Contradictory attributes in the Quran, with the exception of one!

life-giving read - adhere with patience, word by word


Within the human makeup, it is the “heart” (dil) that attracts God’s love, not the “clay” (gil), which is shared by many other creatures. 
The Quran sets up opposition between Creator and creature in many different ways, constantly asserting the divine greatness and human insignificance. Only in talk of love does the Quran speak of mutuality.

God gave news of the attribute of His knowledge – Surely God knows everything [29:62]. He also gave news of the attribute of our ignorance – Surely he is very ignorant, a great wrongdoer [33:72].


He gave news of the attribute of His power – Surely God is powerful over everything [2:109]. He also gave news of the attribute of our incapacity – God strikes a likeness: a servant possessed by his master, having no power over anything [16:75].


He gave news of the attribute of His exaltation – Surely the exaltation, all of it, belongs to God [4:139]. He also gave news of our abasement – And faces are humbled to the Living, the Selfsubsistent [20:111].


He gave news of the attribute of His incomparability and holiness – Glory be to your Lord, the Lord of exaltation, above what they describe [37:180]. He also gave news of the attribute of our taintedness – Did We not create you of a vile water? [77:20].


He gave news of the attribute of His subsistence – There subsists the face of your Lord, Possessor of Majesty and Generous Giving [55:27]. He also gave news of the attribute of our annihilation – Everything upon the earth is undergoing annihilation [55:26].


He gave news of the attribute of His life – Trust in the Living who does not die [25:58]. He also gave news of the attribute of our death – Surely you are mortal and they are mortal [39:30].


Since Lordship is His attribute – Your Lord and the Lord of your fathers, the first [26:26] – servanthood is our attribute: I created jinn and mankind only to serve Me [51:56].


Since unity is His attribute – Your God is one God [16:22] – pairedness and association are our attribute: Of each thing We created a pair [51:49].


However, when He gave news of love, just as He affirmed love for Himself, so also He affirmed love for us – He loves them, and they love Him [5:54].


Here there must be a secret that will increase the refreshment of the lovers’ spirits: Knowledge, power, life, holiness, subsistence, and unity are the attribute of His Essence, and His Essence is holy and incomparable. These attributes are suited for Him. Glory be to Him who is disposed to exaltation and suited for it!


When one looks at the human essence, it is tainted and distracted. It is a muddiness, a dark water, a clay. Hence, all those attributes appeared within it. But, the site of love is the heart, and the heart is pure gold, the pearl of the breast’s ocean, the ruby of the inmost mystery’s mine. The hand of no one else has touched it, and the eye of no one who is not a confidant has fallen upon it. The witnessing of God’s majesty has polished it, and the burnisher of the Unseen has placed its seal upon it, making it bright and limpid. 

The angels are cut off from love because they cannot taste wrath, severity, and distance, and the beasts are far from love because they cannot experience beauty, gentleness, and nearness. Human beings are woven from both nearness and distance, both gentleness and severity. All the contradictory divine attributes are brought together within them. Only they can truly love God, within whom all opposites coincide. 

“In the eighteen thousand worlds, 
no one drank down the cup that holds the covenant of 
They love Him except human beings.”

Letter from Allah to the Prophet (saw)

Amaali of Sh Tousi 1:298, Oyoun Akhbar al-Ridha 25, Ikmaal al-Deen of Sh Sadouq 1:308

Abi Abdillah Jaafar bin Mohamed (as) said,


One day my father (Imam Mohamed bin Ali al-Baqir) said to Jabi bin Abdullah, 'I need to see you privately.' 


So when my father was alone with Jabir he said, 'Tell me about the tablet that my mother Fatema (as) had.' 


Jabir said, 
'Allah is my witness that I went to Fatema, daughter of the Messenger of Allah, to congratulate her on the birth of Hussein (as). I saw a green tablet in her hand made of aquamarine. There was some writing on it with a light that was brighter than the sun and the tablet smelled better than musk. 


I asked Fatema, 'What is this tablet O Daughter of the Messenger of Allah?' 


She replied, 'This tablet is a gift from Allah to my father. It contains the names of my father, my husband and the names of his successors from my sons after him.' 


