Al-Kafi · Hadith 5

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 5

Original Arabic text

5ـ عَلِيُّ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ مَعْبَدٍ عَنْ عَبْدِ الله بْنِ سِنَانٍ عَنْ أَبِيهِ قَالَ حَضَرْتُ أَبَا جَعْفَرٍ (عَلَيْهِ السَّلام) فَدَخَلَ عَلَيْهِ رَجُلٌ مِنَ الْخَوَارِجِ فَقَالَ لَهُ يَا أَبَا جَعْفَرٍ أَيَّ شَيْ‏ءٍ تَعْبُدُ قَالَ الله تَعَالَى قَالَ رَأَيْتَهُ قَالَ بَلْ لَمْ تَرَهُ الْعُيُونُ بِمُشَاهَدَةِ الابْصَارِ وَلَكِنْ رَأَتْهُ الْقُلُوبُ بِحَقَائِقِ الايمَانِ لا يُعْرَفُ بِالْقِيَاسِ وَلا يُدْرَكُ بِالْحَوَاسِّ وَلا يُشَبَّهُ بِالنَّاسِ مَوْصُوفٌ بِالايَاتِ مَعْرُوفٌ بِالْعَلامَاتِ لا يَجُورُ فِي حُكْمِهِ ذَلِكَ الله لا إِلَهَ إِلا هُوَ قَالَ فَخَرَجَ الرَّجُلُ وَهُوَ يَقُولُ الله أَعْلَمُ حَيْثُ يَجْعَلُ رِسالَتَهُ.

Published English translation

5 - Ali ibn Ibrahim reported from his father, from Ali ibn Ma’bad, from Abdullah ibn Sinan, from his father, who said: I was present with Abu Ja’far al-Baqir (as) when a man from the Khawarij entered upon him and said: “O Abu Ja’far, what do you worship?” He said: “Allah, the Exalted.” The man asked: “Have you seen Him?” He replied: “No, but the eyes do not perceive Him through physical sight, but the hearts have seen Him through the realities of faith. He cannot be known through analogy, nor can He be comprehended by the senses, nor can He be compared to people. He is described by the signs and known by the indications; His judgment does not err. That is Allah; there is no deity except Him.” The man then left, saying: “Allah knows best where He places His message.”

Narrator and transmission

See the transmission information preserved in the original source text.

Attributed scholarly assessments

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

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source Url: https://thaqalayn.com/hadith/1/3/9/5
license: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
edition: Al-Kafi, volume 1, Thaqalayn digital edition / Muhammad Sarwar translation
imported At: 2026-10-18T21:36:12.871Z
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translator: Muhammad Sarwar
source Revision: becbad600b693ce23735d7403c4126ce7c896d34
content Hash: 0b835b389d29e41335cd42ecaee8c067656fc0f87feb23bba4c5174ea52adaf8
source File Hash: 30bc491c96eb3860f3d3dfe97f46353a88858d7cb9e06d662ebdd04252ac5a3e
original Source Url: https://thaqalayn.net/hadith/1/3/9/5
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