… Imran Al-Sabi asked, “Please, explain to me the essence of the Foremost Being and His creations.”

… فَقَالَ عِمْرَانُ الصَّابِيُّ: أخْبِرْنِي عَنِ الكَائِنِ الأَوَّلِ 

وَعَمَّا خَلَقَ

Imam Al-Ridha answered: “… As for the One, He has always been One unaccompanied Being. He has neither limits nor does He have transient qualities. He will always be so. Then, unprecedentedly, He created a different creature with transient qualities and various different limits. He neither placed it in anything, nor did He limit it by anything. He neither created it like anything, nor did He create other thing like it. He then created the creatures in various shapes: pure and impure, different and alike, with various colors, flavors and tastes. He did not create them out of a need for them, nor did He create them to attain a higher rank. He did not sense any increase or decrease in Himself due to this creation. O Imran! Do you understand this?”

فَقَالَ لَهُ: … أمَّا الْوَاحِدُ فَلَمْ يَزَلْ وَاحِداً كَائِناً لاَ شَيءَ مَعَهُ بِلاَ حُدِودٍ وَأعْرَاضٍ، وَلاَ يَزَالُ كَذلِكَ، ثُمَّ خَلَقَ خَلْقاً مُبْتَدِعاً مُخْتَلِفاً بِأعْرَاضٍ وَحُدُودٍ مُخْتَلِفَةٍ، لاَ فِي شَيءٍ أقَامَهُ وَلاَ فِي شيءٍ حَدَّهُ وَلاَ عَلَى شَيءٍ حَذَاهُ وَمَثَّلَهُ لَهُ. فَجَعَلَ الْخَلْقَ مِنْ بَعْدِ ذَلِكَ صَفْوَةً وَغَيْرَ صَفْوَةٍ وَاخْتِلاَفاً وَائْتِلاَفاً وَألْوَاناً وَذَوْقاً وَطَعْماً، لا لِحَاجَةٍ كَانَتْ مِنْهُ إلى ذَلِكَ وَلا لِفَضْلِ مَنْزِلَةٍ لَمْ يَبْلُغْهَا إلاَّ بِهِ، وَلا أرَى لِنَفْسِهِ فِيمَا خَلَقَ زِيَادَةً وَلا نُقْصَاناً. تَعْقِلُ هَذا يَا عِمْرَانُ؟

“Yes, Sir. I do understand it,” Imran answered.

قَالَ: نَعَمْ وَ اللهِ يَا سَيِّدِي

The Imam added: “Imran! Be it known to you that if He had created what He created because He needed them, He could have created only things by which He could fulfill His need. In that case, it would have been better for Him to create several times more than what He created, since the more the helpers were, the more powerful their master would be.

Imran! In that case, His need would be a never-ending one. The more He created, the newer needs appeared for Him. That is why we say that He did not create the creatures out of need. Through creation, He transfers the needs of some of them to others. And He makes some of them nobler than others without any need for the nobler one or without wanting to take any revenge against those whom He had debased. That is how He has created.”

قَالَ: وَاعْلَمْ يَا عِمْرَانُ أنَّهُ لَوْ كَانَ خَلَقَ مَا خَلَقَ لِحَاجَةٍ لَمْ يَخْلُقْ إلاَّ مَنْ يَسْتَعِينُ بِهِ عَلَى حَاجَتِهِ، وَلَكَانَ يَنْبَغِي أنْ يَخْلُقَ أضْعَافَ مَا خَلَقَ لأَنَّ الأَعْوَانَ كُلَّمَا كَثُرُوا كَانَ صَاحِبُهُمْ أقْوَى. وَالحَاجَةُ يَا عِمْرَانُ لاَ يَسَعُهَا لأنَّهُ كَانَ لَمْ يُحْدِثْ مِنَ الخَلْقِ شَيْئاً إلاّ حَدَثَتْ بِهِ حَاجَةٌ أُخْرَى. وَلِذَلِكَ أقُولُ: لَمْ يَخْلُقِ الخَلْقَ لِحَاجَةٍ وَلكِنْ نَقَلَ بِالخَلْقِ الحَوَائِجَ بَعْضَهُمْ إلى بَعْضٍ، وَفَضَّلَ بَعْضَهُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ بِلاَ حَاجَةٍ مِنْهُ إلى فَضْلٍ وَلاَ نِقْمَةٍ مِنْهُ عَلَى مَنْ أذَلَّ. فَلِهذَا خَلَقَ

Imran asked, “Sir! Was the Being known to Himself by His own Self?”

