Imam Al-Sadiq

I (the author) say: The meaning of modality, space, and direction is a question or an answer
about the possible things which can be measured.
When people ask about the modality and space of Allah, then he will have a modal existence
and space. And when they ask about Allah's direction, then He is inside a place. If Allah is
such, then eyes attain Him, for the eyes attain the possessor of the body which is inside a
certain place, while the eyes attain Allah not but He attains the eyes.
During a conversation, b. Abu al- 'Awja(218) said to al- Sadiq, peace be on him: "You have
mentioned Allah and (in this way) you have made a reference to (something) absent and
unseen." Abu Abd Allah (al- Sadiq) said: "Woe unto you! How strange! How can He, Who is
a witness to His creatures, Who is nearer to them than the jugular vein, Who hears their
talking, sees them in their person and knows their secrets, be absent and unseen?" Again, b.
Abu al- 'Awja' asked: "Is Allah at every place? When He is in the heavens, how can He be on
the earth? And when He is in the earth, how can He be in the heavens?" Abu Abd Allah (al-
Sadiq), peace be on him, answered: "You have kept in your view the attributes of the created
which occupy the space to which they are transferred, vacating the one they are transferred
from, without knowing what happened to the former space. There is no space without Allah
of the highest eminence and Monarch to be obeyed, Whom no space can confine and Who in
relation to one place is not nearer than another."(219)
I (the author) say: Many traditions have been mentioned on the authority of al- Sadiq. They
all indicate that Allah, the Exalted, is far above the attributes of His creatures. However, I
have confined myself to the above-mentioned ones.
Eyes Attain Him not:
Some Muslim sects think that eyes can attain Allah in the hereafter only, or both in here and
in the hereafter. However (ahl al Bayt ), especially al-Sadiq (peace be on him), did their best
to abolish this attribute and to underline that eyes could not attain Him. The following are
some proofs of al- Sadiq in this respect.
Hisham said: "I was with al- Sadiq, peace be on him, when Mu'awiya b. Wahab and Abd al-
Malik b. A'yun(220) came to him. Mu'awiya b. Wahab asked al- Sadiq: 'Son of Allah's
Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family, what is your viewpoint about the tradition
which says that Allah's Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family, had seen his Lord? How
did he see him? And what is your viewpoint about the - tradition which says that the believers
will see their Lord in Paradise? How will they see Him?' Al-Sadiq, peace be on him, smiled
and said: 'Mu'awiya, it is ugly that the man who becomes seventy or eight years of age, lives
in Allah's Kingdom, and eats from His boons, but he does not know Allah totally.' Then, al-
Sadiq, peace be on him, said: 'Mu'awiya, Mohammed (may Allah bless him and his family)