Foreword

Reward for the Monotheists and Gnostics

Divine Unity and‬‬ Negation of Anthropomorphism

The Definition of One, Divine Unity, and the Believer in Divine Unity

The Commentary of Chapter 112 the Unity [al-Tawhid]

The Meaning of Divine Unity and Divine Justice

The Mighty and High is Devoid of both Body and Image

The Blessed and Exalted is a Thing

What is Related Regarding the Vision

Omnipotence

Knowledge

Attributes of Essence and Attributes of Actions

The Commentary of verse 88 of Chapter 28 the Narrative [al-Qasas] Everything is perishable but He.

The Commentary of Verse 75 of Chapter 38 Sad O Iblis! What prevented you that you should do obeisance to him whom I created with My Two Hands?

The Commentary of Verse 42 of Chapter 68 Qalam - On the Day when there shall be a severe affliction, and they shall be called upon to make obeisance

The Commentary of Verse 35 of Chapter 24 the Light [al-Nur]

The Commentary of Verse 67 of Chapter 9 the Repentance [al-Tawbah] They have forsaken Allah, so He has forsaken them.

The Commentary of Verse 67 of Chapter 39 the Companies [al-Zumar] And the whole Earth shall be in His Grip on the Day of Resurrection and the Heavens rolled up in his Right Hand.

The Commentary of Verse 15 of Chapter 83 the Defrauders [al-Mutaffifin] Nay! Most surely they shall on that day be debarred from their Lord.

The Commentary of Verse 22 of Chapter 89 the Daybreak [al-Fajr] And your Lord comes and (also) the angels in ranks.

The Commentary of Verse 210 of Chapter 2 the Cow [al-Baqarah] They do not wait aught but that Allah should come to them in the shadow of clouds along with the angels.

Meaning of Scoffing, Mockery, Planning and Deception of Allah

The Meaning of Allah’s Side

The Meaning of the Waistband

Meaning of the Eye, the Ear, and the Tongue of Allah

The Meaning of Allah’s Hand is Tied Up

The Meaning of His Pleasure and His Anger

The Meaning of Allah’s Breathing of Spirit And I breathed into him of My Sprit.

Negation of Space, Time, Stillness, Motion, Descending, Ascending, and Transference from Allah

The Names of Allah, the Exalted,‬‬ and the Difference between their Meanings and the Meaning of the‬‬ Names of Creation

What is the Qur’an?

The Meaning of “In the Name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful”

The Explanation of‬‬ the Letters of the Alphabet.

The Explanation of the Letters of the Alphabet According to Their Numerical Value

The Explanation of the Words of the Calls to Prayer

The Commentary of Guidance, Misguidance, Direction, and Forsaking is from Allah, the Exalted

The Refutation of the Dualists & the Atheists

There is no‬‬ god but the One God

The‬‬ Remembrance of Allah’s Greatness, Mighty be His Glory

The Subtlety of Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted

The Least Required for Recognizing Diving Unity

He, the Mighty and High, in not Recognized, Except by Himself.

The Assertion of the Emergence of the Universe

The Tradition of Dhi`lib.

The Tradition of Subakht, the Jewish Man

The Meaning of “Glory be to Allah” [Subhan Allah]

The Meaning of Allah is the Greatest [Allahu Akbar]

The Meaning of the First and the Last

the Most Compassionate is Firm on the Empyrean.

His Empyrean was on the Water

The Empyrean and Its‬‬ Description

The Empyrean was Created in Quarters

The Meaning of `His Knowledge Extend over the Heavens and the Earth’

Allah made the Nature of the Creation upon Divine Unity

The Appearance [Al-Bada’]

The Will and the Intent

Capability

The Trial and the Test

Privilege and Adversity

The Negation of Determinism and Relinquishment

Predestination, Divine Decree, Trials, Means of Sustenance Rates, and Restricted Powers

Children and Allah’s Justice Concerning Them

Allah only does what is best for His servants

Command, Prohibition, Promise and Threat

Recognition, Explanation, Evidence, and Guidance

A Session of al-Ridha (AS‬‬) with Theologians from Among the Rhetoricians and Various‬‬ Religions about Unity in the presence of al-Ma`mun

A Session of al-Ridha (AS) with Sulayman al-Marwazi, the Theologian of Khurasan, in‬‬ the Presece of al-Ma`mun concerning the Subject of Divine Unity.