قَالَ عِمْرَانُ: يَا سَيِّدِي، هَلْ كَانَ الكَائِنُ مَعْلُوماً فِي نَفْسِهِ عِنْدَ نَفْسِهِ؟

Imam Al-Ridha replied, “It is the case that knowledge of something is required to distinguish it from other things, and to prove its existence through what it is negated about it. However, there was nothing else there to oppose Him to make it necessary to negate. Since there was only Him, there was no need to establish limits.

Do you understand, Imran?”

قَالَ الرِّضَا عَلَيْهِ السَّلاَمُ: إنَّما يَكُونُ المَعْلَمَةُ بِالشَّيءِ لِنَفْيِ خِلاَفِهِ وَلِيَكُونَ الشَّيءُ نَفْسُهُ بِمَا نُفِيَ عَنْهُ مَوْجُوداً، وَلَمْ يَكُنْ هُناكَ شَيءٌ يُخَالِفُهُ فَتَدْعُوهُ الحَاجَةُ إلى نَفْيِ ذَلِكَ الشَّيءِ عَنْ نَفْسِهِ بِتَحْدِيدِ مَا عَلِمَ مِنْهَا. أفَهِمْتَ يَا عِمْرَانُ؟

Imran asserted, “Yes, by God, I do! Now, tell me by what means He came to know what He knew. Was it done by conscience or by something else?”

قَالَ: نَعَمْ وَاللهِ. سَيِّدِي فَأخْبِرْنِي بِأيِّ شَيءٍ عَلِمَ مَا عَلِمَ. أبِضَمِيرٍ أمْ بِغَيْرِ ذَلِكَ؟

Imam Al-Ridha explained, “If it had been that His Knowledge was acquired by conscience, can’t we then establish any limits for that conscience where Knowledge ends?”

قَالَ الرِّضَا عَلَيْهِ السَّلاَمُ: أرَأَيْتَ إذَا عَلِمَ بِضَمِيرٍ هَلْ يَجِدُ بُدّاً مِنْ أنْ يَجْعَلَ لِذَلِكَ الضَّمِيرِ حَدّاً تَنْتَهِي إلَيْهِ المَعْرِفَةُ؟

Imran answered, “Yes, there is no other way out.”

قَالَ عِمْرَانُ: لاَ بُدَّ مِنْ ذَلِكَ

“If so,” the Imam added. “What does that conscience look like?”

قَالَ الرِّضَا عَلَيْهِ السَّلاَمُ: فَمَا ذَلِكَ الضَّمِيرُ؟

Imran failed to give an answer.

فَانْقَطَعَ وَلَمْ يَحْرَ جَوَاباً

Imam Al-Ridha continued, “Never mind, Imran! If I now ask you about that conscience and whether you can recognize it through another conscience.

If you answer in the affirmative, you will have disproved your own statement.

Imran! Is it not more proper for you to know that the One cannot be described by a conscience? And that the most that can be said about Him is that He has done something, or created something?

He is not such that one can conceive any directions or parts for Him as can be imagined for the creatures and their parts. Understand this and base your proper knowledge on it.”

قَالَ الرِّضَا عَلَيْهِ السَّلاَمُ: لا بَأسَ إنْ سَأَلْتُكَ عَنِ الضَّمِيرِ نَفْسِهِ، تَعْرِفُهُ بِضَمِيرٍ آخَرَ؟ فَإنْ قُلْتَ نَعَمْ، أفْسَدْتَ عَلَيْكَ قَوْلَكَ وَدَعْوَاكَ يَا عِمْرَانُ. ألَيْسَ يَنْبَغِي أنْ تَعْلَمَ أنَّ الوَاحِدَ لَيْسَ يُوصَفُ بِضَمِيرٍ وَلَيْسَ يُقَالُ لَهُ أكْثَرَ مِنْ فِعْلٍ وَعَمَلٍ وَصُنْعٍ، وَلَيْسَ يُتَوَهَّمُ مِنْهُ مَذاهِبُ وَتَجْزِيَةٍ كَمَذَاهِبِ المَخْلُوقِينَ وَتَجْزِيَتِهِمْ؟ فَاعْقِلْ ذَلِكَ وَابْنِ عَلَيْهِ مَا عَلِمْتَ صَواباً