Al-Kafi · Hadith 1

The Book on Oneness of Allah (God) · Chapter On The Invalidity of the Belief to see God (Ru’yah of Allah) · Volume 1, book 3, chapter 9, Hadith 1

Original Arabic text

1ـ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ أَبِي عَبْدِ الله عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ أَبِي الْقَاسِمِ عَنْ يَعْقُوبَ بْنِ إِسْحَاقَ قَالَ كَتَبْتُ إِلَى أَبِي مُحَمَّدٍ (عَلَيْهِ السَّلام) أَسْأَلُهُ كَيْفَ يَعْبُدُ الْعَبْدُ رَبَّهُ وَهُوَ لا يَرَاهُ فَوَقَّعَ (عَلَيْهِ السَّلام) يَا أَبَا يُوسُفَ جَلَّ سَيِّدِي وَمَوْلايَ وَالْمُنْعِمُ عَلَيَّ وَعَلَى آبَائِي أَنْ يُرَى قَالَ وَسَأَلْتُهُ هَلْ رَأَى رَسُولُ الله (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِه) رَبَّهُ فَوَقَّعَ (عَلَيْهِ السَّلام) إِنَّ الله تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى أَرَى رَسُولَهُ بِقَلْبِهِ مِنْ نُورِ عَظَمَتِهِ مَا أَحَبَّ.

Published English translation

1. Muhammad ibn abu ‘Abdallah has narrated from Ali ibn abu al-Qasim from Ya’qub ibn Ishaq who wrote to Imam abu Muhammad al-‘Askari and asked. “How can a worshipper worship his Lord, Whom he does not see?” The Imam wrote in reply, “O abu Yusuf, my Lord, my Master, and my Benefactor and the Benefactor of my ancestors, is far exalted and is above being seen.” I (Ya’qub ibn Ishaq) asked him, “Had the Messenger of Allah (s.a.) seen his Lord?” The Imam replied in writing and signed, “Allah, the Most Holy, the Most High, showed His Prophet, in his heart, the light of His Greatness as much as He liked.”

Narrator and transmission

See the transmission information preserved in the original source text.

Attributed scholarly assessments

Allamah Baqir al-Majlisi: مجهول أو صحيح

Mirʾāt al-ʿUqūl fī Sharḥ Akhbār Āl al-Rasūl (1/327)

Assessment transcribed from the source's named scholar and reference. No new grading or consensus is asserted; differing entries remain separate.

Shaykh Baqir al-Behbudi: Catalogue non-inclusion note (not an authenticity grade)

Ṣaḥīḥ al-Kāfī

Source records non-inclusion in this scholar's selection; this is not itself a weak or authentic grade.

Source, rights, and attribution

dataset Name: Thaqalayn public library, via ThaqalaynAPI snapshot
source Url: https://thaqalayn.com/hadith/1/3/9/1
license: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
edition: Al-Kafi, volume 1, Thaqalayn digital edition / Muhammad Sarwar translation
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translator: Muhammad Sarwar
source Revision: becbad600b693ce23735d7403c4126ce7c896d34
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source File Hash: 30bc491c96eb3860f3d3dfe97f46353a88858d7cb9e06d662ebdd04252ac5a3e
original Source Url: https://thaqalayn.net/hadith/1/3/9/1
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