Chapter On The Meanings of the Names of Allah and their Derivatives
H 309, Ch. 16, h 1
A group of our people has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Khalid
from al-Qasim ibn Yahya from his grandfather al-Hassan ibn Rashid from Abdallah ibn
Sinan who has said the following.
"I asked abu Abdallah (a.s.) about the interpretation of the verse of the holy
Quran, In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. The Imam
replied, "The first letter B in the Arabic version signifies Baha
Ullah means beauty of Allah. The second letter S' signifies Sana
Ullah means radiance of Allah. The third letter M signifies Majdullah means
the Grandeur of Allah or according to some other narrators, Mujdullah means Kingdom
of Allah. Allah means; Lord of all things. And al-Rahman means the
Beneficent to all of His creatures in general. Al-Rahim means the Most Merciful to
the believers in particular."
H 310, Ch. 16, h 2
Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from his father from an-Nadr ibn Suwayd
from Hisham ibn al-Hakam who has said that he asked abu Abdallah (a.s.), about the
names of Allah and their derivations and roots.
"What is the root from which the word Allah is derived?" The Imam replied,
"O Hisham, the word Allah is derived from ilah, that is, the One Who is
worshipped and the One who is worshipped is supposed to be worth worshipping. The name of
Allah is different from His Own self. Whoever worships the name not the meaning has become
a heathen and has, in fact, worshipped nothing. Whoever worships the name and its meaning
jointly, he becomes a polytheist because of worshipping two gods. Whoever worships the
meaning of the word Allah only he, in reality, has worshipped the One Allah (God). O
Hisham, did you grasp it?" Hisham requested, "Kindly enlighten me more."
The Imam added, "Allah has ninety-nine names. If each name had a separate meaning
then each meaning would have been a god. Allah is One only and all His names stand for
just One reality and all these names are other than Allah Himself. O Hisham, bread is the
name of something to eat. Water is the name of something to drink. Dress is the name of
something to wear on. Fire is the name of something that burns. O Hisham, did you fully
grasp the point so you can defend your belief and contest successfully against our
opponents, who, along with Allah, the Exalted, the Great, except things other than
Him?" Hisham replied, "Yes, I did understand." The Imam said, "O
Hisham, may Allah benefit you thereby and grant you steadfastness." Hisham (the
narrator) says, "I swear by Allah, no one has ever defeated me on the issue of the
Oneness of Allah until now."
H 311, Ch. 16, h 3
A group of our people has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad from al-Barqi from al-Qasim ibn Yahya from his grandfather al-Hassan ibn Rashid from abul Hassan Musa ibn Jafar (a.s.), who was questioned about the meaning of the word Allah. The Imam replied, "He (Allah) dominates all things small or big."
H 312, Ch. , h
Ali ibn Muhammad has narrated from Sahl ibn Ziyad from Yaqub ibn
Yazid from al-Abbass ibn Hilal who has said the following.
"I asked Imam al-Rida (a.s.), about the words of Allah, Allah is the Light of
the heavens and the earth" (24:35). The Imam replied, "Allah is the
Guide for all that is in the heavens and the Guide for all that is on the earth."
According to another Hadith narrated by al-Barqi,(the Imam said), "Allah has guided everyone in the heavens and every one on the earth."
H 313, Ch. 16, h 4
Ahmad ibn Idris has narrated from Muhammad ibn Abd al-Jabbar from
Safwan ibn Yahya from Fudayl ibn Uthman from ibn abu Yafur who has said the
following.
"I asked abu Abdallah (a.s.), about the words of Allah, The Majestic, the
Glorious, He (Allah) is the first and the last. (57:3) We have
understood His being the first but explain for us the meaning of His being the
last." The Imam said, "There is nothing in the universe, but that is subject
to annihilation, alteration, change, decay, transition from one color to another, from one
shape to another and from one quality to another. They increase, decrease and change from
decrease to increase, except He, Who is the Lord of the worlds. He alone is eternal and in
one state. He is the first, before every thing and the last eternally. His attributes and
names do not change as they do in the case of others. A man at one time is dust, at other
time flesh and blood, then turns into decaying bones and finally becomes dust. A piece of
date at one time is raw, at another time ripe, mature and then it dries up. With every
change, the names and attributes also change. Allah, the Majestic, the Glorious is
different from all such things."
H 314, Ch. 16, h 5
Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from his father from ibn abu Umayr
from ibn Udhaynah from Muhammad ibn Hakim from Maymun al-Ban who has said the
following.
"I heard abu Abdallah (a.s.) saying to a question about Allah being the first
and the last." The Imam replied, "His being the first means there
was no first before Him and no beginning preceded Him at all. His being the last
means that He has no end because it is an attribute of the created and He is eternal, the
first and the last. He has always been and He will always be without any beginning and any
end. Nothing new happens to Him and does not change from one state to another. He is the
Creator of all things."
H 315, Ch. 16, h 6
Muhammad ibn abu Abdallah in a marfu manner, has narrated
from abu Hashim al-Jafari who has said the following.