The Prohibition of Discussing, Debating, and Arguing about Allah

1 - أبي رحمه الله، قال: حدثنا سعد بن عبد الله، قال: حدثنا إبراهيم بن هاشم وغيره، عن خلف بن حماد، عن الحسين بن زيد الهاشمي  عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام، قال: جاءت زينب العطارة الحولاء إلى نساء رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله وبناته وكانت تبيع منهن العطر فدخل رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله وهي عندهن، فقال لها: إذا أتيتنا طابت بيوتنا، فقالت: بيوتك بريحك أطيب يا رسول الله، قال: إذا بعت فأحسني ولا تغشي فإنه أتقى وأبقى للمال، فقالت: ما جئت بشئ من بيعي، وإنما جئتك أسألك عن عظمة الله، فقال: جل جلال الله، سأحدثك عن بعض ذلك. قال: ثم قال: إن هذه الأرض بمن فيها ومن عليها عند التي تحتها كحلقة في فلاة قي (١) وهاتان ومن فيهما ومن عليهما عند التي تحتها كحلقة في فلاة قي والثالثة حتى انتهى إلى السابعة، ثم تلا هذه الآية ﴿خلق سبع سماوات ومن الأرض مثلهن﴾ (٢) والسبع ومن فيهن ومن عليهن على ظهر الديك كحلقة في فلاة قي، والديك له جناحان جناح بالمشرق وجناح بالمغرب ورجلاه في التخوم، والسبع والديك بمن فيه ومن عليه على الصخرة كحلقة في فلاة قي، والسبع والديك والصخرة بمن فيها ومن عليها على ظهر الحوت كحلقة في فلاه قي، والسبع و الديك والصخرة والحوت عند البحر المظلم كحلقة في فلاة قي، والسبع والديك والصخرة والحوت والبحر المظلم عند الهواء كحلقة في فلاة قي، والسبع والديك والصخرة والحوت والبحر المظلم والهواء عند الثرى كحلقة في فلاة قي، ثم تلا هذه الآية ﴿له ما في السماوات وما في الأرض وما بينهما وما تحت الثرى﴾  ثم انقطع الخبر . والسبع والديك والصخرة والحوت والبحر المظلم والهواء والثرى بمن فيه ومن عليه عند السماء كحلقة في فلاة قي، وهذا والسماء الدنيا ومن فيها و من عليها عند التي فوقها كحلقة في فلاة قي، وهذا وهاتان السماءان عند الثالثة كحلقة في فلاة قي، وهذه الثالثة ومن فيهن ومن عليهن عند الرابعة كحلقة في فلاة قي، حتى انتهى إلى السابعة، وهذه السبع ومن فيهن ومن عليهن عند البحر المكفوف عن أهل الأرض كحلقة في فلاة قي، والسبع والبحر المكفوف عند جبال البرد كحلقة في فلاة قي، ثم تلا هذه الآية ﴿وينزل من السماء من جبال فيها من برد﴾ (١) وهذه السبع والبحر المكفوف وجبال البرد عند حجب النور كحلقة في فلاة قي، وهي سبعون ألف حجاب يذهب نورها بالأبصار، وهذه السبع والبحر المكفوف وجبال البرد والحجب عند الهواء الذي تحار فيه القلوب كحلقة في فلاة قي، والسبع والبحر المكفوف وجبال البرد والحجب والهواء في الكرسي كحلقة في فلاة قي، ثم تلا هذه الآية: ﴿وسع كرسيه السماوات والأرض ولا يؤده حفظهما وهو العلي العظيم﴾ (٢) وهذه السبع والبحر المكفوف وجبال البرد والحجب والهواء والكرسي عند العرش كحلقة في فلاة قي، ثم تلا هذه الآية ﴿الرحمن على العرش استوى﴾ (٣) ما تحمله الأملاك إلا يقول لا إله إلا الله ولا حول ولا قوة إلا بالله. 

