Imam Al-Sadiq

the apostles (i.e. Prophet Mohammed), may Allah bless him and his family. These traditions
denote that Allah has no body nor form, no throne nor hand, etc. Also these traditions have
ordered Muslims not to depend on the surface meaning of some verses which underline that
Allah has a throne, a hand, and so on. Some of these verses are: "The Beneficent God has
firmly sat on the Throne." This verse should be understood as follows: "The Beneficent God
is in firm power." Also consider these verses: "The hand of Allah is above their hands." (i.e.
The power of Allah is above their power.) "Whither you turn, thither is Allah's purpose.) Ibin
Abbas said: "A Jew called Na'thal came to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family,
and said: 'Mohammed, I want to ask you about something always sound in my mind. If you
answered them, I would be a Muslim." The Prophet said: 'Abu 'Amara, ask.' The Jew said:
'Mohammed, describe your Lord to me.' The Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family,
said: 'The Creator cannot be described except with that which He has described Himself with.
How can the Creator be described, while the senses are feeble to attain Him, imaginations (are
feeble) to get Him, ideas (are feeble) to limit him, eyes (are feeble) to encompass him. Far be
He from what the they describe. He is far in His nearness; He is near in His farness. He
originated modal existence, but He Himself is without modality. And He originated space, but
He Himself is spaceless. So, He is One and Self- dependent. He has described Himself The
describers cannot encompass His attributes.' He begets not, nor is He begotten. And none is
like Him."'
The Jew said: "Mohammed, you are right. Inform me about your words: 'Allah is one.
Nothing resembles Him. So, His Oneness is like the oneness of man."'
The Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family, said: 'Allah is one with one meaning, while
man is with dualistic meaning- substance and accident, body and soul. So, the likening is in
meanings only.' The Jew said: 'Mohammed, you are right."'(206)
I (the author) say: These words of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family, clearly
deem Allah for above the qualities of creatures. In the Koran, Allah says: "Vision
comprehends Him not, and He comprehends (all) vision."(207)
The Qualities of Occurrence:
There are qualities that need occurrence like space, time, modality, direction, movement,
mobility, and the like. According to the surface meaning of some verses, some people
imagine that these qualities are of the body. So, al- Sadiq, peace be on him, refuted such
claims with his strong proofs. Also some people think that Allah is body depending on His
Words in His Glorious Book: "Nowhere is there a secret counsel between three persons but
He is the fourth of them, nor (between) five but He is the sixth of them."(208) In respect these
Words of Allah, Abu Abd Allah (al- Sadiq) said: "Allah is a Unity in His entity, Allah
different from His creatures and so has He described Himself , And Allah encompasses all