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The Immortality Or Eternity Of Allah
Source: Ain-al-Hayat, By: Allama Muhammad Baqir Majlisi
Allah is Immortal and Eternal. Some people think that since Heaven and Hell shall always be there, therefore immortality does not remain the Unique Attribute of Allah because the inmates of the Heaven and the Hell too will remain there eternally. This is not true, because the Immortality of Allah is attributed to His own wish while the longevity of the inmates of the Heaven and the Hell is not of their own choosing. The Immortality of Allah is His Attribute and cannot be changed and the common creatures have had different shapes at different times- they had been dust, water, flesh, bones etc. They never remained in one physical condition, while Allah is the same for ever, as ever!
The Creator Of The Universe
This tradition also points towards the fact that Allah is the Creator of the land and the sky and everything that is found on them. Some philosophers believe that the Uqool al-Ashara are the creators of these. Some Ghaali (exagerrating) Shi’as too believe that the creators of the land and the sky are the Holy Infallibles. But according to the traditions of the Imams (as), such belief is absolutely wrong.
Yasir asked Imam Ar-Ridha’ (as), “O son of the Prophet! What is your opinion about Tafweed (delegation)?” The Imam replied, “Follow the precepts communicated by Allah through the Prophet. The other attributes of Creation and Sustenance, He has not delegated to anyone.”
Abu Hashim Jafferi narrates that Imam ‘Ali ar Ar-Ridha’ (as) was asked by the people his opinion about the belief of the Ghillat (the exaggerators) and the Uquool al-Ashara. The Imam replied, “Believing anyone other than Allah as capable of creating the land and the sky is sheer heresy. Friendship with such persons, eating with them and having marital relations with them is strictly forbidden.”
In the book, Ehtejajaat, ‘Ali bin Ahmed Qummi writes that some Shi’as had a difference of opinion that some said that Allah has given to the Imam the power to create and provide sustenance. Others were denying this. Muhammad bin Othman Umri, who was a deputy of the Twelfth Imam (as), wrote a submission (Areeza) seeking the Imam’s clarification. The Imam’s reply was that it is only Allah who creates and provides sustenance. It is another matter that in response to the supplications of the Holy Imams he creates and provides sustenance as per their wishes.”
Creation of The Firmament
Reliable traditions indicate that the skies are not close to each other and the distance between two skies could be the equivalent to travelling for a period of five hundred years. All the skies are replete with angels. The angels possess light bodies. Amir’ul-Mu’mineen ‘Ali (as) has said that if an angel descends to the earth, there won’t be any space left there for anything else. The number of the angels is more than all the living creatures put together, and in size there is no creature larger than some them.
Some angels are so huge that the distance between their ears and the shoulders is equivalent to the distance that can be traveled in seven hundred years. It is mentioned in the Traditions that there are seven skies and also there are seven earths in the firmament. There are so many creations in these skies and the earths that it would be impossible to have a count of them.
About The Angels
The philosophers say that the angels are the figment of imagination of the present level of intellect and the psychic condition of the humans. But endorsing this opinion of the philosophers would be tantamount to denying the phenomenon supported by Divine Revelations and would go in the realm of Kufr.
There is no other creation in the universe larger in number than the angels and their bodies too are larger than those of any other creatures excepting the souls (Rooh).Bin Babawiya narrates through reliable sources that Amir’ul-Mu’mineen ‘Ali (as) was asked about the Omnipotence of Allah.
Amir’ul-Mu’mineen ‘Ali (as), after praising the Beneficent and Merciful Allah, said that Allah has created an angel who, when it descended on the earth, would find the entire area of the planet insufficient for itself. Certain other angels are so large that they occupy the entire space of the sky. There are also angels that are so large that the sky comes up to their waist. Some others are standing in the atmosphere and the earth is near their ankles.
