Les sept groupes d'anges et les sept types de voiles

7-109 Ahmad ibn al-Hassan al-Qat’tan narrated that Ahmad ibn Zakariya al-Qat’tan quoted Bakr ibn Abdullah ibn Habib, on the authority of Tamim ibn Buhlool, on the authority of Nasr ibn Mozahim al-Menqari, on the authority of Umar ibn Sa’ed, on the authority of Abi Mikhnaf Lot ibn Yahya, on the authority of Abi Monsoor, on the authority of Zayd ibn Wahab,“They asked the Commander of the Faithful Imam Ali (MGB) about the power of the Honorable the Exalted God - may His Majesty be Exalted. Then he stood up and delivered a sermon. He praised God, expressed God’s glorifications and said, ‘The Blessed the Sublime God has many angles. Some of them are so big that if any of them comes down to Earth, the Earth cannot house them in it due to their extensive size and great amount of feathers and large wings. Some of the angels are so stout and handsome that if all the genies and men cooperate with each other, they cannot describe them. Some of the angles are so big that it would take seven-hundred years to travel the distance between their two shoulders or the distance between their two earlobes. Some of the angels are so large that they can block off the whole horizon with just one of their wings, and their body is very large in size. Some of the angels are so tall that when they stand up the heavens are below their belly buttons. Some of them are such that they can step on no support on the inner layers of the Earth and all of the Earth is only as high as their knee. Some of them are so large that just the back of their large nail can house all the waters in the oceans of the Earth. Some of the angels are so large that they can house as many ships as there ever will be in their eyes and they can sail there forever. Blessed be the Best of the Creators.” Then he (MGB) was asked about the veils. He (MGB) said, “There are seven types of veils. The thickness of each veil is the distance of a five-hundred year journey, and the distance from one veil to the next is five-hundred years. The second veil includes seventy-thousand veils with the distance from one veil to the next is five-hundred years, and the thickness of each veil is the distance of a five-hundred year journey. There are seventy-thousand angels as the gate-keepers for each veil each as powerful as all the genies and the men. Some of the veils are darkness, some are light. Some of the veils are fire, some are smoke. Some of the veils are clouds, some are lightening. Some of the veils are thunder, some are illumination. Some of the veils are pebbles, some are hills. Some of the veils are dust. Some of the veils are water and some are creeks. They are a variety of veils the thickness of each is the distance of a seventy-thousand year journey.Then there are the pavilions of majesty which are sixty in number. There are seventy-thousand angels in each pavilion. The distance between each pavilion is the distance of a five-hundred year journey. Then there is the pavilion of glory. Then there is the pavilion of grandeur. Then there is the pavilion of magnificence. Then there is the pavilion of holiness. Then there is the pavilion of almightiness. Then there is the pavilion of pride. Then there is the pavilion of white light. Then there is the pavilion of Unity which is as large as a square each side of which measures the distance of a seventy-thousand journey. Then there is the Imperial Veil.”Then, Ali (MGB) ended his speech and stopped talking. Umar said, “O Abal-Hassan! I could not survive even for one day without you.”The compiler of the book - may God be pleased with him - said, “These veils are not covering up the Honorable the Exalted God since the Sublime God cannot be said to be confined in a place. However, they are placed upon the great world which He has created and no one but the Blessed the Sublime God knows its size.”

Le Commandeur des Croyants (Ali) que la paix soit sur lui, a été interrogé sur la puissance d'Allah, exalté soit-Il, Sa grandeur étant immense. Il se leva pour louer et glorifier Allah, puis dit: Certes, Allah, béni et exalté soit-Il, a des anges, si l'un d'entre eux descendait sur terre, elle ne suffirait pas pour sa grandeur et le nombre de ses ailes. Parmi eux, s'il était demandé aux djinns et aux humains de Le décrire, ils ne pourraient Le décrire en raison de la distance entre Ses articulations et la beauté de Sa forme. Comment décrire un de Ses anges dont la distance entre les épaules et les lobes des oreilles est de sept cents ans? Parmi eux, certains couvrent l'horizon d'une aile sans que leur corps ne soit visible, certains vont des cieux à Sa limite, certains ont un pied sans base dans l'air inférieur, et les terres jusqu'à leurs genoux, certains pourraient contenir toutes les eaux dans le creux de leur pouce, si les navires étaient placés dans leurs larmes, ils navigueraient éternellement. Béni soit Allah, le Meilleur des créateurs. Il a ensuite été interrogé sur les voiles, et il a répondu: Les voiles sont au nombre de sept, chaque voile épais est de cinq cents ans de marche, entre chaque voile, il y a cinq cents ans de marche. Le deuxième voile est composé de soixante-dix voiles, entre chaque voile, il y a cinq cents ans de marche, et sa longueur est de cinq cents ans. Chaque voile de ceux-là contient soixante-dix mille anges, la force de chaque ange équivaut à la force des deux montagnes. Parmi eux, il y a des ténèbres, de la lumière, du feu, de la tromperie, des nuages, de la foudre, de la pluie, du tonnerre, de la lumière, du sable, des montagnes, des rochers, de l'eau, des rivières, et ce sont des voiles variés. Chaque voile épais est de soixante-dix mille ans de marche. Ensuite, il y a les pavillons de la majesté, soixante pavillons, dans chaque pavillon, il y a soixante-dix mille anges, entre chaque pavillon, il y a cinq cents ans de marche. Puis vient le pavillon de la gloire, le pavillon de la grandeur, le pavillon de la magnificence, le pavillon de la sainteté, le pavillon de la puissance, le pavillon de la fierté, le pavillon de la lumière blanche, le pavillon de l'unicité, qui est de soixante-dix mille ans de marche en soixante-dix mille ans. Ensuite, il y a le voile le plus élevé. Et sa parole prit fin, que la paix soit sur lui, et il se tut. Omar lui dit: Tu es resté aujourd'hui sans que je te voie, ô Abou al-Hassan. L'auteur de ce livre, que Dieu soit satisfait de lui, a dit: Ces voiles ne sont pas placés devant Allah, exalté soit-Il, car Il n'est pas défini par un endroit, mais ils sont placés devant la grandeur suprême de Sa création, dont nul autre que Lui ne peut mesurer l'étendue, béni et exalté soit-Il.