Chapitre sur l'Attribut de l'Essence (Sifat al-DhDhat) d'Allah — Al-Kāfi - Volume 1

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1. Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from Muhammad ibn Khalid al-Tayalisi from Safwan ibn Yahya from ibn Maskan from abu Basir who has said the following. “I heard abu ‘Abdallah (a.s.) saying, ‘The Exalted, the Glorious, Allah, our Lord, is Eternal. Knowledge is His self even if there is nothing to be known. Hearing is His self even if there is nothing to be heard. Seeing is His-self even when there is nothing to be seen. Power is His self even if there is nothing to feel the power. When He brought things into existence the perceptible objects became the objects of His knowledge, His hearing applied to audible objects, His seeing to visible objects and His power to the objects that feel power.’” Abu Basir adds; “I further asked, ‘Has Allah always been in motion?” He replied, “Allah is High Exalted above that. Motion is an attribute that is created through action.” I asked, “Did Allah always have the ability to speak?” He replied, “ Speech is a created attribute and not an eternal one. Allah, the Majestic, the Glorious, existed when there was nothing able to speak.”

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2. Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Muhammad ibn al-Husayn from ibn abu ‘Umayr from Hisham ibn Salim from Muhammad ibn Muslim who has said the following. “I heard abu Ja‘far (a.s.) saying, ‘Allah, to Whom belong Might and Majesty, existed when nothing else existed. He eternally knows whatever comes into being. His knowledge of things before their coming into existence and afterwards is exactly the same.’”

2 - Muhammad ibn Yahya, de Muhammad ibn al-Husayn, d'Ibn Abi Umeyr, de Hisham ibn Salim, de Muhammad ibn Muslim, d'Abu Ja'far (que la paix soit sur lui) a dit : J'ai entendu dire qu'Allah, Puissant et Majestueux, était, et rien d'autre que Lui, et Il a toujours su ce qui sera, Son savoir de cela avant sa création est semblable à Son savoir de cela après sa création.

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3. Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Muhammad ibn al-Husayn from Safwan ibn Yahya from al-Kahili who has said the following. “I wrote to abu al-Hassan (al-Kadhim) (a.s.), praising Allah in my letter as, ‘All praise belongs to Allah to the limit of His knowledge.’” He wrote back to me, “Do not say, “To the limit of His knowledge because there is no limit to His knowledge. Instead say, “All praise belongs to Allah to the limit of His pleasure.”

Muhammad ibn Yahya a rapporté de Muhammad ibn al-Husayn, de Safwan ibn Yahya, de al-Kahili qui a dit : J'ai écrit à Abi al-Hasan (que la paix soit sur lui) concernant l'invocation "Louange à Allah, dont la connaissance est infinie". Il m'a répondu : "Ne dis pas 'dont la connaissance est infinie', car il n'y a pas de limite à Sa connaissance. Dis plutôt 'dont la satisfaction est infinie'".

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4. Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Sa‘d ibn ‘Abdallah from Muhammad ibn ‘Isa from Ayyub ibn Nuh, who wrote to abu al-Hassan (al-Thalith (a.s.) asking him about Allah, the Majestic, the Glorious. “Did He know all things before creating and giving them being, or did He not know until He brought them into existence or until He willed their creation and existence? Did Allah come to know what He created during the process of their creation and what He originated during their being originated?” The Imam wrote in reply in his own handwriting, “Eternally Allah has had full knowledge of all things, before as well as after their creation.”

4- Muhammad ibn Yahya rapporte de Sa'd ibn Abdallah, de Muhammad ibn Isa, d'Ayyub ibn Nuh, ayant écrit à Abi al-Hasan (que la paix soit sur lui), lui demandant au sujet d'Allah, le Très Haut, s'Il connaissait les choses avant de créer les choses et de les former, ou s'Il ne savait pas cela jusqu'à ce qu'Il les crée et veuille leur création et leur formation. Il a su ce qu'Il a créé au moment de Sa création et ce qu'Il a formé au moment de Sa formation. Par Sa science de ce qu'Il a créé après avoir créé les choses, Allah demeure toujours savant des choses avant de créer les choses, comme Il est savant des choses après avoir créé les choses.