‫‪1. My father (may Allah have mercy on them) said: Sa`d ibn `Abd Allah said: Ibrahim ibn‬‬ ‫‪Hashim and others said, on the authority of Khalaf ibn Hammad, on the authority of al-Husayn‬‬ ‫‪ibn Zayd al-Hashimi, that‬‬ Abu `Abd Allah al-Sadiq (AS) said: Zaynab, the squint-eyed perfume lady, came to the wives of the Messenger of Allah (SA) and his daughters. The Messenger of Allah (SA) entered when she was with them. So he (SA) said to her, “When you visit us our houses are filled with perfume.” Hence, she replied, “Your house is the most pleasant due to your own scent, O Messenger of Allah.” He (SA) said: “When you sell, then be good. However, do not engage in deceptive marketing for that is not a good practice for ensuring wealth.” She responded, “I did no come with something to sell. Verily, I came to ask you about ht Greatness of Allah.” Thus, he (SA) said: “Glory be to Allah! Let me share His Greatness with you.” The reporter says: then he (SA) continued, Verily, the planet earth and everything it contains is like a ring in the vastness of the desert to the one which is below it. The earth and the one below it, and everything they contain, are like a ring in the vastness of the desert to the one that is below them. This how they are until it reaches the seventh one. Then he recited this verse: Allah is He who created seven heavens, and the Earth the like of them. The seven heavens and what they contain are on the back of a rooster like a ring in the open desert. The rooster has two wings; one in the East and the other in the West, and its feet are on the borderline. The seven heavens, the rooster, and whatever they contain, are on a rock like a ring in the open desert. The seven heavens, the rooster, the rock and whatever is in them, are on the back of a fish like a ring in the open desert. The seven heavens, the rooster, the rock, and the fish are in a dark ocean like a ring in the vast desert. The seven heavens, the rooster, the rock, the fish, and the dark ocean are in the air like a ring in the open desert. The seven heave ns, the rooster, the rock, the fish, the dark ocean, and the air are beneath the ground like a ring in the open desert. Then he (SA) recited this verse: His is what is in the heavens and what is in the earth, and what is between them two, and what is beneath the ground. Then the tradition stopped. The seven heavens, the rooster, the rock, the fish, the dark ocean, the air, the ground, and whatever is in them are in heaven like a ring in the open desert. All of these things, the heaven of this world, and whatever is in them, are like a ring in the open desert. All of these things and the two heavens are like a ring in the open desert compared to the third heaven. The third heaven and whatever is in it is like a ring in the open desert compared to the fourth heaven, and so on until the seventh heaven. These seven heavens and whatever is in them are like a ring in the open desert compared to the ocean which covers the earth. The seven heavens, and the ocean which covers the earth, are like a ring in the open desert compared to the mountain. Then he (AS) read this verse: And He sends down from heavens (clouds like) mountains laden with hail. These seven heavens, the covered ocean and the mountain are like a ring in the open desert compared to the veils of light. There are seventy thousand of these blinding veils light. The seven heavens, the covered oceans, the mountains, and the veils are like a ring in the open-spaced desert in comparison to the air, in which the hearts are fervent. Then he (AS) read this verse His Throne extends over the heavens and the earth, and the preservation of them both tires Him not, and He is the Most High, the Great. The seven heavens, the covered oceans, the mountains, the veils, the air, and the Throne are like a ring in the open desert compared to the Empyrean. Then he (AS) read this verse: The Most Compassionate Allah is Firm on the Empyrean. The angels cannot carry it except with the statement “there is no god but Allah” and “there is no power and no strength save in Allah.”

2 - أبي رحمه الله، قال: حدثنا سعد بن عبد الله، قال: حدثنا محمد بن عيسى عن الحسن بن محبوب، عن عمرو بن شمر، عن جابر بن يزيد، قال: سألت أبا جعفر عليه السلام عن قوله عز وجل: ﴿أفعيينا بالخلق الأول بل هم في لبس من خلق جديد﴾  قال: يا جابر تأويل ذلك أن الله عز وجل إذا أفنى هذا الخلق وهذا العالم وسكن أهل الجنة الجنة، وأهل النار النار جدد الله عالما غير هذا العالم وجدد خلقا من غير فحولة ولا إناث يعبدونه ويوحدونه، وخلق لهم أرضا غير هذه الأرض تحملهم، وسماء غير هذه السماء تظلهم، لعلك ترى أن الله إنما خلق هذا العالم الواحد، وترى أن الله لم يخلق بشرا غيركم، بلى والله لقد خلق الله ألف ألف عالم، وألف ألف آدم أنت في آخر تلك العوالم وأولئك الآدميين. 

