3. Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Ishaq al-Taliqani (RA) said: Muhammad ibn Sa`id ibn Yahya al-Buzuri said: Ibrahim ibn al-Haytham al-Baladi said: My father said on the authority of alMu`afi ibn `Imran, on the authority of Isra`il, on the authority of al-Miqdad ibn Shurayh ibn Hani’, on the authority of his father that On the Day of Battle of Jamal, a Bedouin stood before the Commander of the Faithful (AS), and asked, “O Commander of the Faithful! Do you say that Allah is One?” He says: the people attacked him saying that “
O Bedouin! Do you not see the state of mind of the Commander of the Faithful?” So the Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: “Leave him alone. Verily, what this Bedouin seeks to know is what we are seeking to establish by fighting these people.” He (the Commander of the Faithful) then said: O Bedouin! The statement that `Allah is One’ is of four types: Two types cannot be applied to Allah, the Mighty and High; while the two other types can be applied to Him. As for the two types of statements that cannot be applied to Him, the first is the claim that Allah is One in a numerical sense. Such a statement cannot be applied to Allah, because as the One, He has no second, and He is not subject to mathematic calculation. Do you not see that he who claims that Allah is the third of the three has disbelieved (in Him)? The second statement which cannot be applied to Allah is the claim that He is One with humankind. Since He derives the species from the genus, He cannot be described through anthropomorphism [tashbih]. Our Lord is Higher and more Exalted than this. As for the two types of statements that can be applied to Allah, the first would be to say that He is the One who resembles none. The second statement which can apply to Allah is the statement that He, the Mighty and High, is Alone, in the sense that He is Indivisible in Existence [wujud], Intellect [`aql], and Thought [wahm]. That is another dignified description of our Lord, he Mighty and High. The Compiler of this book says: I have heard the following from a person I trust due to the fact that he is religious and due to his mastery of both Classical and colloquial Arabic: Verily, the words one, two three, and so forth, were developed in order to express quantity, and not to express quality. They have no meaning outside of counting, and determining units of measure in the tens, hundreds, and thousands. Likewise, when someone intends to inform another person about the exact quantity of a thing, he names it by its specific name, and applies the number `one’ to it, describing its quantity, as opposed to its attributes. This is why one says: one pound [dirham], and one intends only a pound, while it could be a pound in weight or a pound in number. So, if the persons want to convey the meaning of weight, he would say: one pound in weight, but if he wants to convey the meaning of number, he says; one pound in number. On the basis, if a person says “one man,” the man can be one in the sense that he is one human being, as opposed to two. Or, he could be unique in merits, unique in knowledge, unique in generosity or unique in bravery. Thus, if a person intends to convey the sense of quantity, he says: “one man;” in the sense that he is one man as opposed to two men. However, if he intends to describe someone’s excellence, he says: he is one of a kind (there is no `one’ like him). This indicates that nobody compares to him. If he wanted to stress the knowledge of a person, he would say: he is unique in knowledge. Hence, since the word `one’ can indicate excellence, as well as quantity, it means that whoever called him `one’ under these circumstances meant that there he had no second. In other words, there was no scholar like him, and no person like him in quality. When this is not the case, then it is correct to say that `one’ merely indicates quantity. Otherwise, there, would be no sense in saying `one of a kind’ or limiting the meaning of knowledge or bravery. It has been established that when a person uses the word “one” on its own, it indicates quantity. However, depending on the context, it can also mean “one” or “unique” in knowledge, excellence, and generosity. As we have already explained, `one’ pound [dirham] can be one pound in weight, one pound in number or count. It can also be two pounds in weight, and one pound in number or count. Sometimes it is six dawaniq,1 and sixty fulus,2 and has many fractions. Likewise, a slave can be one salve, and not two slaves; a person can be one person, and not two people, when in reality they are composed of many parts which are composed of many more parts. In this sense, the slave cannot be `one.’ Verily, the slave is not one or unique [wahid], because every slave has someone who is similar to him. It makes perfect sense for a slave to have someone who is the same as him in attributes and qualities. Hence it is necessary that Allah, the Mighty and High, be Unique in His Attributes and Most Beautiful Names. This is what makes Him truly One God, who has no likeness; the One, who has no associates; and there is no god but He. Therefore, Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, is the One, the Eternal3 [qadim], and there is no god but He. He is Unique, none is eternal but He, the Existing, who does not change, and is not subject to change. He is the One beyond compare. Nothing is similar to Him. Nothing resembles Him. And nothing is like Him. Thus, He is an Indivisible Being in both Essence and Imagination, a Think unlike other Things, and the One and Only True God. There is no god but Him! In conclusion, in Islamic Law, the titles the One [Wahid], and the Unique [Ahad], apply specifically to Him, and are excluded from others. None but Allah, the Mighty and High, can bear these titles. And, as we have already explained, Allah is a name which can only applied to Him. In addition to these examples, a thing can sometimes be counted with something which is similar to it. It is said: this is a man, these are two men, and these are three men; this is a slave, this is black, these are two slaves, these two are black. Therefore, it is not permissible to say: these are two gods as there is no god but the One God. Thus, Allah cannot be counted in this manner, nor does He enter numbers in this form in any way. Sometimes a thing is counted with something different to it. Hence, it is said: this is the color white, these are white and black colors; this is a recent one [muhdath], these are two recent ones; these are not two ones, and these are not two creatures; One of them is Eternal, and the other is recent; one of them is the Lord, and the other is the servant. So, on this basis, it is acceptable to apply numbers to Him as Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, has said: Nowhere is there a secret counsel between three persons but He is the Fourth of them, not (between) five but He is the Sixth of them, nor less than that nor more but He is with them wheresoever they are.1 Similarly, the statement `Verily’, he is `one man’ does not merely stress his excellence. Likewise, our statement, `so and so in number two to so and so,’ does not simply indicate that he exist. It only does so when it is specified that `he is second to him in excellence, in perfection, or in knowledge.’ As for the Unity of Allah, Exalted is His Remembrance, it refers to the Unity between His Exalted Attribute, and His Most Beautiful Names. He is One, without associates, and without similarity. He who affirms this about the Mighty and High on the basis of His Exalted Attribute and Most Beautiful Names with conviction is a true monotheist. Hence, the one who fails to recognize Allah, the Mighty and High, through his Exalted Attributes, and Most Beautiful Names, does not affirm His Oneness, and is not a true monotheist. Sometimes the ignorant people say: Verily, a monotheist is one who professes the Oneness of Allah even if He does profess the Unity of His Attributes. The ignorant people are told: You have rejected Divine Unity. Whoever claims that His Lord is One God, and One Being, and then applies His Attributes to other than Him, is an idolater, an anthropomorphist, and a nonMuslim according to the consensus of every school of thought in the Ummah. Such is the case, even if he claims that His Lord id One God, One Thing and One Being. Accepting Divine Unity, while failing to accept the Divine Attributes, is like saying Allah is separate from His Attributes whereas Divine Unity is the Unity between Allah and His Attributes. I is impossible for another god to exist. Allah is One God without partners, and without similarity. If He was not United with His Attributes, then he would have an associate or something similar to Him. Likewise, if a servant did not embody him own attributes, another servant would have to exist. As a result, he would not be one servant, but two servants. Hence, anyone who professes that Allah is One with His Attributes is a true monotheist, and a Believer in Divine Unity. Allah, the Mighty and High, unites every attribute which is applicable exclusively to Him. These attributes include the Existent since it cannot be conceive that He can dissolve into something or that something can dissolve into Him. Nor is it conceivable that His Existence can come to an end, that He can be destroyed, or that He can suffer any type of decline. He is the First of the First, the Last of the Last, and the Omnipotent. He is not subject to weakness or inability. He is the Most Powerful of the Powerful, and the Subduer [qahir] of all Subduers. He is Omniscient: nothing is hidden from Him, and nothing escapes Him. He is the Most Learned of the Learned. Ignorance, mistakes, errors, doubts, and forgetfulness cannot be attributed to Him. He is the Ever-Living. He is not subject to sleep or death. Nothing benefits Him nor can anything harm Him. He is the One who Remains, the Most Complete of the Complete, and the Doer who is never occupied. Nothing incapacitates Him nor does He miss anything. He is the Lord of the First and Last, the Best of Creators, and the Foremost of those who take account. He is the Wealthy One [ghani], devoid of nothing. He is the Self-Sufficient [mustaghni], devoid of need. He is the Just, devoid of criticism and defects. He is the Wise One, devoid of foolishness. He is the Most Merciful, whose Mercy cannot be increased kindness.2 He is the Forbearing [halim], devoid of emotion and haste. He is the Most Just of the Just, the Best of Judges, and the Foremost of those who take Account. This is because the first of the First cannot be but One. He is the Omnipotent, the Most Learned, the Best of Judges, the Best of Creators, and all such descriptions are correct. Favor is from Allah, as is protection and guidance.