Al- Ihlilja (myrobalan):

This kind of Oneness (of Allah) has been called al- Ihlilja (myrobalan), for al- Sadiq, peace be on him, debated with an Indian doctor in whose hand there was a myrobalan (Ihlilja). That was because al- Mufaddal b. 'Amr wrote a letter to al- Sadiq that some followers of the religion began to renounce Allah and they produced evidence for that, and he asked him to answer their claims and to produce evidence for them in the same manner he followed to refute the claims of those who were before them.

So, al- Sadiq wrote a letter to al- Mufaddal. In the letter he denoted as follows: "I have received your letter, so I have sent you, in my letter, a debate which I made with some people of the other thoughts, who have renounced Allah: An Indian doctor came to me frequently. The doctor debated me. One day, while he was powdering a myrobalan (Ihlilija) to make a medicine for me, he debated with me. Among his claims is that the world has been one tree grows and another dies, and one person is born and another dies. Also he claimed that I have no evidence for my knowledge which I have taken from Allah. He claimed that the later generations took knowledge from the earlier ones, and the young took it from the old, and the different things, the harmonious ones, the hidden things, and the apparent ones are all known through the five senses- sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. Then he led his thinking according to the origin he established. He (the doctor) said: 'No one of my senses has fallen on a creator leading my heart to deny Allah, the Exalted.'

Then he said: 'Tell me, what is your evidence for the recognition of your Lord whose divinity and power you have described, for the heart knows all things through the proof (i.e. the senses) I have described to you?'

I (al- Sadiq) said: 'Through the reason in my heart and the evidence I produce for His (Allah's) recognition'. He said: 'How does what you say happen, and you know that the heart knows nothing but through the senses? Have you heard His Words with your ear? Have you smelt him with your nose? Have you tasted him with your mouth? And have you touched him with your hand? Have you used all these senses to establish knowledge in your heart?'

I (the author) said: 'You have renounced Allah, for you have claimed that you cannot feel him with your senses with which you know things, while I have believed in him. Then, do you think that one of us is right and the other is wrong?' He said: 'No.' I said: 'Do you worry a bout me because of the things which I uses to make you afraid of the punishment of Allah?' 'No,' he said. I said: 'Do you think that I will be safe of Allah's punishment because I have believed in him, while you will suffer His punishment because of your unbelief and denial?' 'Yes,' he said. I said: 'Which of us is worthier of resolution and nearer to safety?' He said: 'You, but you claim and doubt about your matter, while I am sure and confident of mine, for I do not think that my five senses have perceived Him, and the thing which my senses do not perceive is not existent as I think.' I said: 'When your senses are unable to perceive Allah, you have denied him, while I have believed in Him when my senses are unable to perceive Him.' 'How is that,' he asked. I answered: 'Because every thing which has a form and the eye attains and the senses perceive is not Allah, for He (Allah) does not resemble creatures moving through the change and disappearance, and every thing which resembles the change and disappearance is like them, and the creature is not like the creator nor is the recent like the Eternal.'

Then, al- Sadiq, peace be on him, said: 'I said to him (the doctor): Tell me, have you seen all directions and reached their ends?' 'No,' he said. Y (al- Sadiq) said: 'Have you ascended to the sky which you see? Have descended to the lower part of the earth and wandered about its regions? Have you waded into the plentiful water of the seas? Have you penetrated all the directions of the air? do you know that all these (places) are empty of a wise, knowing, discerning regulator?' He (the doctor) said: 'No.' I (al-Sadiq) said: 'Then how do you know that there is no creator? That which your heart has renounced maybe in some of what your senses have not perceived and your knowledge has not encompassed?' He said: 'I do not know, there maybe a regulator in what you have mentioned, and I do not know that he maybe not in a thing of these things.'

I (the author) say. People may imagine that the words of al- Sadiq denote that there is God with body, for he (al- Sadiq) endorsed that He (Allah) maybe found in a certain direction, and this is among the qualities of the body. However, al- Sadiq protested against the doctor who wanted to conclude non- existence after existence. Also al- Sadiq wanted to refute the doctor who claimed that there was no God. So, al- Sadiq wanted to indicate to the doctor that Allah was possible to be found in the direction which the doctor did not reach. Accordingly, the possibility of the existence of Allah in a certain direction is enough to refute the doctor who claimed that there was no God. This proof forces the opponent to give up his idea and to refute his proof Also this proof denotes that al- Sadiq did not want to prove that Allah was in a certain direction. Moreover, we have understood that al-Sadiq refused the recognition of Allah through the senses. So, the thing which is found in a certain place is perceived with the senses.