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5. Ali ibn Muhammad has narrated from Sahl ibn Ziyad from Ja‘far ibn Muhammad ibn Hamzah who has said the following. “I wrote to the man (Imam (a.s.), ‘Your followers differ about the knowledge of Allah. There are those who say that before creating all things Allah had eternally full knowledge of them. Others say that we should not say so because His knowing is like His action. If we prove that His Knowledge is eternal we have also established another thing eternal along with Him. May Allah take my soul in service for your cause, if you would consider it proper, kindly enlighten me in this issue so that I would have a firm stand and do not waver therefrom.” He wrote in his own handwriting, “Eternally Allah , the Most Holy, the Most High has had the Knowledge of all things.” ?? and Allah’s Positive Attributes such as His knowledge are the same as His Essence without any duality between His Essence and His Positive Attributes).’ “

5 - Ali ibn Muhammad, de Sahl ibn Ziyad, de Ja'far ibn Muhammad ibn Hamza, a dit : J'ai écrit à l'Imam (que la paix soit sur lui) lui demandant : "Certains de tes partisans divergent en matière de connaissance. Certains disent que Dieu a toujours été savant avant même la création des choses, et d'autres disent que nous ne disons pas que Dieu a toujours été savant car le sens de 'Il sait' implique 'Il agit'. Si nous affirmons la connaissance, nous l'avons affirmée de toute éternité avec Lui. Si tu vois bon, que Dieu me sacrifie pour toi, enseigne-moi ce sur quoi je dois m'arrêter et ce que je ne dois pas approuver." L'Imam (que la paix soit sur lui) lui répondit de sa propre main : "Dieu a toujours été savant, béni et exalté soit Son nom."

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6. Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad from al-Husayn ibn Sa‘id from al-Qasim ibn Muhammad from ’Abd al-Samad ibn Bashir from Fudayl ibn Sukkarah who has said the following. “I asked abu Ja‘far (a.s.), ‘May Allah take my soul in service for your cause, if you would consider it proper please enlighten me about whether Allah, Majestic is Whose face, had knowledge of His Oneness before He brought the creation into existence? Your followers differ on this issue. There are those who believe that Allah did have knowledge of His Oneness before He created anything. Others say His knowledge is His action. Thus, now Allah has come to know that before He created things there had been nothing besides He Himself. They say that if we believe in the eternal knowledge of Allah of His Oneness, we have established another thing eternal along with Him. If you would consider it proper please enlighten me in this issue so I may not waver here and there.” He wrote, “Allah, the Blessed and Exalted has always had the Knowledge of all things.” (See Hadith No. 294 – 53)

6 - Muhammad ibn Yahya, d'Ahmad ibn Muhammad, de Husayn ibn Sa'id, de al-Qasim ibn Muhammad, d'Abd as-Samad ibn Bashir, de Fudayl ibn Sukkara a dit : J'ai dit à Abu Ja'far (que la paix soit sur lui) : "Puissé-je être ton sacrifice, si tu acceptes de m'enseigner : Est-ce qu'Allah, que Son visage soit glorifié, savait avant de créer la création qu'Il était seul ? Car tes partisans divergent à ce sujet." Certains d'entre eux disent : "Il savait avant de créer quoi que ce soit de Sa création." Et d'autres disent : "Le sens de Son savoir est qu'Il agit, donc Il sait aujourd'hui qu'Il n'y a rien d'autre que Lui avant l'existence des choses." Ils ont dit : "Si nous prouvons qu'Il a toujours su qu'Il n'y avait rien d'autre que Lui, alors nous avons prouvé qu'Il était avec Lui-même dans Son éternité. Si tu vois, ô mon seigneur, de m'enseigner ce que je ne peux attribuer à un autre que toi." Il (que la paix soit sur lui) écrivit : "Allah demeure savant, béni et exalté soit Son nom."