List Q&A

Essentially, picturing God and moving towards embodying and picturing God is wrong, because God isn't physical and cannot be pictured or imagined. God is a reality and at the same time, in all realities. He is One, but not like any other thing. He is present everywhere, and sees everything, but cannot be imagined or pictured.  Man can only see Him with the eyes of the heart, not by picturing Him.

Our narrations tell us that some would come to the imams and ask about how the knowledge of God is. They would reply: “This is wrong, don’t go after these things.” Therefore, we shouldn’t go after picturing God and this is not a straight path. One should strive to develop a strong and intimate relationship with Him and find Him in his heart. The times when we have a good spiritual feeling, or when our heart is broken, or our attention is drawn to Him, are all times of special connection to Him. We must know the value of these precious moments. Of course, Allah is always by our side and with us; it is us who forget Him.

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Ref: www.Islamquest.net

Religious belief can never agree with fatalism, religious programs, as well, are all altered by accepting this school of thought.
How can we reconcile the justice of God with the school of fatalism? How is it possible that God obliges someone to do an evil deed? Then punishes him because he did it. This does not agree with any kind of logic!
Thus, by accepting the school of fatalism, spiritual rewards, punishments, heaven and hell are meaningless as well as ‘scroll of deeds’, ‘questioning’, ‘Divine reckoning’, ‘reprimanding the evil doers in the Quran’, ‘encouragement and praise for those who do good’, all of these lose their meaning. Because according to this school, neither do the good doers or the evil doers have a choice.

Thus, by accepting the school of fatalism, spiritual rewards, punishments, heaven and hell are meaningless as well as ‘scroll of deeds’, ‘questioning’, ‘Divine reckoning’, ‘reprimanding the evil doers in the Quran’, ‘encouragement and praise for those who do good’, all of these lose their meaning. Because according to this school, neither do the good doers or the evil doers have a choice.

In addition, in religion, one of the first issues we encounter is ‘duty’ or ‘responsibility’, but does ‘duty’ or ‘responsibility’ make any sense if a person has no choice?

Can we tell a person whose hands involuntarily shake, not to shake their hands? Or tell a person who is falling down a steep mountain to standstill?
It is because of this that Imam Ali, peace be upon him, says in a famous tradition recorded in the Usul kafi vol. 1, p. 119, that the school of fatalism is a school of idol worship whose followers are members of Iblis’ party.

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Ref: Fifty Lessons of Principles of Belief for Youths; Ayt. Makarem Shirazi; Translated by: Bahador Shirazian; Published by: Ahlul Bayt World Assembly

The human being is a contingent existent who derives his existence and existential qualities from Allah. Allah has, by His generative will (irada takwini), created him as a volitional creature and has thus distinguished him from all other creatures. Hence, the human being is the highest being addressed by Allah’s legislative will (irada tashri’i) and as such, has been given permission to choose between obedience and disobedience, to determine his way of life, and to mould his own fate.
The human being is the chosen creature who is able, by making the right choice, to obey the injunctions of Allah; to ascend the levels of perfection by conforming to the legislative will of Allah, and submitting his desire to the generative will of Allah thereby reaching the station of Divine regency - that level which in paradise, entitles him to receive whatever he wishes. Because he has chosen Divine satisfaction, Allah is satisfied with him and will provide for him so profoundly that he will in return be pleased with Him and satisfied with his own conduct.
But the human being can also make the wrong choice by taking up the path of disobedience and aversion to Divine injunctions, descending to the pits of saqar. This would be the result of not making his will conform to the legislative will of Allah (awj). However, this disobedience does not signify that he has overcome the Divine will, for the Divinity Himself has willed that he should choose his path.
In other words, Divine will encompass the entire world of existence - including the human being and his actions - and as such, transcends the human will, hierarchically. This is not the same as the concurrence of two independent, complete, and parallel causes in generating a single effect, which is impossible. Rather, in accordance with the principle of “unity of Divine Acts”, the only independent agent in the cosmos is Allah, and thus all other existents are dependent on Allah in their existence and their agency. Thus, their will, which is an aspect of their agency, is not independent or detached of the Divine will. Therefore, we [as Shi’ites] neither approve of determinism as the Ash’arites do - who believe that the only will at work is the Divine will, thus considering all other agents sterile and merely tools for Allah . Neither do we accept the concept of delegation which is held by the Mu’tazilites, who assumes that Divine will should be abstracted from human will, thereby considering the human being a sovereign agent in his volitional acts. Rather, we, in following the teachings of the Qur`an and the infallible Imams, consider the human being to be a willing and volitional agent, but at the same time we know him to be under the dominion of Divine will and governed by the authority of Allah - being essentially in need of the will and power of Allah.

