Al-Kafi · Hadith 5

The Book on Oneness of Allah (God) · Chapter on Comprehensive (Ahadith) about the Oneness of Allah · Volume 1, book 3, chapter 22, Hadith 5

Original Arabic text

5ـ عَلِيُّ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ عَنْ سَهْلِ بْنِ زِيَادٍ عَنْ شَبَابٍ الصَّيْرَفِيِّ وَاسْمُهُ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْوَلِيدِ عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ سَيْفِ بْنِ عَمِيرَةَ قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي إِسْمَاعِيلُ بْنُ قُتَيْبَةَ قَالَ دَخَلْتُ أَنَا وَعِيسَى شَلَقَانُ عَلَى أَبِي عَبْدِ الله (عَلَيْهِ السَّلام) فَابْتَدَأَنَا فَقَالَ عَجَباً لاقْوَامٍ يَدَّعُونَ عَلَى أَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ (عَلَيْهِ السَّلام) مَا لَمْ يَتَكَلَّمْ بِهِ قَطُّ خَطَبَ أَمِيرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ (عَلَيْهِ السَّلام) النَّاسَ بِالْكُوفَةِ فَقَالَ الْحَمْدُ لله الْمُلْهِمِ عِبَادَهُ حَمْدَهُ وَفَاطِرِهِمْ عَلَى مَعْرِفَةِ رُبُوبِيَّتِهِ الدَّالِّ عَلَى وُجُودِهِ بِخَلْقِهِ وَبِحُدُوثِ خَلْقِهِ عَلَى أَزَلِهِ وَبِاشْتِبَاهِهِمْ عَلَى أَنْ لا شِبْهَ لَهُ الْمُسْتَشْهِدِ بِ‏آيَاتِهِ عَلَى قُدْرَتِهِ الْمُمْتَنِعَةِ مِنَ الصِّفَاتِ ذَاتُهُ وَمِنَ الابْصَارِ رُؤْيَتُهُ وَمِنَ الاوْهَامِ الاحَاطَةُ بِهِ لا أَمَدَ لِكَوْنِهِ وَلا غَايَةَ لِبَقَائِهِ لا تَشْمُلُهُ الْمَشَاعِرُ وَلا تَحْجُبُهُ الْحُجُبُ وَالْحِجَابُ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ خَلْقِهِ خَلْقُهُ إِيَّاهُمْ لامْتِنَاعِهِ مِمَّا يُمْكِنُ فِي ذَوَاتِهِمْ وَلامْكَانٍ مِمَّا يَمْتَنِعُ مِنْهُ وَلافْتِرَاقِ الصَّانِعِ مِنَ الْمَصْنُوعِ وَالْحَادِّ مِنَ الْمَحْدُودِ وَالرَّبِّ مِنَ الْمَرْبُوبِ الْوَاحِدُ بِلا تَأْوِيلِ عَدَدٍ وَالْخَالِقُ لا بِمَعْنَى حَرَكَةٍ وَالْبَصِيرُ لا بِأَدَاةٍ وَالسَّمِيعُ لا بِتَفْرِيقِ آلَةٍ وَالشَّاهِدُ لا بِمُمَاسَّةٍ وَالْبَاطِنُ لا بِاجْتِنَانٍ وَالظَّاهِرُ الْبَائِنُ لا بِتَرَاخِي مَسَافَةٍ أَزَلُهُ نُهْيَةٌ لِمَجَاوِلِ الافْكَارِ وَدَوَامُهُ رَدْعٌ لِطَامِحَاتِ الْعُقُولِ قَدْ حَسَرَ كُنْهُهُ نَوَافِذَ الابْصَارِ وَقَمَعَ وُجُودُهُ جَوَائِلَ الاوْهَامِ فَمَنْ وَصَفَ الله فَقَدْ حَدَّهُ وَمَنْ حَدَّهُ فَقَدْ عَدَّهُ وَمَنْ عَدَّهُ فَقَدْ أَبْطَلَ أَزَلَهُ وَمَنْ قَالَ أَيْنَ فَقَدْ غَيَّاهُ وَمَنْ قَالَ عَلامَ فَقَدْ أَخْلَى مِنْهُ وَمَنْ قَالَ فِيمَ فَقَدْ ضَمَّنَهُ.

Published English translation

5. Ali ibn Muhammad has narrated from Sahl ibn Ziyad from Shabab al-Sayarafi called Muhammad ibn al-Walid from Ali ibn Sayf from ‘Amira who has said that Isma‘il ibn Qutayba said the following. “I and ‘Isa ibn al-Shalqan went to see Imam abu ‘Abdallah (a.s.). The Imam said ‘It is strange that a group of people ascribe to Amirul Mu’minin certain things that he had never said. Amirul Mu’minin addressed people in Kufa in the following words. “All praise is due to Allah Who inspired His servants with His praise and natured them in a way that would give them the desire to acknowledge His Lordship. It is He, Who guides people through His creation to His Own existence and His creatures are evidence of His eternity. The fact that His creatures are similar is evidence that there is nothing similar to Him. His signs are evidence of His great power. His Own-self prohibits acceptance of descriptions and so are His being seen with the eyes and His being comprehended in the imaginations. There is no time limit for His being in existence and there is no final destination for Him. Awareness can not contain Him and coverings can not cover Him. The curtain between Him and His creatures is His creating them. It is because of being impossible for Him what is possible in the essence of the creatures and because of what may be possible in their case is impossible in His case. It is also because of the difference between the Creator and the created, the limited and the unlimited and the Lord and the worshippers. He is One without being a unit of a particular kind. He is the Creator but not terms of motion. He is seeing but not by means of tools. He is hearing but not with distinguishing instruments. He observes but not by means of touching. He is hidden but not with covering. He is clearly manifest but not with lapse due to distance. His eternity is beyond the reach of thinking and a stop for the aims of the intelligence. His reality has worn out the ability of sight and His Own-self has uprooted the (spreading) vines of imaginations. Whoever tries to describe Allah has thought of Him as limited and whoever considers Him limited he has enumerated Him and whoever enumerates Him he has invalidated His eternity. Whoever asks where is He, he has considered Him as having an end. Whoever says on what is He, he has considered Him as distanced. Whoever says wherein is He, he has considered Him contained in some thing.”

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 (2/100)

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
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