2. My father (RA) said: Sa`d ibn `Abd Allah said: Muhammad ibn `Isa said, on the authority of al-Hasan ibn Mahbub, on the authority of `Amr ibn Shimr, on the authority of Jabir ibn Yazid that I asked Abu Ja`far al-Baqir (AS) about the Word of the Mighty and High: He (AS) said: O Jabir! After Allah, the Mighty and High, destroys this creation, placing the people of Paradise in Paradise, and the people of Hell in Hell, He will recreate another world different from this one without men or women, to serve Him and profess His Unity. He will create for them an earth different form this one. And He will create for them a firmament different from the earth to give them shade. Perhaps you think that Allah only created this world, and that Allah has not created other beings than you. No, certainly not. Allah has created millions of worlds, and millions of human creations.‬‬ ‫‪And you re the last of those worlds, and the last of those beings.‬‬ ‫‪ 3. Ahmad ibn al-Hasan al-Qittan said: Ahmad ibn Yahya ibn Zakariyya said: Bakr ibn `Abd‬‬ ‫‪Allah ibn Hubayb said, on the authority of Tamim ibn Buhlul, on the authority of Nasr ibn‬‬ ‫‪Muzahim al-Minqari, on the authority of `Amr ibn Sa`d, on the authority of Abu Mikhnaf Lut ibn‬‬ ‫‪Yahya, on the authority of Abu Mansur, on the authority of Zayd ibn Wahab that‬‬ The Commander of the Faithful `Ali ibn Abu Talib was asked about the Omnipotence of Allah, Exalted and Glorified be He. Therefore, he (AS) stood up, delivered a sermon praising and exalting Allah. He then said: Verily, Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, has created angels that are so enormous that they cannot fly down to the earth due to the sheer size of their numerous wings. Among them is an angel that is so huge that even if jinn and humankind worked together to describe him, they would be unable to do so due to the distance between its joints and the beauty of its composed image. How can one be described which has seven hundred years of distance between its shoulders and its earlobes? Among them is one who obstructs the horizon with one of its many wings without the complete enormity of its body. Among them is one who is so tall that the heavens merely reach his waist. And among them is one whose feet float in the atmosphere and its knees reach the earth. There is also an angel who is so huge that all of the water on earth would fit in the cavity of his thumb. There is also one who is so hug that if ships were cast into the tears of its eyes, they could sail for the rest of eternity. Blessed is Allah, the Best of the Creators. He (AS) was questioned about the veils, so he answered, The first of the veils are seven in number. The thickness of each veil is five hundred years of travel. And the distance between the two veils is the distance traveled in five hundred years. The third veil is composed of seventy veils. Between each veil is the distance traveled in five hundred years. The length of each veil is five hundred years of travel. There are seventy thousand angels acting as the gatekeepers for every veil. The strength of each one of these angels is equal to the strength of all the jinn and men. They are the source of darkness, light, fire, smoke, clouds, lightning, rain, thunder, glow, sand, mountain, dust, water and all rivers. There are different veils. The thickness of each one of these veils is the distance traveled over the course of seventy thousand years. Then there are the Canopies of Glory [jalal], and there are seventy such canopies. In each canopy there are seventy angels. Between each canopy is the distance traveled during five hundred years. Then there is the Canopy of Mighty [`izz]; then the Canopy of Pride [kibriya]; then the canopy of Greatness [`azamah]; then the Canopy of Sacredness [qudus]; then the Canopy of Power [jabarut]; and then the Canopy of Pride [fakhr]. Then is the white light, then the Canopy of Oneness [wahdaniyah], which spans the distance traveled over seventy thousand years into seventy thousand years; and then there is the Most Sublime Veil. Hence, his (AS) speech ended and he became silent. Therefore, `Umar said to him (AS), “I do not want to remain for a day when I do not see you, O Father of al-Hasan.”