The Infinity of God means not only His presence in every place, but His presence throughout all time. He is in every way immeasurable, unbounded, unlimited, unrestricted, without end and inexhaustible. In all of His attributes, God is limitless and endless. When you consider His power, wisdom, justice, wrath, knowledge, etc., God is boundless. He is not restricted by time or space. He has all attributes of perfection and there is no perfection that He might lack.

Infiniteness in relation to God does not mean that He has occupied all places in the same way and manner as the physical entities have filled them. In fact, God is not matter and He does not fill the places in the material sense. It is only matter (that has length, breadth and width) that occupies a place and God is not matter to occupy a place. In addition, if God is supposed to have a place, it will amount to imperfection of the Lord of the universe and His being needy. He will be restricted to a particular place and will not be any different from other creatures. God, the Exalted, is free from all these imperfections and limitations.

The human being can attain knowledge of Allah (awj) through various ways. This knowledge can come about through the medium of the intellect or of the heart. At times he-as in the case of the sage and the philosopher-reasons and understands through conceptual knowledge and with recourse to sense perception and the intellect, whilst at other times he-as in the case of the gnostic-through immediate intuition, gazes at the Beloved, witnessing Him directly.

Knowledge of Allah (awj) is analogous to knowledge of a fire. An individual at times realizes the existence of a fire by witnessing its smoke from afar. At other times, he might realize its existence by seeing the fire itself. Yet at other times, he might comprehend and feel the fire as if a part of his body is burned by it.

The human being can attain knowledge of Allah (awj) through various ways. This knowledge can come about through the medium of the intellect or of the heart. At times he-as in the case of the sage and the philosopher-reasons and understands through conceptual knowledge and with recourse to sense perception and the intellect, whilst at other times he-as in the case of the gnostic-through immediate intuition, gazes at the Beloved, witnessing Him directly.

The human being can attain knowledge of Allah (awj) through various ways. This knowledge can come about through the medium of the intellect or of the heart. At times he-as in the case of the sage and the philosopher-reasons and understands through conceptual knowledge and with recourse to sense perception and the intellect, whilst at other times he-as in the case of the gnostic-through immediate intuition, gazes at the Beloved, witnessing Him directly.

In any case, in both ways-i.e. conceptual knowledge and immediate knowledge-sometimes the path, the traveller, and the goal are one and the same, as when one concludes the existence of Allah (awj) by reflecting on Divine signs and the existing order pervading them. In other instances, only the traveller and the path might be identical, as when one comprehends Allah (awj) through understanding his own soul. The path and the goal can also be the same, as where one comprehends Allah (awj) by contemplating on the Divine Names and Attributes.

Of these types, the case where the path and the goal are identical, where one spiritually experiences what he has conceptually realized is of great value, for the goal is to see and to taste.

In the Qur'anic verses and the corpus of narrations these three ways have been articulated. It has especially been emphasized that nothing is more evident than Divine existence and manifestation and hence He must be reached through Himself. He is the Light, the apprehension of which is needless of anything else. If we are deprived of seeing Him, it is because of the veil of our negligence that covers our conceptual and immediate knowledge - we lack awareness of our knowledge.

It has especially been emphasized that nothing is more evident than Divine existence and manifestation and hence He must be reached through Himself. He is the Light, the apprehension of which is needless of anything else. If we are deprived of seeing Him, it is because of the veil of our negligence that covers our conceptual and immediate knowledge - we lack awareness of our knowledge.

