… Imran asked, “Please let me know whether God’s Unity is reality or only description?”

… قَالَ: يَا سَيِّدِي، ألاَ تُخْبِرُنِي عَنِ اللهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، هَلْ يُوَحَّدُ بِحَقِيقَةٍ أوْ يُوَحَّدُ بِوَصْفٍ؟

Imam Al-Ridha said, “Certainly, God is the Only Initiator, and the first Ever-living Being. He has always been One without anything to accompany Him. He is One and there are no seconds for Him. He is neither definite nor indefinite. He is neither decisive nor allegorical. He is neither mentioned nor forgotten. He is not a thing such that a name of things can fit Him. There is no time for the beginning of His existence. And there is no time until which only He will last. He has not been standing upon anything else, nor will He be standing upon anything. There is nothing up until which He is. There is nothing on which He leans.

قَالَ الرِّضَا عَلَيْهِ السَّلاَمُ: إنَّ اللهَ المُبْدِئَ الوَاحِدَ الكَائِنَ الأَوَّلَ لَمْ يَزَلْ وَاحِداً لاَ شَيْءَ مَعَهُ، فَرْداً لاَ ثَانِيَ مَعَهُ، لاَ مَعْلُوماً وَلاَ مَجْهُولاً، وَلا مُحْكَماً وَلا مُتَشَابِهاً، وَلا مَذْكُوراً وَلاَ مَنْسِيّاً، وَلا شَيْئاً يَقَعُ عَلَيْهِ اسْمُ شَيْءٍ مِنَ الأشْيَاءِ غَيْرِهِ، وَلا مِنْ وَقْتٍ كَانَ وَلا إلى وَقْتٍ يَكُونُ، وَلا بِشَيْءٍ قَامَ وَلا إلى شَيْءٍ يَقُومُ، وَلا إلى شَيْءٍ اِسْتَنَدَ وَلا فِي شَيْءٍ اِسْتَكَنَّ

He had all these attributes before creating anything when there was nothing but He. Whatever you attribute to Him will be originated attributes which are only means for understanding Him, which anyone possessing understanding can comprehend.

وَذَلِكَ كُلُّهُ قَبْلَ الخَلْقِ إذْ لاَ شَيْءَ غَيْرُهُ، وَمَا أوْقَعْتُ عَلَيْهِ مِنَ الكُلِّ فَهِيَ صِفَاتٌ مُحْدَثَةٌ وَتَرْجَمَةٌ يَفْهَمُ بِهَا مَنْ فَهِمَ

Be it known to you that innovation, volition and will have the same meaning with three different names. His foremost innovation, will and volition were the letters which He established as the origin of everything, the evidence for all perceived things, and the separator for all vague things.

وَاعْلَمْ أنَّ الإبْدَاعَ وَالمَشِيئَةَ وَالإرَادَةَ مَعْنَاهَا وَاحِدٌ وَأسْمَاؤها ثَلاثَةٌ. وَكَانَ أوَّلَ إبْدَاعِهِ وَإرَادَتِهِ وَمَشِيَّتِهِ الحُرُوفُ الَّتِي جَعَلَهَا أصْلاً لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَدَلِيلاً عَلَى كُلِّ مَدْرَكٍ وَفَاصِلاً لِكُلِّ مُشْكِل

Everything was separated by these letters: things such as the names of right and wrong, action and object, meaning and meaningless. All affairs were run based on them. He did not establish any limited meaning for them other than what they were themselves when He originated the letters. He did not establish for them any existence other than themselves since they were originated via innovation.

وَبِتِلْكَ الحُرُوفِ تَفْرِيقُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ مِنِ اسْمٍ حَقٍّ وَبَاطِلٍ أوْ فِعْلٍ أوْ مَفْعُولٍ أوْ مَعْنىً أوْ غَيْرِ مَعْنى. وَعَلَيْهَا اجْتَمَعَتِ الأُمُورُ كُلُّهَا وَلَمْ يَجْعَلْ لِلْحُرُوفِ فِي إبْدَاعِهِ لَهَا مَعْنًى غَيْرَ أنْفُسِهَا تَتَنَاهَى وَلا وُجُودَ لَهَا لأَنَّهَا مُبْدَعَةٌ بِالإبْدَاعِ

Here, Light is God’s first deed: The deed of God Who is the Light of the heavens and the earth Himself. It was through that deed which the letters became actions. It is the letters we are talking about. Expressions are all from God Who taught them to His creatures.