4 - حدثنا أبو الحسن علي بن عبد الله بن أحمد الأسواري، قال: حدثنا مكي بن أحمد بن سعدويه البرذعي، قال: أخبرنا عدي بن أحمد بن عبد الباقي أبو - عمير بأذنة  قال: حدثنا أبو الحسن أحمد بن محمد بن البراء، قال: حدثنا عبد المنعم ابن إدريس، قال: حدثنا أبي، عن وهب، عن ابن العباس، عن النبي صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم، إن الله تبارك وتعالى ديكا رجلاه في تخوم الأرض السابعة السفلى، ورأسه عند العرش، ثاني عنقه تحت العرش، وملك من ملائكة الله عز وجل خلقه الله تبارك و تعالى ورجلاه في تخوم الأرض السابعة السفلى مضى مصعدا فيها مد الأرضين حتى خرج منها إلى أفق السماء، ثم مضى مصعدا حتى انتهى قرنه إلى العرش، وهو يقول: سبحانك ربي، وإن لذلك الديك جناحين إذا نشرهما جاوزا المشرق والمغرب، فإذا كان في آخر الليل نشر جناحيه وخفق بهما وصرخ بالتسبيح يقول: سبحان الله الملك القدوس سبحان الكبير المتعال القدوس، لا إله إلا هو الحي القيوم فإذا فعل ذلك سبحت ديكة الأرض كلها وخففت بأجنحتها وأخذت في الصراخ، فإذا سكن ذلك الديك في السماء سكنت الديكة في الأرض، فإذا كان في بعض السحر نشر جناحيه فجاوز المشرق والمغرب وخفق بهما وصرخ بالتسبيح سبحان الله العظيم سبحان الله العزيز القهار سبحان الله ذي العرش المجيد سبحان الله رب العرش الرفيع  فإذا فعل ذلك سبحت ديكة الأرض، فإذا هاج هاجت الديكة في الأرض تجاوبه بالتسبيح والتقديس لله عز وجل، ولذلك الديك ريش أبيض كأشد بياض ما رأيته قط، وله زغب أخضر تحت ريشه الأبيض كأشد خضرة ما رأيتها قط فما زلت مشتاقا إلى أن أنظر إلى ريش ذلك الديك. 

4. Abu al-Hasan `Ali ibn `Abd Allah ibn Ahmad al-Aswari said: Makki ibn Ahmad ibn Sa`dwayh al-Burdha`I said: `Uday ibn Ahmad ibn `abd al-Baqi Abu `Umayr reported to us in Adhanah that Abu al-Hasan Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Bura’ said: `Abd al-Mun`im ibn Idris said: My father related to me, on the authority of Wahab, on the authority of Ibn `Abbas that The Prophet (SA) said: Verily, Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, has create a rooster whose feet are on the borderline of the lowly seventh earth, while its head is in the Empyrean, and its neck is twisted below the Empyrean. It is an angel among the angels of Allah, the Mighty and High. Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, has placed its feet at the lowest level of the seventh earth. It crosses the earths, to the end of the earths, until it comes out at the horizon of heaven. Then it passes the horizon until its first visible part reaches the Empyrean, while it says: “Glory be to You, my Lord.” Verily, this rooster has two wings. If it would spread them out, they would cross both the East and the West. When it is the end of the night, it spreads its two wings, shakes them, and it calls out with the glorification that ”Glory be to Allah, the Sovereign, the Most Holy. Glory be to the Great, the Supreme Being [al-mut`al], the Most Holy. There is no god but He, the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsistent.” When it says so then all the roosters of the earth glorify, spread their wings, and begin to crow. And when that rooster becomes still then the rooster on the earth become still. At the time of dawn, it spreads its two wings, which cross the East and the West, and shakes them, and calls out with the glorification: “Glory be to Allah, the Great. Glory be to Allah, the Honorable, the Subduer. Glory be to Allah, the Possessor of the Glorious Empyrean. Glory be to Allah, the Lord of the Lofty Empyrean.” When it does that then all the roosters of the earth do their glorification. Therefore, it wakes the rooster of the earth, who awake and answer its glorification of Allah, the Mighty and High. The rooster ahs the purest white feathers I have ever seen. Below its white feathers it has the darkest green fuzz that I have ever seen. I am still longing to look at the feathers of that rooster.

5 - وبهذا الإسناد عن النبي صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم، قال: إن لله تبارك وتعالى ملكا من الملائكة نصف جسده الأعلى نار ونصفه الأسفل ثلج، فلا النار تذيب الثلج، ولا الثلج يطفئ النار، وهو قائم ينادي بصوت له رفيع: سبحان الله الذي كف حر هذه النار فلا تذيب هذا الثلج، وكف برد هذا الثلج فلا يطفئ حر هذه النار، اللهم يا مؤلفا بين الثلج والنار ألف بين قلوب عبادك المؤمنين على طاعتك. 

5. With the same chain of transmission that The Prophet (SA) said: Verily, among the angels of Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, is an angel whose upper half is composed of fire, while its lower half is composed of ice. Neither does the fire melt ice, nor does the ice extinguish the fire. He stands calling with his high-pitched voice: “Glory be to Allah, who withholds the heat of this fire so that it does not melt this ice; and Glory be to Allah who withholds the coldness of this ice so that it does not extinguish this fire. O Allah! O Combiner of the Ice and fire! Unite the hearts of Your Believing Servants in Your Obedience.”

