Al-Kafi · Hadith 3

The Book on Oneness of Allah (God) · Chapter On Prohibition on Attributing to Allah What He Himself has not Done so · Volume 1, book 3, chapter 10, Hadith 3

Original Arabic text

3ـ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ أَبِي عَبْدِ الله عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ إِسْمَاعِيلَ عَنِ الْحُسَيْنِ بْنِ الْحَسَنِ عَنْ بَكْرِ بْنِ صَالِحٍ عَنِ الْحَسَنِ بْنِ سَعِيدٍ عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ الْخَزَّازِ وَمُحَمَّدِ بْنِ الْحُسَيْنِ قَالا دَخَلْنَا عَلَى أَبِي الْحَسَنِ الرِّضَا (عَلَيْهِ السَّلام) فَحَكَيْنَا لَهُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّداً (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِه) رَأَى رَبَّهُ فِي صُورَةِ الشَّابِّ الْمُوَفَّقِ فِي سِنِّ أَبْنَاءِ ثَلاثِينَ سَنَةً وَقُلْنَا إِنَّ هِشَامَ بْنَ سَالِمٍ وَصَاحِبَ الطَّاقِ وَالْمِيثَمِيَّ يَقُولُونَ إِنَّهُ أَجْوَفُ إِلَى السُّرَّةِ وَالْبَقِيَّةُ صَمَدٌ فَخَرَّ سَاجِداً لله ثُمَّ قَالَ سُبْحَانَكَ مَا عَرَفُوكَ وَلا وَحَّدُوكَ فَمِنْ أَجْلِ ذَلِكَ وَصَفُوكَ سُبْحَانَكَ لَوْ عَرَفُوكَ لَوَصَفُوكَ بِمَا وَصَفْتَ بِهِ نَفْسَكَ سُبْحَانَكَ كَيْفَ طَاوَعَتْهُمْ أَنْفُسُهُمْ أَنْ يُشَبِّهُوكَ بِغَيْرِكَ اللهمَّ لا أَصِفُكَ إِلا بِمَا وَصَفْتَ بِهِ نَفْسَكَ وَلا أُشَبِّهُكَ بِخَلْقِكَ أَنْتَ أَهْلٌ لِكُلِّ خَيْرٍ فَلا تَجْعَلْنِي مِنَ الْقَوْمِ الظَّالِمِينَ ثُمَّ الْتَفَتَ إِلَيْنَا فَقَالَ مَا تَوَهَّمْتُمْ مِنْ شَيْ‏ءٍ فَتَوَهَّمُوا الله غَيْرَهُ ثُمَّ قَالَ نَحْنُ آلُ مُحَمَّدٍ النَّمَطُ الاوْسَطُ الَّذِي لا يُدْرِكُنَا الْغَالِي وَلا يَسْبِقُنَا التَّالِي يَا مُحَمَّدُ إِنَّ رَسُولَ الله (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِه) حِينَ نَظَرَ إِلَى عَظَمَةِ رَبِّهِ كَانَ فِي هَيْئَةِ الشَّابِّ الْمُوَفَّقِ وَسِنِّ أَبْنَاءِ ثَلاثِينَ سَنَةً يَا مُحَمَّدُ عَظُمَ رَبِّي عَزَّ وَجَلَّ أَنْ يَكُونَ فِي صِفَةِ الْمَخْلُوقِينَ قَالَ قُلْتُ جُعِلْتُ فِدَاكَ مَنْ كَانَتْ رِجْلاهُ فِي خُضْرَةٍ قَالَ ذَاكَ مُحَمَّدٌ كَانَ إِذَا نَظَرَ إِلَى رَبِّهِ بِقَلْبِهِ جَعَلَهُ فِي نُورٍ مِثْلِ نُورِ الْحُجُبِ حَتَّى يَسْتَبِينَ لَهُ مَا فِي الْحُجُبِ إِنَّ نُورَ الله مِنْهُ أَخْضَرُ وَمِنْهُ أَحْمَرُ وَمِنْهُ أَبْيَضُ وَمِنْهُ غَيْرُ ذَلِكَ يَا مُحَمَّدُ مَا شَهِدَ لَهُ الْكِتَابُ وَالسُّنَّةُ فَنَحْنُ الْقَائِلُونَ بِهِ.

Published English translation

3. Muhammad ibn abu ‘Abdallah has narrated from Muhammad ibn Isma‘il from al-Husayn ibn al-Hassan from Bakr ibn Salih from al-Hassan ibn Sa‘id from Ibrahim ibn Muhammad al-Khazzaz and Muhammad ibn al-Husayn they both have said the following. “We met Imam abu abu al-Hassan al-Rida (a.s.) and stated to him that Prophet Muhammad (s.a.) saw His Lord in the fashion of a full grown young man of thirty years and added that Hisham ibn Salim and Sahib al-Taq and al-Maythami say that He is hallow down to His navel and the rest is solid. The Imam bowed down to a prostrating position and then said, ‘(O Lord), Glory belongs to you they have not recognized You nor have they acknowledged Your Oneness thus, they attribute to You such things. (O Lord, Glory belongs to You, had they recognized You they would have attributed to You what you yourself have attributed to Yourself and they would not have considered You similar to things other than You. O Lord, I do not attribute to You anything other than what You have attributed to Yourself and do not consider You similar to Your creatures. To You belongs all good. Do not place me among the unjust ones.’ The Imam (a.s.) then turned to us saying, “Whatever you may imagine (make Wahm of) consider Allah some thing other than it.” He continued, ‘We, people of the family of the Prophet (s.a.), are the middle type and the criteria. Those who exceed can not catch up with us and those who follow can not go ahead of us. O Muhammad, when the messenger of Allah looked at the greatness of his Lord he was of the type of people as fully grown up as thirty years old people. O Muhammad, my Lord, the Majestic, the Glorious, is far greater than to be of the qualities of the creatures.” The narrator has said that I said, “May the Lord take my soul for your service, who was the one with his feet in the green?” The Imam said, “He was Prophet Muhammad (s.a.) when looked at his Lord with his heart He placed him in the light like that of the Hujub so he can see what is inside the Hujub. Of the light of Allah some are green, red, white and others. O Muhammad whatever has confirmation in the book and the Sunnah we affirm it.”

Narrator and transmission

See the transmission information preserved in the original source text.

Attributed scholarly assessments

Allamah Baqir al-Majlisi: ضعيف

Mirʾāt al-ʿUqūl fī Sharḥ Akhbār Āl al-Rasūl (1/337)

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

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translator: Muhammad Sarwar
source Revision: becbad600b693ce23735d7403c4126ce7c896d34
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