Then, al- Sadiq, peace be on him, said: 'I said (to the doctor): As you have gone out of the idea of denial (of Allah) and come into the idea of doubt, I hope that you will come out of this idea to recognition (of Allah).' He (the doctor) said: 'Doubt has entered (my heart) because of your question about that which my knowledge has not encompassed. However, how can I be certain of what my senses have not perceived?' I (al- Sadiq) said: 'Through your myrobalan (Ihlilija).' He said: 'Therefore, this (myrobalan) underlines the proof, for it is among the medical rules for which I yield.'

Then, al- Sadiq began putting questions before the doctor concerning the creation of the myrobalan and concerning similar things in the world.

However, the doctor tried to escape from the answer because he did not want to admit that the creation of the myrobalan indicated the creator. Al-Sadiq went on putting questions before the doctor till he forced him to confess that the myrobalan came out of a tree.

Then al- Sadiq said: 'Have you seen the unripe myrobalan? Do you know that it is water in its calyx? Do you know that it has no pulp nor flesh nor skin nor color nor taste nor solidity?' He (the doctor) said: 'Yes.' Al-Sadiq, peace be on him, said: 'I said to him: If the Creator did not dilute that thin water which is like the mustard in littleness and simplicity, did not strengthen it with His power, did not create it with His wisdom, did not estimate it with His estimation, then do you know that the water will increase and overflow its calyx?'

He (the doctor) said: 'From the description of its (the myrobalan) tree, its creation, its fruit, its growing parts, and its detailed formation, you have taught me the clearest proofs about the recognition of the Creator. Your are right when you have said that the things are created. However, I do not know. Perhaps, the myrobalan and things have created themselves.'

Then al- Sadiq, peace be on him, proved to the doctor that the myrobalan was created because it was preceded by nonexistence, and because its creation indicated that it had a creator, and so on.

Al- Sadiq went on speaking with the doctor, the axis of their speech was the myrobalan, till he forced him to confess the One Creator. Then, al-Sadiq debated upon stars and astrologers with the doctor.

Then, al- Sadiq went on explaining to the doctor the proofs for that wise Creator through His creatures, such as the sky, the earth, trees, plants, animals, and the like.

Then, al- Sadiq explained Allah's attributes, such as mercy, knowledge, power, hearing, sight, compassion, will, and so on.(199)

I (the author) say: I have mentioned the subjects of the letter, not the letter itself because I wanted to conform to abridgment. Apart from the strong proof and the good explanation, the letter has various kinds of knowledge. The axis of the debate in it was the myrobalan, which is the weakest and the smallest of all creatures in size and importance.

His Brief Proofs on the Existence and Oneness of Allah:

The plentiful talents are known through the ability of explanation. Al-Sadiq sometimes gave detailed proofs, as in 'Tawhid Al- Mufaddal', sometimes giving brief proofs with full meaning. For example, when he was asked about the evidence for the Creator, he answered: "As long as men have needs."(200)

I (the author) say: What brief this sentence is! And what great proof it is! That is because men always face many needs. These needs indicate that they always search for an authority to fulfill their needs. And these needs indicate that this authority is One; otherwise the movement and regulation of the universe is disorderly.

One day, Hisham b. al- Hakam asked al- Sadiq: "what is the proof that Allah is one?" Al- Sadiq, peace be on him, answered: "The united regulation and the perfect creation."(201)

I (the author) say: Indeed, each one of these two phrases is enough to be a separate proof. That is because the united regulation is evidence for the oneness of the Regulator, for if there were two or three regulators in the cosmos, surely they would conflict with each other, so there would be no connected regulation. Also the perfect creation is another proof for the oneness of the Regulator, for the equal regulators are not always in agreement on everything as it is in the persons who run a certain country. When they disagree even for a while, they corrupt the creatures, then where is the perfect Creation? So, the perfect creation is a separate proof, too.