6 - وبهذا الإسناد عن النبي صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم، قال: إن لله تبارك وتعالى ملائكة ليس شئ من أطباق أجسادهم إلا وهو يسبح الله عز وجل ويحمده من ناحية  بأصوات مختلفة، لا يرفعون رؤوسهم إلى السماء ولا يخفضونها إلى أقدامهم من البكاء والخشية لله عز وجل. 

6. With the same chain of transmission that The Prophet (SA) said: Verily, among the angels of Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, are angels who glorify Allah, the Mighty and High, with the entirety of their beings, praising Him in every direction with different voices. They do not lift their heads to heaven, nor do they lower them to their feet from crying and fear of Allah, the Mighty and High.

7 - حدثنا محمد بن موسى بن المتوكل رضي الله عنه، قال: حدثنا محمد بن أبي عبد الله الكوفي، عن موسى بن عمران النخعي، عن عمه الحسين بن يزيد، عن إسماعيل بن مسلم، قال: حدثنا أبو نعيم البلخي، عن مقاتل بن حيان، عن عبد الرحمن بن أبي ذر، عن أبي ذر الغفاري رحمة الله عليه، قال: كنت آخذا بيد النبي صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم ونحن نتماشى جميعا، فما زلنا ننظر إلى الشمس حتى غابت، فقلت: يا رسول الله أين تغيب، قال: في السماء ثم ترفع من سماء إلى سماء حتى ترفع إلى السماء السابعة العليا حتى تكون تحت العرش، فتخر ساجدة فتسجد معها الملائكة الموكلون بها، ثم تقول: يا رب من أين تأمرني أن أطلع أمن مغربي أم من مطلعي؟ فذلك قوله تعالى: (والشمس تجري لمستقر لها ذلك تقدير العزيز العليم) (١) يعني بذلك صنع الرب العزيز في ملكه، العليم بخلقه. قال: فيأتيها جبرئيل بحلة ضوء من نور العرش على مقادير ساعات النهار في طوله في الصيف أو قصره في الشتاء أو ما بين ذلك في الخريف والربيع، قال: فتلبس تلك الحلة كما يلبس أحدكم ثيابه، ثم تنطلق بها في جو السماء حتى تطلع من مطلعها، قال النبي صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم: فكأني بها قد حبست مقدار ثلاث ليال ثم لا تكسى ضوءا وتؤمر أن تطلع من مغربها، فذلك قوله عز وجل: ﴿إذا الشمس كورت * وإذا النجوم انكدرت﴾ (٢). والقمر كذلك من مطلعه ومجراه في أفق السماء ومغربه وارتفاعه إلى السماء السابعة، ويسجد تحت العرش ثم يأتيه جبرئيل بالحلة من نور الكرسي فذلك قوله عز وجل: ﴿جعل الشمس ضياء * والقمر نورا﴾  قال أبو ذر رحمه الله: ثم اعتزلت مع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم فصلينا المغرب. 

7. Muhammad ibn Musa al-Mutawakkil (RA) said: Muhammad ibn Abu `Abd Allah al-Kufi said, on the authority of Musa ibn `Imran al-Nakah`I, on the authority of his paternal uncle alHusayn ibn Yazid, on the authority of Isma`il ibn Muslim that Abu Rahman ibn Abu Dharr, on the authority of Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may the mercy of Allah be upon him) that I was holding the hand of the Prophet (SA) and we were both walking. We were looking at the sun and until it set, So I asked, “O Messenger of Allah! Where does it set?” [(Editor’s footnote: This traditionis strange (gharib). As they do not agree with scientific fact, the words that follow cannot be attributed to the Prophet (SA)] He (SA) replied, The sun sets in the sky then it rises from the sky to another sky, until it rises to the seventh highest sky, which is below the Empyrean. Then, the sun prostrates, and the angels which are entrusted with it prostrate themselves along with it. At this point, the sun says: “O my Lord! Do you command me to rise from the West or from my place of rising (the East)?” According to the Word of the Exalted: Abd the sun runs onto a term appointed for it; that is the ordinance of the Mighty, the Knowing. What He means is that He, the Mighty Lord, knows the Realm He has created. He said: Then Jibra`il comes to the sun with a dress which glows with the Light of the Empyrean and fixes the times of day, making them lengthy during the summer, short during the winter, and intermediate length during the call and spring. He said: Thus, the sun wears that dress like anyone of you wear your dress, then it brightens up with it the horizon of the heaven until it rises from the place of rising. The Prophet (SA) said: It is as if I am looking at it, and it is confined for three nights, then it dresses with the glow, and is commanded to rise from the West. That is the Word of the Mighty and High: When the sun is covered, and when the starts darken. The moon is similar in its place of rising, and its trajectory in the horizon of heaven. Its setting is it is rising to the seventh heaven. It prostrates below the Empyrean then Jibra’il comes to it with a dress of light from the Throne. According to the Word of the Mighty and High He made the sun a shinng brightness and the moon a light. Abu Dharr (RA) says: “I then withdrew with the Messenger of Allah (SA) and we prayed the Maghrib prayers.