I asked her to give it to me so that I could write a copy of its contents, and she accepted. 
Then my father (Mohamed Bin Ali (as)) asked Jabir, 'Can you show me the copy you made?' 
Jabir replied, 'Yes' 
Then Jabir went to his house and brought back a piece of paper with him. 
My father said to him: 
'Look at you copy to see (if) what I say (matches your copy). This is what was written on that tablet: 


In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful. 

This is a letter from Allah, the most Honourable, the most Knowledgeable, which was sent with the guardian spirit to Muhammad, the last of the Messengers. 


O Muhammad, glorify my Names, be thankful for My grace, and do not deny My blessings. 


Do not desire anyone but Me and do not fear anyone but Me, because those who desire anyone but Me or fear anyone but Me will be punished in a way that I have never punished anyone else from all of the worlds. 


O Muhammad! I have chosen you from amongst all of the prophets and I have given preference to your successor above all of the successors. 


I have made Hasan the container of my knowledge after the time of his father, and I have made Husein the best of the sons from the first to the last, and through Husein the imamate will continue. 


Ali, the beauty of the worshippers, will remain from Husein, and then it will be Mohamed, the one who rips open My knowledge, the one who will invite people to My path through the right methods. 


Then it will be Jaafar, the truthful in his speech and his actions after whom there will be a deafening conspiracy. 


Woe and more woe unto those who deny My slave and the best of My creation, Musa!


Then Ali, the pleasant, will be killed a Kafir deamon, and he will be buried in the city that was built by the righteous slave, next to the worst of Allah's creation. (Harun al-Rasheed, the killer of Imam Musa bin Jaafar).


Then Muhammad will come, the guide to My path, the one who safeguards My sanctity, and the one who will leave Ali behind.


Ali will be the one with two names (Ali and Naqi).


After him, Hassan, the honourable will lead his people.


And after him, Mohamed, will rise at the end of time. There wil be a white cloud over him to offer him shade from the sun. He will speak with an eloquent language and his voice will reach everyone and everywhere. He is the Mahdi of the family of Muhammad and he will fill the earth with justice, just as it will be filled with injustice.'

The heart... ...The house of God... ...The abode of dhikr.

William C. Chittick


The human task can only be accomplished in the 'heart', a word that designates the unlimited realm of human awareness and consiousness. The heart alone, among all created things, is given the capacity to encompass God. As the famous extra-Quranic Divine saying puts it, 'My heavens and My earth embrace Me not, but the heart of My believing servant does embrace Me.' To remember God fully and actually is to find Him sitting within the heart, which is His Throne in the microcosm.


Knowledge of things as they actually are can only come through knowing them as disclosures of the Real, as signs and traces displaying God's names and attributes. This is not a theoretical sort of knowledge, but a knowledge of recognition and gnosis. It is to gain a true vision of the Divine omnipresence, the fact that, as the Quran puts it, 'And Allah's is the East and the West, therefore, whither you turn, thither is Allah's purpose; surely Allah is Amplegiving, Knowing. (2:115)' Such knowledge comes by way of dhikr, which is al-hudhur ma a'l-madhkur, 'presence with the One Remembered.'


It is only this sort of knowledge that allows man to see that everything in this world is accursed if he does not see it as displaying the Real, and that he himself is accursed to the extent that he does not know that things do infact display the Real. Once we see the world for what it is, we see that it is nothing but dhikr-Allah - a reminder of God, a mention of God, a remembrance of God. Our response to the world can only be to follow its lead - to mention and to remember God. 'Everything is accursed,' says the hadith, 'except dhikr-Allah.' But everything is dhikr-Allah, so nothing is accursed. The alchemy of dhikr transmutes the accursed into the blessed. The place of that dhikr, where God becomes truly present and man becomes truly blessed, is the heart.


As Ibn Arabi put it:
The greatest sin is what brings about the death of the heart. It dies only by knowing God. This is what is named 'ignorance'. For the heart is the house that God has chosen for Himself in this human configuration. But such a person has misappropriated the house, coming between it and its Owner.


A person like that is the one who most wrongs himself, for he has deprived himself of good that would have come to him from the Owner of the house - had he left the house to Him. This is the deprivation of ignorance (III 179.6)

An Important Rule Often Neglected 27

A Code of Practice For Muslims in the West : Eating & drinking » Questions and Answers
Fatawa of Ayatullah al Uzama Syed Ali al-Husaini Seestani


191: Question: We are unaware of the ingredients of food sold in shops in Western countries: it might be free from those ingredients that are forbidden to us or it might contain them. Are we allowed to eat such items without looking into their ingredients, or inquiring about them? Or is that not allowed to us?