Abu Shakir al- Daysani asked al- Sadiq: "What is your proof that you have a Creator?' Al- Sadiq, peace be on him, said: "I have found myself before two ideas- either I have created it or other than me has created it. If I had created it, then I would be before two Ideas- either I created it and it was existent, surely it would be in no need of its creator because of its existence .or it was nonexistent, surely you know that the nonexistent cannot create anything. So, the third idea has been proved, which is that I have a creator, Who is the Lord of the worlds."(202)

One day, al- Sadiq, peace be on him, asked b. Abu al- , Awja"' Are you created or not created?" Ibin Abu al- 'Awja' said: "I am not created." Al-Sadiq, peace be on him, said to him: "Describe to me, Ifyou were created, how would you be?"

Ibin Abu al- 'Awja' lowered his head for a long time. He was not able to answer. There was a piece of wood in his hand. He began playing with that piece of wood and saying: "Long, wide, deep, short, moving, motionless, all these are among the qualities of his creation." Al- Sadiq, peace be on him, said to him: "If you do not distinguish the qualities of the created from the qualities. of the non created, then regard yourself as created." Ibin Abu al- 'Awja' said: "You have asked me a question of which no one had asked me before, and no one will ask me after you."(203)

I (the author) say: All these qualities indicate that man is created; therefore the created is in need of a creator.

Negation of Body:

Perhaps, some unbelievers have originated the suspicion of body. Then, it has crept into the beliefs of some Muslim sects who depend on the surface meaning of the religion. When those unbelievers were unable to abolish the religion through spreading unbelief, they have inserted their atheistic beliefs into the religion, for we have found my answers to their beliefs at that time, and we have read about them very much through the questions put before al- Sadiq, peace be on him. Concerning this misleading idea, he said: "The body has limits, and the form has limits and an end. What is subject to limit is also subject to growth and decay, and what is subject to growth and decay must be a created object."

The questioner said: "What shall I (the author) say?" Al- Sadiq, peace be on him, said: "He (Allah) is neither body nor form. He embodies all bodies and forms all forms. He can neither be analyzed nor limited. He grows not, nor does he decay. If the fact was as they say, then there would be no difference between the Creator and the created, the Maker and the made. However, He is the Creator and the Maker, and He Who makes distinction and differentiation (between Him) and that to which He has given body, form and molding, for nothing resembles Him nor does He resemble anything."(204)

I (the author) say: This description is about to flow softness and gentleness with the strong proof and the firm structure. Its clearness is in no need of explanation.

Also al- Sadiq said: "Whoever claims that Allah is in a thing or on a thing or moves from a thing to a thing or a thing is empty of Him or thing contains Him, Surely describes Him with the qualities of creatures, while Allah is the Creator of every thing. Allah is not measured with the measure nor is he likened to men. There is no place empty of Him nor does a place contain Him. Allah is near in His farness, far in His nearness. Such is Allah, our Lord. There is no god but He."(205)

I (the author) say. How wonderful this description of al- Sadiq, peace be on him, is. How exact the meaning of his words is!" He is near in His farness, far in His nearness!" To recognize these words need wide mercy and innate.

In this connection, many traditions have been reported on al- Sadiq's authority. However, we have contented ourselves with the above-mentioned traditions from him. The only thing which we must know is that the judgment of reason needs negation of body and form from Allah, may His Entity be hallowed. The theological books have fully explained this subject. The Prophet and his family underlined it, too. That is because they frequently guided men to the judgment of reason. Many traditions have been reported on the authority of the master of the apostles (i.e. Prophet Mohammed), may Allah bless him and his family. These traditions denote that Allah has no body nor form, no throne nor hand, etc. Also these traditions have ordered Muslims not to depend on the surface meaning of some verses which underline that Allah has a throne, a hand, and so on. Some of these verses are: "The Beneficent God has firmly sat on the Throne." This verse should be understood as follows: "The Beneficent God is in firm power." Also consider these verses: "The hand of Allah is above their hands." (i.e. The power of Allah is above their power.) "Whither you turn, thither is Allah's purpose.) Ibin Abbas said: "A Jew called Na'thal came to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family, and said: 'Mohammed, I want to ask you about something always sound in my mind. If you answered them, I would be a Muslim." The Prophet said: 'Abu 'Amara, ask.' The Jew said: 'Mohammed, describe your Lord to me.' The Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family, said: 'The Creator cannot be described except with that which He has described Himself with. How can the Creator be described, while the senses are feeble to attain Him, imaginations (are feeble) to get Him, ideas (are feeble) to limit him, eyes (are feeble) to encompass him. Far be He from what the they describe. He is far in His nearness; He is near in His farness. He originated modal existence, but He Himself is without modality. And He originated space, but He Himself is spaceless. So, He is One and Self- dependent. He has described Himself The describers cannot encompass His attributes.' He begets not, nor is He begotten. And none is like Him."'