Then the people asked Amir’ul-Mu’mineen ‘Ali (as) about the curtains that are over the skies. He replied that the First Curtain (Hijab al-Awwal) has seven strata. Every curtain has the width equivalent to the distance traveled in 500 years and the intermediate distance between any two curtains is the same as mentioned above. In the space between any two curtains there are 70,000 angels and the strength of every individual angel is more than that of all the men and Jinns put together.
Above the curtains there is Sirr al-Awqat al-Jalal. These are seventy thousand curtains and each curtain has 70,000 angels and there is a distance of 500 years of travel time between any two curtains. Then there is the Saradaq al-Izzat, Saradaq al-Kibria, Saradaq al-Azmat, Saradaq al-Quds and Saradaq al-Jabroot. After these there are the Saradaqs of Noor al-Abyad, Saradaq al-Wahdaniyat. After all these, there is Hijab al-Aala, the Superior Curtain.
‘Ali bin Ibrahim narrates from Jafer al-As-Sadiq (as) that the Imam has said that Allah has created the angels differently. The Prophet of Allah has seen that the Angel Gabriel had six hundred arms and on his calf there are pearls as if they were drops of moisture on the green verdure. When the Prophet saw Gabriel he found him positioned between the sky and the earth. When Allah orders the Angel Mekail to come to the earth, he will have one of his feet on the Seventh Sky and the other he puts on the earth.
Then Amir’ul-Mu’mineen ‘Ali (as) said, Allah has created such angels that half their bodies are made of ice and the other half of fire. The supplication of these angels is, ‘O Almighty Allah, Who has created compatibility between the fire and the ice! Keep us steadfast in our prayer!’
Amir’ul-Mu’mineen ‘Ali (as) also said, “The angels do not eat or drink nor do they mate for procreation. Their lives are like the breeze of the Firmament. There are certain angels who will remain in the position of Ruku (Obe’Isance) for ever. Some others are in the state of Sajda (Prostration).
Every night 70,000 angels descend to the earth and circumambulate the Kaaba, offer their respects to the Prophet (S), to Amir’ul-Mu’mineen ‘Ali (as) and then visit the Mausoleum of Imam Husayn (as) and circumambulate there. Early in the morning they ascend into the Firmament. Thus every morning a fresh batch of angels descends to the earth and this practice goes on an on.
There is a reliable tradition that someone asked Imam Ja’far As-Sadiq (as), “Are the angels more in numbers than the humans?”
The Imam replied, “By Allah who has the authority over my life, only the angels that are on the sky are more in number than the particles of dust on the earth. There is no place in the sky where there are no angels. They are all engrossed in the worship of Allah. There is no plant or a clod on the land where the angels are not there who have been appointed as guardian angels (Muwakkil) for that spot. They report to Allah every day about the goings on there. It is true that Allah knows everything but the angels, through the love for the Ahl alBayt, wish to have the opportunity of going closer to the Almighty.
Bin Babawiyah narrates through a reliable source that Zainab Attarah went one day to the Holy Prophet (S) and inquired about the excellence of Allah’s creations.
The Prophet (S) replied, “The earth, with all its contents, and in relation to the one below it, is like a ring or a bangle lying in a forest. These two, in relation to the third, are also looking the same way. The situation is similar till the seventh earth”
Then the Prophet (S) recited the following verse: “Allah created seven skies and similarly the earths.” (65:12)
These seven strata of the earth, on the back of a fowl, with their contents look like the rings lying in the forest. One side of the fowl is in the east and the other in the west. This fowl is located over a wide rock that in relation to the earths, with all their contents, appear like rings lying in a forest. The wide rock is lying on back of a fish, and in relation to its width, all the things lying on it look like rings in a forest. The fish is located in a dark sea and in relation to its width, the things lying on it seem like rings in a forest. And below this sea is the Sara (The Nether Region). In relation to the Nether Region all other things look like rings lying on the floor of a forest.
