Al-Kafi · Hadith 1

The Book on Oneness of Allah (God) · Chapter on Wish and Will · Volume 1, book 3, chapter 26, Hadith 1

Original Arabic text

1ـ عَلِيُّ بْنُ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عَبْدِ الله عَنْ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ أَبِي عَبْدِ الله عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ سُلَيْمَانَ الدَّيْلَمِيِّ عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ الْهَاشِمِيِّ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ أَبَا الْحَسَنِ مُوسَى بْنَ جَعْفَرٍ (عَلَيْهما السَّلام) يَقُولُ لا يَكُونُ شَيْ‏ءٌ إِلا مَا شَاءَ الله وَأَرَادَ وَقَدَّرَ وَقَضَى قُلْتُ مَا مَعْنَى شَاءَ قَالَ ابْتِدَاءُ الْفِعْلِ قُلْتُ مَا مَعْنَى قَدَّرَ قَالَ تَقْدِيرُ الشَّيْ‏ءِ مِنْ طُولِهِ وَعَرْضِهِ قُلْتُ مَا مَعْنَى قَضَى قَالَ إِذَا قَضَى أَمْضَاهُ فَذَلِكَ الَّذِي لا مَرَدَّ لَهُ.

Published English translation

1. It is narrated from Ali ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Abdallah from Ahmad ibn abu ‘Abdallah from his father from Muhammad ibn Sulayman al-Daylami from Ali ibn Ibrahim al-Hashimi who has said the following. “I heard abu al-Hassan Musa ibn Ja‘far (a.s.) saying, ‘There can nothing until Allah would wish it to be, will, measure and decree.” I asked what is the meaning of wish (Sha’a)? The Imam replied, “It is to begin the act.” I asked, “What is the meaning of measure (Qaddara)? The Imam replied, “It is measuring the length and the width of something.” I asked what is the meaning of decree (Qada)? The Imam replied, “When He decrees He lets it happen and this is when it becomes unavoidable to happen.”

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 (2/155)

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.

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edition: Al-Kafi, volume 1, Thaqalayn digital edition / Muhammad Sarwar translation
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translator: Muhammad Sarwar
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