وَالنُّورُ فِي هَذَا المَوْضِعِ أوَّلُ فِعْلِ اللهِ الَّذِي هُوَ نُورُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأرْضِ، وَالْحُرُوفُ هِيَ الْمَفْعُولُ بِذَلِكَ الْفِعْلِ وَهِيَ الْحُرُوفُ الَّتِي عَلَيْهَا مَدَارُ الْكَلاَمِ، وَالْعِبَادَاتُ كُلُّهَا مِنَ اللهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ عَلَّمَهَا خَلْقَهُ

There are thirty-three letters. Twenty-eight of them are the letters on which the Arabic language is based. Twenty-two of the twenty-eight letters show the letters of the Assyrian and Hebrew languages. Five of them were separated and are in the rest of the languages of non-Arabs in the regions.

وَهِيَ ثَلاَثَةٌ وَثَلاَثُونَ حَرْفاً؛ فَمِنْهَا ثَمَانِيَةٌ وَعِشْرُونَ حَرْفاً تَدُلُّ عَلَى لُغَاتِ الْعَرَبِيَّةِ وَمِنَ الثَّمَانِيَةِ وَالْعِشْرِينَ اثْنَانِ وَعِشْرُونَ حَرْفاً تَدُلُّ عَلَى لُغَاتِ السَّرْيَانِيَّةِ وَالعِبْرَانِيَّةِ، وَمِنْهَا خَمْسَةُ أحْرُفٍ مُتَحَرِّفَةٍ فِي سَائِرِ اللُّغَاتِ مِنَ العَجَمِ وَالأقَالِيمِ

These are the five letters which were separated from the twenty-eight letters. Therefore, there are thirty-three letters.

وَاللُّغَاتُ كُلُّهَا هِيَ خَمْسَةُ أحْرُفٍ تَحَرَّفَتْ مِنَ الثَّمَانِيَةِ وَالعِشْرِينَ حَرْفاً مِنَ اللُّغَاتِ فَصَارَتِ الْحُرُوفُ ثَلاَثَةً وَثَلاَثِينَ حَرْفاً

… It is not permissible to mention more about them than what we have mentioned regarding these five letters which were separated.

… لاَ يَجُوزُ ذِكْرُهَا أكْثَرَ مِمَّا ذَكَرْنَاهُ

He then established the letters after counting and numbering them as His own deed. An example of this is His saying, ‘We but say the word, ‘Be’, and it is.’

Here ‘be’ refers to God’s creation, and ‘what is created’ refers to the creature. Thus, the first creation of God was the innovation which has neither weight nor movement. It is neither heard nor does it have any color. It is intangible.

ثُمَّ جَعَلَ الْحُرُوفَ بَعْدَ إحْصَائِها وَإحْكَامِ عِدَّتِهَا فِعْلاً مِنْهُ، كَقَوْلِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: (كُنْ فَيَكُونُ) وَكُنْ مِنْهُ صُنِعَ وَمَا يَكُونُ بِهِ الْمَصْنُوعُ، فَالْخَلْقُ الأَوَّلُ مِنَ اللهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ الإبْدَاعُ لاَ وَزْنٌ لَهُ وَلاَ حَرَكَةٌ وَلاَ سَمْعٌ وَلاَ لَوْنٌ وَلاَ حِسٌّ

And the second thing that was created are the letters which have neither weight nor color. They are neither heard nor described. They are not seeable.

وَالْخَلْقُ الثَّانِي الْحُرُوفُ لاَ وَزْنٌ لَهَا وَلاَ لَوْنٌ، وَهِيَ مَسْمُوعَةٌ مَوْصُوفَةٌ غَيْرُ مَنْظُورٍ إلَيْهَا

The third creation was the various kinds of things which are perceptible, tangible, tasted, and seeable.

وَالْخَلْقُ الثَّالِثُ مَا كَانَ مِنَ الأنْوَاعِ كُلِّهَا مَحْسُوساً مَلْمُوساً ذَا ذَوْقٍ مَنْظُوراً إلَيْهِ

God the All-exalted existed before innovation as there has been nothing before or with Him. Innovation was created before the letters, and the letters do not indicate anything other than themselves.” …

وَاللهُ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالى سَابِقٌ لِلإبْدَاعِ لأَنَّهُ لَيْسَ قَبْلَهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ شَيْءٌ وَلا كَانَ مَعَهُ شَيءٌ، وَالإبْدَاعُ سَابِقٌ لِلْحُرُوفِ وَالْحُرُوفُ لاَ تَدُلُّ عَلَى غَيْرِ نَفْسِهَا