In order to attain this complex knowledge (‘ilm-e murakkab [i.e. awareness of knowledge]) we must remove the veils of darkness and of light from our souls. It is for this reason that it has been said that knowing Allah (awj) is innate and inherent to the human being, and as such, the arguments provided in proving the existence of Allah (awj) and the knowledge of Him serve only as reminders, not proofs. Nevertheless, it must be noted that the core of Divine Essence and Attributes are neither comprehensible to the philosopher nor to the gnostic. However, other aspects of the Divine are accessible to both the intellect of the philosopher and the spiritual experience of the gnostic.

Promising such rewards does not contradict Allah's justice and doesn’t negate the correspondence between acts and rewards; because if justice means to place everything in its appropriate position, which means that there should be a correspondence between acts and rewards, regarding the examples mentioned, there is complete correspondence because:

First: These ahadith are stressing the value and importance of that act of worship, not underestimating the value of hajj and jihad; in fact these ahadith indirectly show the greatness of acts like jihad and Hajj because they are considered the standards and criteria by which all others acts are valued, the same way we would say that a certain object is as valuable as gold.

Second: These ahadith refer to situations in which it is not obligatory to perform jihad or Hajj.

Third: When observing the mentioned correspondence, we must not only consider the difficulty and physical greatness as the sole criteria by which its reward is determined. In fact the effect of intention, humility, belief and ma'refat (spiritual knowledge) on the reward can be much greater compared to an act’s physical difficulty and greatness; therefore if a certain act possesses the mentioned qualities, then it can be compared to great acts like jihad or Hajj.

Moreover, some duas and ziyarats, due to the spiritual content they consist of, can have a specific effect on one’s beliefs and faith that makes them greater than other acts which do not have such influence.

We must keep in mind that when there is no war or jihad and it is not time to perform Hajj, usually there is a greater opportunity for Satan and his allies to tempt and deceive the believer, and add to that the fact that the human instinct is inclined to satisfying its carnal desires. In such a situation for one to keep his heart and soul pure through reciting duas, ziyarats and prayers, he must possess great ma'refat and ikhlas, and therefore he might be greater than the person who actually takes part in jihad or performs Hajj.

If the meaning of justice is to not oppress or take away the rights of others, still this would not be an example of injustice; because even if Allah granted a reward that does not match the act, he has not violated the right of anyone, because setting a reward and thawab is a means of Allah's grace, not the right of a servant.

All of this was based on justice meaning to place everything in its appropriate position, but if the meaning of justice is to not oppress or take away the rights of others, still this would not be an example of injustice; because even if Allah granted a reward that does not match the act, he has not violated the right of anyone, because setting a reward and thawab is a means of Allah's grace, not the right of a servant.

1) Punishment from Allah (swt) is a result of man willingly disregarding divine guidance and not listening to the call of the ''outer'' and "inner" messengers.

2) The knowledge of Allah (swt) regarding the way His creatures will act in different situations, does not interfere with them being forced to choose the action in question, and in other words, Allah's knowledge reveals His creatures’ course of action, nothing else.

The knowledge of Allah (swt) regarding the way His creatures will act in different situations, does not interfere with them being forced to choose the action in question, and in other words, Allah's knowledge reveals His creatures’ course of action, nothing else.

3) Shaytan and other evil beings and people need to be created so that others have the chance of reaching spiritual perfection.

4) Although the creation of Shaytan and other evil people and things is a must, yet who plays this role is up to the individuals themselves.

Gheyb means for something to be hidden from one’s senses, and shahadah means openness and visibility. One thing can be gheyb for a person, while being shahadah for another. It depends on the individual’s existential boundaries and how much of the existential world they cover and encompass in knowledge. But keeping in mind the limited amount of encompassment of other than Allah (swt) and at the same time, His complete encompassment of everything, one can conclude that it is only Allah (swt) who knows of the unseen, because He is the only one to encompass everything in this existential world and nothing leaves His existential boundaries, and no one and thing can keep itself unknown and hidden from Him [even if it is of the unseen].