8 - حدثنا أحمد بن محمد بن يحيى العطار رحمه الله، قال: حدثنا أبي، قال: حدثنا الحسين بن الحسن بن أبان، عن محمد بن أورمة، عن زياد القندي، عن درست، عن رجل، عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام، قال: إن لله تبارك وتعالى ملكا بعد ما بين شحمة أذنه إلى عنقه مسيرة خمسمائة عام خفقان الطير. 

8. Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Yahya al-`Attar (RA) said: My father said: al-Husayn ibn alHasan ibn Aban related to us, on the authority of Muhammad ibn Auramah, o the authority of Ziyad ibn al-Qandi, on the authority of Durust, on the authority of a man that Abu `Abd Allah al-Sadiq (AS) said: “Verily, Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, has created an angel who is so huge that it would take a fluttering bird five hundred years to fly from its earlobe to its neck.”

9 - حدثنا محمد بن الحسن بن أحمد بن الوليد رحمه الله، قال: حدثنا أحمد بن إدريس، عن محمد بن أحمد، عن السياري، عن عبد الله بن حماد، عن جميل بن دراج قال: سألت أبا عبد الله عليه السلام هل في السماء بحار؟ قال: نعم، أخبرني أبي، عن أبيه عن جده عليهم السلام، قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم: إن في السماوات السبع لبحارا عمق أحدها مسيرة خمسمائة عام، فيها ملائكة قيام منذ خلقهم الله عز وجل، والماء إلى ركبهم، ليس فيهم ملك إلا وله ألف وأربعمائة جناح، في كل جناح أربعة وجوه، في كل وجه أربعة ألسن، ليس فيها جناح ولا وجه ولا لسان ولا فم إلا وهو يسبح الله عز وجل بتسبيح لا يشبه نوع منه صاحبه. 

9. Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ibn Ahmad ibn al-Walid (RA) said: Ahmad ibn Idris said, on the authority of Muhammad ibn Ahmad, on the authority of al-Sayyari, on the authority of `Abd Allah ibn Hammad, on the authority of Jamil ibn Durraj that I asked Abu `Abd Allah al-Sadiq (AS). “Are there oceans in heaven?” He replied, Yes. My father related to me, on the authority of his father, and he on the authority of his grandfather (AS) that the Messenger of Allah (SA) said: Verily, in the seven heavens there are oceans, the depths of which are like the distance traveled over the course of five hundred years. In them are angels who have been standing in service since they were created by Allah, the Mighty and High. The water barely reaches their knees. There is not an angel among them but that he has fourteen hundred wings. On each wing, there are four faces. On each face there are four tongues. And there is no a single wing or a single tongue or a single mouth but this it glorifies Allah, the Mighty and High, with a glorification that does not resemble in any way the prayers of the others.