Answer: It is permissible [to eat such food] as long as it is not known that it contains meat, fat, and their derivatives that are forbidden to us.

Eight instructions of a Sayyid to Ayatullah Marashi Najafi

One of our distinguished Maraje’ Sayyid Marashi Najafi who passed away some years back narrates:

When I was in najaf, I decided to go to Samarra on the maqam of Sayyid Mohammed (son of Imam al-Hadi (as); as I was going, I got lost, and since it was my first experience, I was hungry and hot, all I remember is that I fell unconscious, and when I woke up, all I could see was that my head was resting on the lap of someone who was pouring water on me and was a very handsome Sayyid.

He asked me 'Where are you going?'
I replied 'I was going to visit the maqam Sayyid Mohammed'.
He said but you are here already and I was shocked as to how I got to the place? How come I didn’t see it before when I was conscious.
The water I was given was so sweet and so pure.

I figured that this Sayyid isn't any ordinary Sayyid and that I must sieze the opportunity of being a salik to ask for a prescription (something to benefit for myself) for the benefit of this world and the hereafter.

The Sayyid who has been interpretated to be he Imam of the time (as) gave him eight (8) points and said before hand 'to consider and to take care of all these eight (8) points and you will be alright in this world and the hereafter:

- Recite Qur’an as much as you can

- Wear an Aqiq ring with names of the Ma’soomen, and also put it under the tongue of a dead person

- Be kind and respectful towards ones parents (dead or alive), do good things for them

- As much as you can you go to Hajj, go to Shrines of the Aimmah (as) often

- Respect the Sayyids and the offspring of the Prophet (saw) as much as you can, because one can respect the Prophet (saw) through this

- Do not forget Salaat al-layl, it is shame for those that relate it to us but they are themselves neglectful

- recite the Tasbeeh of Fatimah (as) as much as you can (even before one sleeps) and recite Ziyarat of Imam Husain (as)

- Read the sermons of the Ahl al-Bayt: regarding Fadak of Fatimah (as); of Shaqshiqeya of Imam Ali (as) in Iraq, and Sermon of Zaynab (as) in the court of Yazid.'

Hadith very diffult to understand!

[Bihar Al-Anwar 37:233; Khisaal Al-Sadouq 208; Tafsir Furat Al-Kufi 6; Maani Al-Akhbar 189]

Abul Husain bin Abi Tayyeb bin Shuaib, from Ahmad bin Qasem Al-Hashimi, from Isa, from Farroukh bin Farwah, from Mos'edah bin Sadaqa, from Saleh bin Maitham, from his father Maitham Al-Tammar, who said:
I was in the marketplace and Asbagh bin Nobatah came to me and said, 'O Maitham, I heard a very difficult hadith from the Commander of the Believers (as) today. How can that be?'
'What did you hear' I asked
Asbagh replied, 'I heard the Commander of the Believers (as) say, 'Our Ahadith are very difficult and complex. Only the high-ranked angels, the messengers, and those slaves whose hearts have been tested can handle them.'
So I (Maitham) immediately left the marketplace and went to the Commander of the Believers (as).


'O Commander of the Believers! Asbagh narrated a hadith from you today that was very difficult for me.' I said
'Which hadith was it' he asked.
I narrated the hadith that I had heard from Asbagh. The Commander of the Believers (as) smiled and asked me to sit down.
Then he said:
'Can all knowledge be handled by everyone? 'And when your Lord said to the angels, I am going to place in the earth a khalif, they said: What! wilt Thou place in it such as shall make mischief in it and shed blood, and we celebrate Thy praise and extol Thy holiness? He said: Surely I know what you do not know.'
So Could the angels handle the knowledge?'
I (Maitham) said, 'This is even greater than what I heard from Asbagh.'
The Commander of the Believers (as) said,
'Allah sent the Torah to Musa. Therefore Musa thought there was no one more knowledgeable than him.
To ensure that pride does not enter the heart of Musa, Allah said to him, 'There is someone in My creation who is more knowledgeable than you are.'
So Musa asked Allah to guide him to the most knowledgeable person, and Allah led him to Khizr. When Khizr destroyed the ship, Musa could not handle it; when Khizr killed the boy, Musa could not handle it; when Khizr built the wall, Musa could not handle it (Quran 18:65-82).
As for the believers, the Messenger of Allah (saw) held my hand on the Day of Ghadeer and said, 'O Allah! of whomsoever I am his master, this Ali is his master.'
Do you think everyone could handle that? Only those whom Allah has protected (could handle it).
Therefore rejoice and be delighted because Allah has chosen you to handle the matters and the knowledge of the Messenger of Allah (saw), and this was not entrusted to all of the angels, nor was it given to every Prophet or Messenger.'