Therefore, He is the only one who has complete knowledge of both the gheyb and shahadah, and in reality, everything is considered shahadah to Him; no entity possesses such a level of knowledge. As for others, if they want to be aware of some of the unseen, it depends on their existential capacity and comprehension; they might become aware of some things while remaining totally uninformed or learned at a very low level regarding other secrets.

Of course, it must be noted that allocating knowledge of the unseen to Allah (swt) doesn’t mean that others can't learn of some of these secrets as a result of their worthiness and through Allah's (swt) teaching. This is a blessing that Allah (swt) bestows upon certain chosen servants of His, such as the prophets and apostles. This is why we see the prophets speaking of revelation, which is considered of the unseen, or we see them, foretelling future incidents that actually do take place at the time they have predicted.

Of course, it must be noted that allocating knowledge of the unseen to Allah (swt) doesn’t mean that others can't learn of some of these secrets as a result of their worthiness and through Allah's (swt) teaching. This is a blessing that Allah (swt) bestows upon certain chosen servants of His, such as the prophets and apostles. This is why we see the prophets speaking of revelation, which is considered of the unseen, or we see them, foretelling future incidents that actually do take place at the time they have predicted.

Keeping in mind what was said, one won't see any contradiction between verses and hadiths that say knowledge of the unseen only belongs to Allah (swt), and verses and hadiths that assert that the prophets and imams were also aware of the unseen. Harmony can be established between these two groups of verses and traditions like so:

1- When it is said that knowledge of the unseen only belongs to Allah (swt), it means that it originally belongs to Him and He is independent in possessing it, while others are dependent on Him and His teaching for learning from it.

2- It is only Allah (swt) who knows every detail of the unseen, while others can only become aware of some of it and only to some extent.

3- Allah (swt) is aware of all secrets of the unseen at the very moment, while others aren't aware right now, although it is possible for them to learn in the future and will only become aware if Allah (swt) wills and informs them. Imam Sadiq (as) has been narrated saying:

“Whenever the imam wishes to know something, Allah (swt) teaches him.”

As for verse 34 of surah Luqman, it says:

“Indeed the knowledge of the Hour is with Allah. He sends down the rain, and He knows what is in the wombs. No soul knows what it will earn tomorrow, and no soul knows in what land it will die. Indeed Allah is all-knowing, all-aware”.

There are two interpretations regarding this verse:

1- The five things mentioned in the verse, are all of the unseen that no one is aware of other than Allah (swt) and those whom he wishes to know. Sending down rain doesn’t just refer to its pouring down from the sky that weather forecasters can foretell, what is meant is precisely where, when and how much it is going to rain; such knowledge is only in Allah's (swt) possession and the only thing others can do is to try to guess each of them. The same goes for the fetus in the womb; what Allah (swt) means isn't that He only knows of its gender, what He is saying is that He is aware of everything pertaining to it: its gender, health, physical and spiritual traits and even its potentials and whether it will grow to be one of those who reaches salvation, or damnation. Clearly, such knowledge is only in Allah's (swt) possession. Now, if there are hadiths that say that the imams bear some of this knowledge, it is because there is no contradiction between having a portion of this knowledge through Allah's (swt) teaching, and the detailed knowledge of it belonging only to Allah (swt). Add to that the fact that they aren't independent in possessing this knowledge; it has been granted to them by Allah (swt) in an amount that He sees fit.

2- The other explanation of this verse is that in this verse, only the part that speaks of the time of the Day of Judgment is considered of the unseen knowledge, and Allah (swt) considers Himself to be the only one to know of it, and as the verse goes on, its tone changes saying that Allah (swt) sends rain and is aware of what is in the wombs of mothers, without mentioning anything about this knowledge only belonging to Him. On this basis, if in the future it becomes possible to precisely pinpoint where it is going to rain and when and its amount, there will be no contradiction with the verse. Also, in the fourth and fifth part of the verse, it has been stressed that no one knows of exactly where and when he/she will die. This not knowing is in exact accordance with the law of nature that says no one essentially knows of the unseen and future events and incidents. Nevertheless, this doesn’t disprove that Allah (swt) may sometimes inform some people of the future and as to where and when they will die.