A Shiite Anthology

Al-Reza A.S

part 2

"So through them He separated 'before' and 'after' that it might be known that He has no before and after. They testify with their temperaments that He who gave them temperaments has no temperament. They prove by their disparity (tafawut) that He who made them disparate has no disparity. They announce through their subjection to time that He who subjected them to time is not subject to it Himself." 

"He veiled some of them from others so that it might be known that there is no veil between Him and them other than them. His is the meaning of lordship (al-rububiyyah) when there was none over whom He was Lord, the reality of godhood (al-ilahiyyah) when there was nothing for whom He was God, the meaning of Knower when there was nothing to be known, the meaning of Creator (khaliq) when there was nothing created (makhluq) and the import of hearing when there was nothing to be heard. It is not because He created that He deserves the meaning (of the term) 'Creator' and not because He brought the creatures into being that the meaning of 'making' is derived." 

"How (should it not be so) ? For mudh ('ever since') conceals Him not, qad ('already') brings Him not near, la'alla('perhaps') veils Him not, mata ('when?') limits Him not in time,hin ('at the time of') contains Him not, and ma ('with') brings Him not into association. Instruments (adawat) limit only themselves and means (alah) allude only unto their own like. Their activities are found only in things. Mudhwithholds things from being eternal (qidmah), qad shields them from beginninglessness, and law la ('if only') wards off perfection (al-takmilah). Things become separate and prove (the existence of) their Separator. They become distinguished and prove their Distinguisher (muba'in). Through them their Maker manifests Himself to the powers of reason. Through (these powers)  He becomes veiled to sight, to them imaginations appeal for a decision, in them is substantiated (only) other than Him, from them is suspended the proof and through them He makes known to them the acknowledgement (al-iqrar)." 

"Confirmation (tasdiq) of God is made fast by the powers of reason, and faith (iman) in Him reaches perfection through acknowledgment. There is no religiosity (diyanah) except after knowledge (marifah), no knowledge except through sincerity (ikhlas) and no sincerity along with comparison. There is no negation (nafy) of comparison if there is affirmation (ithbat) of attributes." 

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"If something from behind limited Him, then something in front would limit Him. If perfection (tamam) were seeking Him imperfection would be upon Him. How should that which does not transcend (imtina) temporality be worthy of (the Name 'Beginningless' ? How should that which does not transcend being produced (insha') produce the things (of the world) ? There the would have arisen in Him a sign of having been made (al-masnu) and He would become a proof (dalil) after having been the proven (madlul alayh)." 

"There is no argument in absurd opinions (such as the above), no answer when it (absurdity) is asked about, no glorification of Him in its meaning. Nor is there any in distinguishing Him from creation, unless it be that the Eternal accepts not to be made two, nor the Beginningless to have a beginning." 

"There is no god but God, the All-high, the Tremendous. They have cried lies who ascribe equals to God! They have gone astray into far error and suffered a manifest loss! And God bless Muhammad and his household, the pure." 

2. The Veil 

It was related from Muhammad ibn 'Abdallah al-Khurasani, the servant of al-Reza-upon whom be peace-that a man from among the unbelievers (zanadiqah) [125] entered the presence of the Imam, with whom was a group of people. Abu-l-Hasan (the Imam) said to him, "Dost thou see that if the correct view is your view-and it is not your view-then are we not equal ? All that we have prayed, fasted, given of the alms and declared of our convictions will not harm us." 

The unbeliever remained silent. Then Abu-l-Hasan said, "If the correct view is our view-and it is our view-then have not you perished and we gained salvation ?" 

He said, "God's mercy be upon thee. Then let me know, how is He and where is He ?" 

Abu-l-Hasan answered, "Woe upon thee, surely the opinion thou hast adopted is mistaken!. He determined the 'where', and He was, when there was no where; and He fashioned the 'how', and He was, when there was no 'how'. So He is not known through 'howness' or 'whereness' or through any form of sense perception, nor can He be gauged by anything." 

The man said, "So then surely He is nothing (la shay') if He cannot be perceived by any of the senses." 

Abu-l-Hasan said, "Woe upon thee! When thy senses fail to perceive Him, thou deniest His lordship. But when our senses fail to perceive Him, we know for certain that He is our Lord and that He is something different from other things (shay' bi-khilaf al-asha). 

The man said, "Then tell me, when was He ?" 

Abu-l-Hasan said, "Tell when He was not, and then I will tell you when He was." 

The man said, "Then what is the proof of Him ?" 

Abu-l-Hasan said, "Surely when I contemplate my body and it is impossible for me to increase or decrease its breadth and height, or to keep unpleasant things away from it or draw benefits to it, then I know that this structure has a maker and I acknowledge (iqrar) Him-even though that which I had seen of the rotation of the celestial sphere through His power; the producing of clouds; [128] the turning about of the winds; the procession of the sun, the moon and the stars; and others of His wondrous and perfectly created signs (ayat), had (already) made me know that (all) this has a Determiner (muqaddir) and Producer (munshi')." 

Sources:

al-islam.org

Other Links:

A Shiite Anthology: Ali A.S (via Negativa)

A Shiite Anthology: Oneness & Discrenment