The Jew said: "Mohammed, you are right. Inform me about your words: 'Allah is one. Nothing resembles Him. So, His Oneness is like the oneness of man."'

The Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family, said: 'Allah is one with one meaning, while man is with dualistic meaning- substance and accident, body and soul. So, the likening is in meanings only.' The Jew said: 'Mohammed, you are right."'(206)

I (the author) say: These words of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family, clearly deem Allah for above the qualities of creatures. In the Koran, Allah says: "Vision comprehends Him not, and He comprehends (all) vision."(207)

The Qualities of Occurrence:

In another tradition, al- Sadiq (peace be on him) says: "Whoever claims that Allah is from something, has determined Him as being originated (after non- being). Whoever claims that Allah is inside something, has determined Him as being confined. Whoever claims that Allah is on something has determined Him as something which can be carried."(210)

Mohammed b. al- Nu'man asked al- Sadiq about the following Words of Allah, the Exalted: "And He is Allah in the heavens and in the earth."(211) al-Sadiq, peace be on him, said: "Such is Allah everywhere." Mohammed asked: "With His Entity?" al- Sadiq, peace be on him, said: "Woe unto you! Indeed, places have boundaries. If you say that Allah is inside a place with His Entity, then you should say that Allah is inside boundaries and the like, while Allah is totally different from His creatures. He encompasses what He has created (with) His knowledge, power, encompassment and authority. His knowledge of that which is in the earth is not less than (His knowledge) of that which is in the heavens. Nothing is far from Him. All things are equally known, controlled, owned, and encompassed by Allah."(212)

Sulayman b. al- A'mash(213) asked al- Sadiq: "Is it possible to say that Allah is inside a place?" Al- Sadiq, peace be on him, answered: "Allah is far above that. If He was inside a place, he would be originated, for the thing which is inside a place needs the place. Need is not among the qualities of the Eternal."(214)

Al- Sadiq said to Abu Basir(215): "Indeed, Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, cannot be described with time, space, movement, and stillness. Rather, He is the Creator of time, space, movement, and stillness. Allah is very far above what they say."(216)

Al- Sadiq, peace be on him, said to Abd Allah b. Sanan(217): "Allah cannot be described in terms of any modality, space, and direction. How can I describe Him in terms of any modality when He Himself has created modal existence, so that it has come into being and we have known a modality through the modal existence which He had fixed for us. How can I describe Him in terms of the space since He Himself had made space, so that it (the space) has come into being and we have known space through the space which He had fixed for us. How can I describe Him in terms of direction when He Himself has made direction, so that it (direction) has come into being and we have known direction through the direction which He had fixed for us. Hence, Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, is inside every place but is out of every thing. 'The eyes attain Him not, but He attains the eyes."'

I (the author) say: The meaning of modality, space, and direction is a question or an answer about the possible things which can be measured.

When people ask about the modality and space of Allah, then he will have a modal existence and space. And when they ask about Allah's direction, then He is inside a place. If Allah is such, then eyes attain Him, for the eyes attain the possessor of the body which is inside a certain place, while the eyes attain Allah not but He attains the eyes.

During a conversation, b. Abu al- 'Awja(218) said to al- Sadiq, peace be on him: "You have mentioned Allah and (in this way) you have made a reference to (something) absent and unseen." Abu Abd Allah (al- Sadiq) said: "Woe unto you! How strange! How can He, Who is a witness to His creatures, Who is nearer to them than the jugular vein, Who hears their talking, sees them in their person and knows their secrets, be absent and unseen?" Again, b. Abu al- 'Awja' asked: "Is Allah at every place? When He is in the heavens, how can He be on the earth? And when He is in the earth, how can He be in the heavens?" Abu Abd Allah (al- Sadiq), peace be on him, answered: "You have kept in your view the attributes of the created which occupy the space to which they are transferred, vacating the one they are transferred from, without knowing what happened to the former space. There is no space without Allah of the highest eminence and Monarch to be obeyed, Whom no space can confine and Who in relation to one place is not nearer than another."(219)

I (the author) say: Many traditions have been mentioned on the authority of al- Sadiq. They all indicate that Allah, the Exalted, is far above the attributes of His creatures. However, I have confined myself to the above-mentioned ones.