10 - حدثنا محمد بن الحسن بن أحمد بن الوليد رحمه الله، قال: حدثنا محمد بن يحيى العطار، عن الحسين بن الحسن بن أبان، عن محمد بن أورمة، عن أحمد بن الحسن الميثمي (١) عن أبي الحسن الشعيري (٢) عن سعد بن طريف عن الأصبغ بن نباتة، قال: جاء ابن الكواء إلى أمير المؤمنين عليه السلام فقال: يا أمير المؤمنين والله إن في كتاب الله عز وجل لآية قد أفسدت علي قلبي وشككتني في ديني، فقال له علي عليه السلام: ثكلتك أمك وعدمتك وما تلك الآية؟ قال: قول الله تعالى: ﴿والطير صافات كل قد علم صلاته وتسبيحه﴾  فقال له أمير المؤمنين عليه السلام: يا ابن الكواء إن الله تبارك وتعالى خلق الملائكة في صور شتى إلا أن لله تبارك وتعالى ملكا في صورة ديك أبح أشهب، براثنه في الأرض السابعة السلفي وعرفه مثنى تحت العرش له جناحان جناح في المشرق وجناح في المغرب واحد من نار وآخر من ثلج، فإذا حضر وقت الصلاة قام على براثنه ثم رفع عنقه من تحت العرش، ثم بجناحيه كما تصفق الديوك في منازلكم، فلا الذي من النار يذيب الثلج ولا الذي من الثلج يطفئ النار، فينادي أشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له وأشهد أن محمدا سيد النبيين وأن وصيه سيد الوصيين وأن الله سبوح قدوس رب الملائكة والروح، قال: فتخفق الديكة بأجنحتها في منازلكم فتجيبه عن قوله وهو قوله تعالى (والطير صافات كل قد علم صلاته وتسبيحه) من الديكة في الأرض. 

10. Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ibn Ahmad al-Walid (RA) said: Muhammad ibn Yahya al-`Attar said, on the authority of al-Husayn ibn al-Hasan ibn Aban, on the authority of Muhammad ibn Auramah, on the authority of Ahmad ibn al-Hasan al-Maythami, on the authority of Abu alHasan al-Sha`rif, on the authority of Sa`d ibn Tarif; on the authority of Asbagh ibn Nubatah that Ibn al-Kawwa’ came to the Commander of the Faithful (AS) and said: “O Commander of the Faithful! By Allah, verily there is a verse in the Book of Allah, the Mighty and High, that has destroyed my heart, making me doubt my religion.” `Ali (AS) said to him, “May your mother be bereaved of you and be deprived of you! What is that verse?” He replied, “The Word of Allah, the Exalted: The birds with expanded wings, each knows its own prayer, and its own glorification.” Imam `Ali (AS) responded, O son of al-Kawwa’! Verily, Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, has created angels in different shapes. There is an angel of Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, in the shape of a rooster, which is hoarse and gray. Its talons are in the seventh lowly earth and its dual comb is below the Empyrean. It has two wings; one in the East and the other in the West. One is of fire and the other is of ice. When the time of prayer comes, it stands on its talons and raises its neck from below the Empyrean, and then it flaps its two wings like the roosters in your houses do. Neither the one that is from fire melts the ice, nor does the one form the ice put out the fire. At that point it calls: I bear witness that there is no got but Allah, He Alone, there is no associate with Him; and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Master of the Prophets and his successor is the Master of the Successors and that Allah is the Most Praised, the Most Holy, Lord of the Angels and the Spirit (Ruh). He said: Then the roosters in your homes flap their wings and answer him in his call, and that is the Word of the Exalted: The birds with expanded wings, each knows its own prayer and its own glorification” from the roosters in the earth.

11 - حدثنا أبي رحمه الله قال: حدثنا سعد بن عبد الله، عن أحمد بن محمد بن عيسى، عن الحسن بن علي، عن يونس بن يعقوب، عن عمرو بن مروان، عن أبي - عبد الله عليه السلام قال: إن لله تبارك وتعالى ملائكة أنصافهم من برد وأنصافهم من نار يقولون: يا مؤلفا بين البرد والنار ثبت قلوبنا على طاعتك. وسأخرج الأخبار التي رويتها في ذكر عظمة الله تبارك وتعالى في كتاب العظمة إن شاء الله. باب لطف الله تبارك وتعالى 

11. My father (may Allah have mercy on them) said: Sa`d ibn `Abd Allah said, on the authority of Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn `Isa, on the authority of al-Hasan ibn `Ali, on the authority of Yunus ibn Ya`qub, on the authority of `Amr ibn Marwan that Abu `Abd Allah al-Sadiq (AS) said: “Verily, half of the angels of Allah, the Blessed and the Exalted, are in cold and half are in fire. They say: `O Combiner of Hot and Cold, keep our hearts firm in Your Obedience.’” The Compiler of this book says: Allah willing, I will publish the traditions which I have transmitted regarding remembering the Greatness of Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, in the book `al-`Azamat.’

Al-Tawḥīd

Book 2, Chapter 38