"I was in the company of abu Ja'far al-Thani, the 2nd (a.s.), when a
person asked him, "The names and attributes of the Lord, the Most Holy, the Most
High, mentioned in His book (the Holy Quran) are they He Himself?" The Imam replied,
"Your question has two aspects. If you say that they are His Own Self, meaning that
He has plurality and multiplicity, then Allah is far exalted from being as such. If you
mean that names and attributes of Allah had eternally been there, this also has a double
meaning. (Firstly) if you mean, that names and attributes have eternally been in the
knowledge of Allah and He eternally deserved them, it is true and quite right. If you mean
that the letters, pictures, spellings and syllables of names and attributes were eternal,
then we seek refuge from Him against such belief. Allah existed but there were no
creatures. He created names and attributes as a means between His Own-self and the
creatures. Through these means they pray to Him and ask Him for help and names are the
means to speak of Him. Allah existed without being mentioned. The One mentioned through
names is Allah the eternal, Who will be there eternally. Names and attributes are created
their meaning and what they indicate is Allah, Who is far above plurality and combination,
which happens only to the moving things. You can not say that Allah is compiled. He is a
great deal or very little. He His Own-self is eternal. What is other than the Only One, it
is divisible. Allah is not divisible. Not even in ones imaginations He can be though
of as more or less. Every divisible or being thought of as less or more, in ones
imagination, is created which is the sign of the existence of the Creator. When you say
Allah has power you in reality say that He does not become frustrated due to weakness. In
this way you negate weakness from Him and consider it other than Him. The same is the
meaning of your saying that He is all knowing. With this, you negate ignorance from Him
and have considered it other than Him. When Allah will destroy all things the form,
spelling and syllables will all be destroyed. Allah is and will eternally be there."
The man then said, "Why do we call our Lord All-hearing? The Imam said, "Because every thing that can be heard is not hidden from Him. We do not ascribe to Him the hearing ability that exists in the heads. In the same way we call Him All-seeing. It is because every thing that can be seen like colors or individuals etc., are not hidden from Him. We do not call Him All-seeing because of blinking eye. In the same way we call Him Subtle because of His knowledge of delicate things such as insects, etc., or even more delicate things. (It is because of His knowledge of) that, wherefrom such things emerge and of the intelligence, desires for reproduction, compassion for their offspring, their guarding each other, their carrying food and drink to their offspring in the mountains, wilderness, valleys and desolate places. From this we know that their Creator is Subtle but without the condition of subtlety. Such conditions are for the creatures, who are conditioned with conditions.
We also call our Lord powerful but not because of the aggressiveness that the creatures display. If so, there a similarity would have existed as well as degrees of decrease that would involve increases. Whatever would decrease is not eternal and is weak. To our Lord, the Most Holy, the Most High, no one is similar, no contrary, no resemblance, no conditions, no end and no seeing of eyes. It is unlawful for the hearts to analogize Him. It is unlawful for the Awham (intuitive power) to limit Him. It is unlawful for ones consciousness to contain Him. He is far Glorious and Majestic and above coming within the reach of the means of His creatures or have the sings of His servants. He is High and Great and far above such matters."
H 316, Ch. 16, h 7
Ali ibn Muhammad has narrated from Sahl ibn Ziyad from Ibn Mahbub from
those he mentioned from abu Abdallah (a.s.) who has said the following.
"A man said, Allahu Akbar (Allah is Greatest) in his presence." The Imam
asked, "Allah is Greatest than who?" The man replied, "Greatest than
everything." The Imam said, "You have considered Him limited." The man
asked, "Then, how should I say it?" The Imam replied, "Say, Allah is
Greatest beyond description."
H 317, Ch. 16, h 8
Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Isa
from Marwak ibn Ubayd from Jumay ibn Umayr who has said the following.
"Imam abu Abdallah (a.s.) asked me, What is Allah is Greatest?"
I replied, "Allah is Greatest of all things." The Imam further asked, "Were
there other things so Allah would be considered the greatest of them?" I then asked,
"What then is the meaning thereof?"' The Imam replied, "Allah is far
greater than all descriptions."
H 318, Ch. 16, h 9
Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from Muhammad ibn Isa ibn
Ubayd from Yunus from Hisham ibn al-Hakam who has said the following.
"I asked abu Abdallah (a.s.) about the words Glorious is Allah."
The Imam said, "It means Distinction of Allah (His being free of all
shortcomings)."
H 319, Ch. 16, h 10
Ahmad ibn Mihran has narrated from Abd al-Azim ibn
Abdallah al-Hassani from Ali ibn Asbat. From Sulayman Mawla Tirbal from Hisham
al-Jawaliqi who has said the following.
"I asked abu Abdallah (a.s.) about the meaning of the words of Allah, the
Majestic, the Glorious, Glorious Allah (Qur'an, 12:108, 23:91, 28:68, 37:159,
52:43, 59:23). The Imam replied, "They denote Allahs being above all things in
perfection."
H 320, Ch. 16, h 11
Ali ibn Muhammad and Muhammad ibn al-Hassan has narrated from Sahl ibn
Ziyad and Muhammad ibn Yahya from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Isa all of them from abu
Hashim al-Jafari who has said the following.
"I asked abu Jafar al-Thani, the 2nd (a.s.), "What is the
meaning of the One?" The Imam replied, "It means the unanimity of all
tongues in speaking of Allahs Oneness. If you ask them as to who has created them,
they all say it is Allah, Who has created them."