Eyes Attain Him not:

Some Muslim sects think that eyes can attain Allah in the hereafter only, or both in here and in the hereafter. However (ahl al Bayt ), especially al-Sadiq (peace be on him), did their best to abolish this attribute and to underline that eyes could not attain Him. The following are some proofs of al- Sadiq in this respect.

Hisham said: "I was with al- Sadiq, peace be on him, when Mu'awiya b. Wahab and Abd al- Malik b. A'yun(220) came to him. Mu'awiya b. Wahab asked al- Sadiq: 'Son of Allah's Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family, what is your viewpoint about the tradition which says that Allah's Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family, had seen his Lord? How did he see him? And what is your viewpoint about the - tradition which says that the believers will see their Lord in Paradise? How will they see Him?' Al-Sadiq, peace be on him, smiled and said: 'Mu'awiya, it is ugly that the man who becomes seventy or eight years of age, lives in Allah's Kingdom, and eats from His boons, but he does not know Allah totally.' Then, al- Sadiq, peace be on him, said: 'Mu'awiya, Mohammed (may Allah bless him and his family) had not seen the Lord, the Blessed and Exalted, through the faculty of sight. Vision is of two kinds: the vision of the eye, and the vision of the heart. Whoever means the vision of the heart, then is right. And whoever means the vision of the eye, disbelieves in Allah and His verses due to the (following) tradition of the Prophet, my Allah bless him and his family: "Whoever likens Allah to His creatures disbelieves (in Him)." My father told me on the authority of his father on the authority of al- Husayn b. 'Ali, peace be on them, who said: "The Commander of the Faithful (i.e. Imam 'Ali) was asked: 'Brother of Allah's Apostle, may Allah bless him and his family, have you seen your Lord?' He said: 'How do I worship Him Whom I have not seen, the eyes have not seen Him with the faculty of sight, but the hearts have seen Him through the realities of belief.' If the believer saw his Lord with the faculty of sight, then everything seen by the eye and vision is created. So, it is inevitable that the created have a creator. Therefore, you have made Allah originated and created. Whoever likens Allah to His creatures adopts a partner with Him. Woe unto them! Have they not heard the Words of Allah, the Exalted: 'The eyes attain Him not, and He attains (all) eyes,'(221) and His Words: 'You cannot (bear to) see Me, but look at the mountain, if it remains firm in its place, then you will see Me; but when his Lord manifested His glory to the mountain He made it crumble.'(222) Though Allah's Light was as little as the light which passes through the eye of the needle, It made the mountain crumble and Musa fell down in a swoon. 'Then when he (Musa) recovered, he said: Glory be to You, I turn to You, and I am the first of the believers.(223)

Then he (Imam 'Ali), peace be on him, said: "The best duties imposed on man are: (man) should know the Lord, and acknowledge that he is the servant of Allah. The least necessary knowledge of the Lord is that (man) should know that there is no god but He, He has neither like nor peer. He (man) should know that Allah is eternal, positive. He is an entity not annihilate and verily nothing is like Him. He is described without like. Nothing resembles Him. And He is hearing, seeing. After Him (Allah), is the knowledge of the Prophet and to acknowledge his Prophethood and what he has brought such as the Book, the Order, and the Prohibition are all from Allah, the Great and Almighty. After him (the Prophet) is the knowledge of the Imam whom you follow through his favor, attribute, and name during hardship and ease. The least necessary knowledge of the Imam is that he is like the Prophet except the degree of the Prophethood. The Imam is the inheritor of the Prophet. To obey the Imam is to obey Allah and to obey Allah's Apostle. (Men) should yield to his orders, to consult him, and to carry out his words.

Then, al- Sadiq mentioned the Imams and their names to Mu'awiya. Then, he said: "Mu'awiya I have made an origin to you in this (religion), then act according to it. If you had died following your beliefs, your consequence would have been the worst one. So, do not be deceived by the words of those who say that the eye can attain Allah.

Then, al- Sadiq mentioned to Mu'awiya the hateful false things which they have ascribed to prophets in general, the Prophet in private, and (Imam) 'Ali, peace be on them all.

This is some of what has been mentioned on the authority of al- Sadiq on the impossibility of seeing Allah by the eye. Also al- Sadiq, peace be on him, had an idea in every chapter on the Oneness of Allah and in every verse of the allegorical verses. What we have mentioned is enough to explain the subject.