The Holy Qur’an says: “It is for Him what all is in the skies and on the earth and what all is in between them and what is in the Nether Region.” (20:6)
All these things, in relation to the first sky, are like circles or rings that are lying in a forest. This sequence repeates itself till the seventh sky.And all these earths and skies, in relation to the Dariya al-Makfoof, are like circles and the Dariya al-Makfoof in relation to Koh al-Tagrak too is like a circular ring. Then all these strata, in relation to the Hijab al-Noor are also like rings. There are seventy Hijab al-Noor that are so bright that one cannot look at them with the eyes. All these things are like circles in front of the Kursi (The Chair).
The Qur’an says: “His Chair is more extensive than the skies and the earth.” (2:255)
The Meanings Of Tender And Omniscient
The word lateef (tender) is used in four contexts: Lateef could be a thing that is very thin and not visible to the eyes. This word can be an attribute for Allah that the human eyes cannot see Him.
The art’Isan who manufactures delicate things too is referred to in the Arabic lexicon as lateef. Because Allah is the Creator of all the things, the smallest like the mosquito and the largest like the mountains, and is not visible to the humans, He is referred to as Lateef.
The one who has profuse knowledge of lateef (delicate) and daqeeq (minute) things is called lateef.
The word lateef has its root in the word lutf that means kindness. Therefore, one who is kind is referred to as Lateef.
The word Khabeer is used in two contexts:
1. Khabeer, the pronoun,that means one who is aware of everything.
2. Khabeer, in the sense of one who informs or gives information.
The attributes of Allah, including those of Lateef and Khabeer, are not ancient that they existed before Allah. Otherwise Allah would not be the Creator of all these attributes. All these Attributes are specifically His and He has selected them at His own pleasure. His creatures, in times of need, call Him with his Attributes, like, Sami (One Who Hears), Baseer (One Who Sees), Qadir (One Who is Empowered), Hai O Qayyum (One Who is and shall Be), Lateef O Khabeer (The Delicate and the Omniscient) etc.
Some misguided critics say that the human beings too use these names, and therefore they become sharers in these attributes with Allah. This is a misnomer, because despite men being called with these names, the meaning and context is absolutely different. For example, Allah is addressed with the name Aalim (meaning the learned).
In the case of Allah the learning is not acquired learning. In the case of humans, learning is acquired. When a man is called aalim, he would have gone through the hard process of acquiring knowledge starting from the stage when he was jaahil (unlettered) to the stage when he is accepted as a learned person (the aalim). And, if for some reason he loses his learning, he might revert to the status of being called a Jaahil.
The Omnipotent
Every thing in the Universe, small, big, elementary or complex owes its existence to Allah. There is nothing about which Allah has no knowledge. All the philosophers and thinkers agree on one point that Allah has knowledge of and control over everything. He has control over the Universe and Has the Power to create any number of such entities.
But, because he is the Ultimate Philosopher-Thinker, He, perhaps, thought to create the only existing Universe. He could have created the human being with more than two arms, but His Expedience was that provision of only two arms to man was sufficient for his physical existence. In any of Allah’s creations there is no pronounced defect. Allah, Who has created the Universe with the utterance of the monosyllable, Kun (let there be  , and the Universe came about.
Imam Ja’far As-Sadiq (as) narrated that when prophet Musa (as) went to the Mount of Toor he requested Allah to show to him His treasures.
Allah said, “O Musa! My treasure is in the fact that I ask for anything to happen, saying Kun, and that thing happens instantaneously.
Doubting Allah’s Omnipotence is heresy for a believer. The Prophet of Allah (S) has said, “O Abu Dharr! After understanding Allah and acquiring Faith in His Attributes, one has to bear witness that I am the Prophet of Allah (S) sent by Him to give to the people the Message about the Bounties in store for the believers and extreme retribution for the unbelievers and heretics.
“Allah has given to me the beacon with which I guide people away from the darkness of ungodly ways and heresy.”
One of the most important pillars of Islamic Faith is bearing witness that Muhammad Sal Allaho wa Alaihi wa Sallam is the Prophet of Allah.
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