Imam Al-Sadiq

had not seen the Lord, the Blessed and Exalted, through the faculty of sight. Vision is of two
kinds: the vision of the eye, and the vision of the heart. Whoever means the vision of the
heart, then is right. And whoever means the vision of the eye, disbelieves in Allah and His
verses due to the (following) tradition of the Prophet, my Allah bless him and his family:
"Whoever likens Allah to His creatures disbelieves (in Him)." My father told me on the
authority of his father on the authority of al- Husayn b. 'Ali, peace be on them, who said: "The
Commander of the Faithful (i.e. Imam 'Ali) was asked: 'Brother of Allah's Apostle, may Allah
bless him and his family, have you seen your Lord?' He said: 'How do I worship Him Whom I
have not seen, the eyes have not seen Him with the faculty of sight, but the hearts have seen
Him through the realities of belief.' If the believer saw his Lord with the faculty of sight, then
everything seen by the eye and vision is created. So, it is inevitable that the created have a
creator. Therefore, you have made Allah originated and created. Whoever likens Allah to His
creatures adopts a partner with Him. Woe unto them! Have they not heard the Words of
Allah, the Exalted: 'The eyes attain Him not, and He attains (all) eyes,'(221) and His Words:
'You cannot (bear to) see Me, but look at the mountain, if it remains firm in its place, then you
will see Me; but when his Lord manifested His glory to the mountain He made it
crumble.'(222) Though Allah's Light was as little as the light which passes through the eye of
the needle, It made the mountain crumble and Musa fell down in a swoon. 'Then when he
(Musa) recovered, he said: Glory be to You, I turn to You, and I am the first of the believers.
(223)
Then he (Imam 'Ali), peace be on him, said: "The best duties imposed on man are: (man)
should know the Lord, and acknowledge that he is the servant of Allah. The least necessary
knowledge of the Lord is that (man) should know that there is no god but He, He has neither
like nor peer. He (man) should know that Allah is eternal, positive. He is an entity not
annihilate and verily nothing is like Him. He is described without like. Nothing resembles
Him. And He is hearing, seeing. After Him (Allah), is the knowledge of the Prophet and to
acknowledge his Prophethood and what he has brought such as the Book, the Order, and the
Prohibition are all from Allah, the Great and Almighty. After him (the Prophet) is the
knowledge of the Imam whom you follow through his favor, attribute, and name during
hardship and ease. The least necessary knowledge of the Imam is that he is like the Prophet
except the degree of the Prophethood. The Imam is the inheritor of the Prophet. To obey the
Imam is to obey Allah and to obey Allah's Apostle. (Men) should yield to his orders, to
consult him, and to carry out his words.
Then, al- Sadiq mentioned the Imams and their names to Mu'awiya. Then, he said: "Mu'awiya
I have made an origin to you in this (religion), then act according to it. If you had died
following your beliefs, your consequence would have been the worst one. So, do not be
deceived by the words of those who say that the eye can attain Allah.
Then, al- Sadiq mentioned to Mu'awiya the hateful false things which they have ascribed to
prophets in general, the Prophet in private, and (Imam) 'Ali, peace be on them all.