The Perfect Servant

Ibn Arabi (III 248.12)


God made this earth a place for the vicegerency. Hence it is the abode of His Kingdom and the site of His deputy, who becomes manifest through the properties of His names.
So, from the earth, He created us. Within it, He gave us residence, whether alive or dead. And from it He will bring us forth through the Uprising in the last configuration. Thus, worship never leaves us wherever we may be, in this world and the afterworld, for, even though the afterworld is not an abode of [religious] prescription [taklif], it is an abode of worship.
Among us, whoever ceaselessly witnesses that for which he was created in this world and the next is the perfect servant, the intended goal of the cosmos, and the deputy of the whole cosmos. Were all the cosmos - the high of it and the low of it - to be heedless of God's remembrance for a single moment, and were this servant to remember Him, he would take the place of the whole cosmos through that remembrance, and the existence of the cosmos would be preserved through him. However, if the human servant were to be heedless of the remembrance, the cosmos could not take his place in that. That of it which is empty of the human being who remembers would go to ruin.
The Prophet said, 'The Hour will not come as long as there remains in the earth someone who is saying <Allah, Allah>'

Tribute to Bahjat al-‘Aarifin:

He was known as Bahjat al-‘Aarifin (the splendor of the Gnostics) and profusely emanated the light of devotion, such that lovers throughout the world were fascinated by his noble spirit. He was well-known for his absorption in prayer, where the true munajat (mutual whispering) between the lover and the Beloved is clearly revealed. In most cases, the awe and veneration of the Infinite would apparently overcome him and he would weep from the depths of his heart in prayer.

Although the world came to know him after a long period of his life of splendor, this elevated spirit was known to enjoy great stations of spiritual perfection since his youth. He personified religion in both its exoteric as well as esoteric dimensions. Exoterically he revealed his brilliance as a faqih (referral authority in Divine laws), and esoterically he exhibited the splendor of an absorbed mystic in the alley of the beloved. One of the significant things which powerfully emanated from that great ‘aarif was his steadfastness on the path of the only Beloved. The Holy Qur’an says: “Indeed those who say our Lord is Allah, and then are steadfast, angels descend on them saying: Fear not, nor be grieved, and receive good news of the garden which you were promised…” (41:30)


Some of his spiritual teachings to those thirsty in pursuing the path of spiritual development are as follows [see: http://www.mtb.ir/]:
1- There is no litany [ dhikr - word of remembering God] more exalted then the litany of action; and there is no litany of action higher than abandoning sin in [one’s] beliefs and acts of devotion. And apparently, abandoning sin in the absolute sense without continual self-vigilance cannot take place.
2- Among the dictums of ‘Ali (‘A) is: “Know that every action of yours is according to your prayer (sala).” You must protect your five times daily prayer in the beginning of their times and with total inclination to Him (Almighty is He), and God-willing you will not lose felicity.
3- We must deal with [the holy] traditions and read them, for [the] cure is in them.
4- If a person realizes the purpose of creation, he would find it extremely sweet to [die as a martyr and] be restored back to life seventy times.
5- The prayer of night (salat al-layl) is the key to occasions of Divine succor (tawfiqaat)
6- It is these very supererogatory (mustahabb) acts that make the human being attain a great station.
7- The reason why we are left behind is our consumption of doubtful wealth; and doubtful wealth brings about doubts and ambiguity.
8- God knows when a human being send greetings to Muhammad and his progeny (i.e. recites salawat) one time and gifts that to the deceased soul, what kind of meaning, form and reality it has!

