A Shiite Anthology
The Vision of the Heart
Abu Abdallah (A.S) related as follows: the Commander of the Faithful was speaking from the pulpit at Kufa when a man called Dhi'lib stood up before him. He was sharp-tongued, eloquent and courageous. He said, "O Commander of the Faithful! Hast thou seen thy Lord ?"
He said, "Woe unto thee, O Dhi'lib! I would not be worshipping a lord whom I have not seen."
He said, "O Commander of the Faithful! How didst thou see Him ?"
He answered, "O Dhilib! Eyes see Him not through sight's observation, but hearts see Him through the verities of faith (haqaiq al-iman). Woe to thee, O Dhilib! Verily, my Lord is subtle in subtlety (latif al-latafah), but He is not described by subtleness (lutf); tremendous in tremendousness (azim al-azamah), but not described by tremendousness (izam); grand in grandeur (kabir al-kibriya'), but not described by grandness (kibr); and majestic in majesty (jalil al-jalalah), but not described by greatness (ghilaz). Before all things He was; it is not said that anything was before Him. After all things He will be; it is not said that He possesses an 'after'. He willed (all) things, not through resolution (himmah). He is all-perceiving (darrak), not through any artifice (khadiah). He is in all things, but not mixed (muta-mazij) with them, nor separate (ba'in) from them. He is Outward (zahir), not according to the explanation of being immediate (to the senses: mubasharah); Manifest (mutajallin), not through the appearance of a vision (of Him:istihlal ru'yah); Separate, not through distance (masafah); Near (qarib), not through approach (mudanah); Subtle, not through corporealization (tajassum); Existent (mawfud), not after nonexistence (adam); Active (fa'il) not through coercion (idtirar); Determining (muqaddir), not through movement (harakah); Desiring (murid), not through resolution (hamamah); Hearing (sami), not through means (alah); and Seeing (basir), not through organs (adah).
Spaces (amakin) encompass Him not, times (awqat) accompany Him not, attributes (sifat) delimit Him not and slumbers (sinat) seize Him not.
By His giving sense (tashir) to sense organs (mashair) it is known that He has no sense organs. By His giving substance (tajhir) to substances (jawahir) it is known that He has no substance. By His causing opposition (mudaddah) among things it is known that He has no opposite (didd). By His causing affiliation (muqaranah) among affairs it is known that He has no affiliate (qarin). He opposed darkness to light, obscurity to clarity, moisture to solidity, and heat to cold. He joins together those things which are hostile to one another, and separates those which are near. They prove (the existence of) their Separator (mufarriq) by their separation and their Joiner (mu'allif ) by their junction. This is (the meaning of) His words-He is the Mighty and Majestic- 'And of everything created We two kinds; haply you will remember' (LI 49)."
"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 (ghara'iz) that He who gave them temperaments has no temperament. They announce through their subjection to time (tawqit) that He who has 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 His creation other than His creation. He was a Lord when there was none over whom He was Lord (marbub); a God when there was none for whom to be a God (ma'luh); a Knower (alim) when there was nothing to be known (malum); and a Hearer when there was nothing to be heard (masmu)."
Then Ali (A.S) composed the following verses extemporaneously:
"My Lord is ever known by praise, my Lord is ever described by generosity."
"He was, when there was no light by which to seek illumination, and no darkness bent over the horizons."
"So our Lord is counter to creatures, all of them, and to all that is described in imaginations."
"Whoso desires Him portrayed through comparison returns beleagured, shackled by his incapacity,"
"And in the Ascending Stairways the wave of His power casts a wave which blinds the eye of the spirit." [86]
"So abandon the quarreler in religion lost in the depths, for in him doubt has corrupted his view."
"And become the companion of that reliable one who is the beloved of his Master and surrounded by the favors of his Protector: Smiling, he became in the earth the waymark of guidance (dalil al-huda) and in Heaven the adorned and acknowledged."
After this Dhi'lib fell to the ground in a faint. When he recovered he said, "I have never heard such words. I will not return to any of that (which I believed before).
Source:
al-islam.org
Other Links:
A Shiite Anthology: Ali (A.S) Firm Rooting in Knowledge
A Shiite Anthology: The Vision of the Heart
