brought them into existence or until He willed their creation and existence? Did Allah come to know what He created during the process of their creation and what He originated during their being originated?" The Imam wrote in reply in his own handwriting, "Eternally Allah has had full knowledge of all things, before as well as after their creation."
H 288, Ch. 12, h 5
Ali ibn Muhammad has narrated from Sahl ibn Ziyad from Ja‘far ibn
Muhammad ibn Hamzah who has said the following.
"I wrote to the man (Imam (a.s.), ‘Your followers differ about the knowledge of
Allah. There are those who say that before creating all things Allah had eternally full
knowledge of them. Others say that we should not say so because His knowing is like His
action. If we prove that His Knowledge is eternal we have also established another thing
eternal along with Him. May Allah take my soul in service for your cause, if you would
consider it proper, kindly enlighten me in this issue so that I would have a firm stand
and do not waver therefrom." He wrote in his own handwriting, "Eternally Allah ,
the Most Holy, the Most High has had the Knowledge of all things."
?? and Allah's Positive Attributes such as His knowledge are the same as His Essence without any duality between His Essence and His Positive Attributes).' "
H 289, Ch. 12, h 6
Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad from al-Husayn
ibn Sa‘id from al-Qasim ibn Muhammad from 'Abd al-Samad ibn Bashir from Fudayl ibn
Sukkarah who has said the following.
"I asked abu Ja‘far (a.s.), ‘May Allah take my soul in service for your
cause, if you would consider it proper please enlighten me about whether Allah, Majestic
is Whose face, had knowledge of His Oneness before He brought the creation into existence?
Your followers differ on this issue. There are those who believe that Allah did have
knowledge of His Oneness before He created anything. Others say His knowledge is His
action. Thus, now Allah has come to know that before He created things there had
been nothing besides He Himself. They say that if we believe in the eternal knowledge of
Allah of His Oneness, we have established another thing eternal along with Him. If you
would consider it proper please enlighten me in this issue so I may not waver here and
there." He wrote, "Allah, the Blessed and Exalted has always had the Knowledge
of all things." (See Hadith No. 294 – 53)