When a scholar of the caliber of Ayatullah Muhammad Taqi Bahjat (may Allah elevate his noble spirit) tears the curtains of this material world and releases the bird of his spirit from the cage of the corporeal body, the moths of love residing in this terrestrial realm suffer a loss which cannot be recuperated. Bahjat al-‘Arifeen not only served as a lamp for expounding the Shari’a (the Islamic laws), but also as a master for guiding towards the tariqa (the path) which leads to the haqiqa (the Ultimate Reality). The human being fundamentally has been brought in this transient world for this very purpose. The word shari’a which we commonly translate as the Islamic law literally signifies mawrid al-maa’ al-jaari (‘the entrance of flowing water’). When we say shari’at al-Furat, for example, we mean “the entrance of the flowing waters of Euphrates”. But Religion only serves as the shari‘a for those of us who would really like to “enter the flowing spiritual waters” and benefit from the same so that we may attain the haqiqa (Absolute Reality).
Although Bahjat al-‘Arifin is not among us, the brilliance of his splendor can still be felt. Rather, when does the splendor of such a lamp ever fade? Which lamp was lit by the teachings of Muhammad and His infallible progeny (peace be upon them), and did not turn immortal and eternal?

By Sh. Muhammad Khalfan

An Important Rule Often Neglected 26

A Code of Practice For Muslims in the West : Women's issues » General Rules
Fatawa of Ayatullah al Uzama Syed Ali al-Husaini Seestani


450: It is not permissible for a woman to expose the top part of her feet to a non-mahram onlooker. However, she is allowed to keep her feet —top as well as sole— exposed during salat, if she is in a place where she is immune from the looks of a non-mahram person.

Allah's praise from one of His beloved servants (as)

(and a little souvenir at the end)

Al-Zuhri related from Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib.
He said: The people were not going out of Mecca until Ali ibn al-Husayn (Al-Sajjad), the chief of the worshippers (upon him be peace) went out. 
So he went out, and they went out with him.
He stopped in one of the way stations and prayed two rak'as. Then he glorified God - I mean with this glorification - during his prostration. 
There was no tree and no clod of earth that did not glorify along with him, so we were frightened.
He raised his head. 
He said: O Sa'id, are you frightened? I said: Yes, O son of the Messenger of God! 
He said: This is the greatest glorification. It was related to me by my father from his grandfather from the Messenger of God (God bless him and his Household).
No sins remain with this glorification.
When God (majestic is His majesty) created Gabriel, He inspired him with this glorification.
It is God's greatest name.

One of his Glorifications of Allah (Sahifa Al-Sajjadiyya - Number 56 - please refer to the arabic recitation online)

1  Glory be to Thee, O God,
          and I beg Thy loving care! 
2  Glory be to Thee, O God,
          and high art Thou exalted! 
3  Glory be to Thee, O God,
          and might is Thy loincloth!
4  Glory be to Thee, O God,
          and mightiness is Thy cloak! 
5  Glory be to Thee, O God,
          and magnificence is Thy authority! 
6  Glory be to Thee, All-Mighty!
          How mighty Thou art! 
7  Glory be to Thee!
          Thou art glorified in the highest!
          Thou hearest and seest what is under the soil!
8  Glory be to Thee!
          Thou art witness over every whispered conversation!
9  Glory be to Thee,
          the place where every complaint is put down! 
10  Glory be to Thee,
          present in every assembly! 
11  Glory be to Thee,
          object of great hopes! 
12  Glory be to Thee!
          Thou seest what is at the lowest depth of the water! 
13  Glory be to Thee!
          Thou hearest the breaths of the fish
          in the lowest depths of the oceans! 
14  Glory be to Thee!
          Thou knowest the weight of the heavens! 
15  Glory be to Thee!
          Thou knowest the weight of the earths! 
16  Glory be to Thee!
          Thou knowest the weight of the sun and the moon! 
17  Glory be to Thee!
          Thou knowest the weight of the darkness and the light! 
18  Glory be to Thee!
          Thou knowest the weight of the shadow and the air! 
19  Glory be to Thee!
          Thou knowest the weight of the wind,
          how many times it is greater than the weight of a dust mote! 
20  Glory be to Thee,
          All-holy, All-holy, All-holy! 
21  Glory be to Thee!
          I wonder how any who knows Thee could fear Thee not! 
22  Glory be to Thee, O God,
          and Thine is the praise! 
23  Glory be to God, the All-high, the All-Mighty!