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 - حدثنا علي بن أحمد بن محمد بن عمران الدقاق رحمه الله، قال: حدثنا محمد بن أبي عبد الله الكوفي، عن محمد بن إسماعيل البرمكي، قال: حدثنا جذعان بن نصر أبو نصر الكندي، قال: حدثني سهل بن زياد الآدمي، عن الحسن بن محبوب، عن عبد الرحمن بن كثير  عن داود الرقي، قال: سألت أبا عبد الله عليه السلام عن قوله، عز وجل: (وكان عرشه على الماء) فقال لي: ما يقولون في ذلك؟ قلت: يقولون إن العرش كان على الماء والرب فوقه، فقال: كذبوا، من زعم هذا فقد صير الله محمولا ووصفه بصفة المخلوقين ولزمه أن الشئ الذي يحمله أقوى منه، قلت: بين لي جعلت فداك، فقال: إن الله عز وجل حمل علمه ودينه الماء  قبل أن تكون أرض أو سماء أو جن أو إنس أو شمس أو قمر، فلما أراد أن يخلق الخلق نثرهم بين يديه  فقال لهم: من ربكم؟! فكان أو من نطق رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله وأمير المؤمنين عليه السلام و الأئمة صلوات الله عليهم، فقالوا: أنت ربنا، فحملهم العلم والدين، ثم قال للملائكة: هؤلاء حملة علمي وديني وأمنائي في خلقي وهم المسؤولون  ثم قيل لبني - آدم: أقر والله بالربوبية ولهؤلاء النفر بالطاعة، فقالوا: نعم ربنا أقررنا، فقال للملائكة: اشهدوا، فقالت الملائكة شهدنا على أن لا يقولوا إنا كنا عن هذا غافلين أو يقولوا إنما أشرك آباؤنا من قبل وكنا ذرية من بعدهم أفتهلكنا بما فعل المبطلون  يا داود ولايتنا مؤكدة عليهم في الميثاق. 

1. `Ali ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn `Imran al-Daqqaq (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Muhammad ibn Abu `Abd Allah al-Kufi said, on the authority of Muhammad ibn Isma`il alBarmaki that Jadh`an ibn Nasr al-Kandi said: Sahl ibn Ziyad al-Adami related to, on the authority of al-Hasan ibn Mahbub, on the authority of `Abd al-Rahman ibn Kathir, on the authority of Dawud al-Raqqi that I asked Abu `Abd Allah al-Sadiq (AS) about the Word of the Mighty and High: His Empyrean was on the Water. So he (AS) asked me, “How do they interpret it?” I answered, “They say that the Empyrean was on the water, and that the Lord was on it.” Thus, he (AS) responded, “They have lied, Whoever claims that implies that Allah is carried, and has described Him on the basis of the attributes of the created, necessarily implying that the thing that carries Him is mightier than He is.” I said: “May I be your ransom! Could you clarify that for me?” Consequently, he (AS) responded, Verily, Allah, the Mighty and High, burdened the water with His Knowledge and His Religion, before the existence of the heavens and the earth, jinn or man, and sun or moon. When He intended to create the world, He scattered them before Him, and asked them: `Who is lour Lord?’ So the first to speak were the Messenger of Allah (SA), the Commander of the Faithful (AS), and the Imams, may the blessings of Allah be upon them. They said: `You are our Lord. So he bore them with knowledge and religion.’ He then said to the angels: `These are the bearers of My Knowledge and My Religion. They are My Authorized Representatives in My Creation, and they are the ones to be asked.’ Then He said to the children of Adam: `Acknowledge the Lordship of Allah, and obey those to whom obedience is due!’ Hence, they all replied: `Yes our Lord, we acknowledge.’ Then He ordered the angels: `Bear witness!’ The angels said: We bear witness. Lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection: Surely we were heedless of this. Or you should say: Only our fathers associated others (with Allah) before, and we were an offspring, after them: Wilt Thou then destroy us for what the vain doers died?” O Dawud, our guardianship [wilayah] was emphasized in the covenant.

2 - حدثنا تميم بن عبد الله بن تميم القرشي قال: حدثنا أبي، عن أحمد بن علي الأنصاري، عن أبي الصلت عبد السلام بن صالح الهروي قال: سأل المأمون أبا الحسن علي بن موسى الرضا عليهما السلام، عن قول الله عز وجل: (وهو الذي خلق السماوات والأرض في ستة أيام وكان عرشه على الماء ليبلوكم أيكم أحسن عملا) فقال: إن الله تبارك وتعالى خلق العرش والماء والملائكة قبل خلق السماوات والأرض، وكانت الملائكة تستدل بأنفسها وبالعرش والماء على الله عز وجل، ثم جعل عرشه على الماء ليظهر بذلك قدرته للملائكة فيعلموا أنه على كل شئ قدير، ثم رفع العرش بقدرته ونقله فجعله فوق السماوات السبع  وخلق السماوات والأرض في ستة أيام، وهو مستول على عرشه، وكان قادرا على أن يخلقها في طرفة عين، ولكنه عز وجل خلقها في ستة إيام ليظهر للملائكة ما يخلقه منها شيئا بعد شئ وتستدل بحدوث ما يحدث على الله تعالى ذكره مرة بعد مرة، ولم يخلق الله العرش لحاجة به إليه لأنه غني عن العرش وعن جميع ما خلق، لا يوصف بالكون على العرش لأنه ليس بجسم، تعالى الله عن صفة خلقه علوا كبيرا. وأما قوله عز وجل: (ليبلوكم أيكم أحسن عملا) فإنه عز وجل خلق خلقه ليبلوهم بتكليف طاعته وعبادته لا على سبيل الامتحان والتجربة لأنه لم يزل عليما بكل شئ، فقال المأمون: فرجت عني يا أبا الحسن فرج الله عنك.  باب العرش وصفاته 

2. Tamim ibn `Abd Allah ibn Tamim al-Qurashi said: my father said, on the authority of Ahmad ibn `Ali al-Ansari, on the authority of Abu al-Salt `Abd al-Salam ibn Salih al-Hirawi that Al-Ma’mum asked Abu al-Hasan `Ali ibn Musa al-Rida (AS) about the Word of Allah, the Mighty and High: And He it is who created heaves and the earth in six days, and His Empyrean was on the water, that He might try you, which of you is the best in action. He thus, (AS) replied, Verily, Allah the Blessed and Exalted, created the Empyrean, the water, and the angels before the creation of heavens and the earth. The angels use to ponder over the existence the Empyrean, the existence of the water, and the existence of Allah, the Mighty and High. Then He place His Empyrean over the water to make His Omnipotence evident to the angels so that they may know that He had power over all things. He then raised the Empyrean by means of His Omnipotence, moving it and placing it over the seven heavens. He created the heavens and the earth in six days, while He was in possession of the Empyrean. Although He has the power of creating them in the blink of an eye, He, the Mighty and High, created them over six days to show to the angels that He was creating, one after another, so that they could ponder over what Allah, exalted be His Remembrance, brought about in stages. Allah did not create the Empyrean because He was in need of it. On the contrary, He is Self-Sufficient without any need for the Empyrean and of anything He has created. He is not subject to location within the Empyrean, because He does not possess a body. Exalted is Allah, the Elevated and high, from the attributes of is Creation! As for His Word, the Mighty and High: that He might try you, which of you is best in action. Sao verily, He, the Mighty and High, crated His Creation to try them through His Obedience, and His service, and not for the sake of trial and experiment, because He has always been the All-knowing of Everything. Al-Ma’mum said: “You have relieved me. May Allah relive you!”

Al-Tawḥīd

Book 2, Chapter 49