Al-Tawḥīd

The Meaning of His Pleasure and His Anger

Volume 1 Section 26 4 narrations
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Divine Transcendence 4

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hadith 234
1. My father (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Ahmad ibn Idris related to me on the authority of Ahmad ibn Abu `Abd Allah, on the authority of Muhammad ibn `Isa al-Yaqtini, on the authority of al-Mashriqi, on the authority of Hamzah ibn al-Rabi`, on the authority of one he mentioned that
I was in the presend of Abu Ja`far al-Baqir (AS) when `Amr ibn `Ubayd entered and aked, “May I be your ransom! What is the wrath which is referred to in the Word of Allah, the Blessed and Exalted: And to whomsoe ver My Wrath is due shall perish indeed?1 Thus, Abu Ja`far (AS) replied. O `Amr! That is punishment. Verily, whoever claims that Allah, the Mighty and High, declines from one thing to another, then he has certainly given Him an attribute of the created. Verily, nothing instigates Allah, the Mighty and High, and nothing modifies Him.
1 - حدثنا أبي رحمه الله، قال: حدثني أحمد بن إدريس، عن أحمد بن أبي - عبد الله، عن محمد عيسى اليقطيني، عن المشرقي، عن حمزة بن الربيع (٣)، عمن ذكره، قال
كنت في مجلس أبي جعفر عليه السلام إذ دخل عليه عمرو بن عبيد فقال له جعلت فداك قول الله تبارك وتعالى: ﴿ومن يحلل عليه غضبي فقد هوى﴾ (٤) ما ذلك الغضب؟ فقال أبو جعفر عليه السلام: هو العقاب يا عمرو، إنه من زعم أن الله عز وجل زال من شئ إلى شئ فقد وصفه صفة مخلوق، إن الله عز وجل لا يستفزه شئ ولا يغيره.
Tags Divine Transcendence
hadith 235
2. And with this chain of narrations, on the authority of Ahmad ibn Abu `Abd Allah, on the authority of his father, who eliminated the source of report2 to Abu `Abd Allah (AS) that Abu `Abd Allah al-Sadiq (AS) was asked to interpret the Word of Allah, the Mighty and High: Then when they displeased Us, We inflicted retribution on them.1 He (AS) said
Verily, Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, is not displeased like our displeasure. However, He has created Guardians who are displeased and pleased. They are created and reflect. Thus, He has places His Own Pleasure in their pleasure and His Own Anger in their displeasure. This is because He has made them Callers to Him and Guides to Him. That is why they have become like that and it does not reach Allah like it does to His Creation. Rather, this is the meaning of what He has said. He has also said: “Whoever disrespects My Guardian, wages war upon Me to which I will respond.” He has also said: `Whoever obey the Messenger, he indeed obeys Allah.’2 And He also said: `Surely those who swear allegiance to you do but swear allegiance to Allah.’3 All of this and its likes are as I mentioned them to you. Such is the case with pleasure and anger and things that are similar to these two. If displeasure and annoyance were to reach the Creator, while He brought them about and originated them, it would be permissible to say: “The Creator will become extinct one day, because if annoyance and anger can affect Him, then change can affect Him, and if change can affect Him, then He is not safe from annihilation.” If that were the case, then the Creator could not be distinguished from the created, nor the All-Powerful from the overpowered, not the Creator from the Created. Exalted is Allah, the Elevated and Great, from this statement. He is the Creator of All Things, but in need of nothing. Hence, if there is no nee, then a boundary is impossible, and so is quality. Try to understand this, if Allah wills.
2 - وبهذا الإسناد، عن أحمد بن أبي عبد الله، عن أبيه رفعه إلى أبي عبد الله عليه السلام في قوله الله عز وجل: ﴿فلما آسفونا انتقمنا﴾ قال
إن الله تبارك وتعالى لا يأسف كأسفنا، ولكنه خلق أولياء لنفسه يأسفون ويرضون، وهم مخلوقون مدبرون، فجعل رضاهم لنفسه رضى وسخطهم لنفسه سخطا، وذلك لأنه جعلهم الدعاة إليه والأدلاء عليه، فلذلك صاروا كذلك، وليس أن ذلك يصل إلى الله كما يصل إلى خلقه، ولكن هذا معنى ما قال من ذلك، وقد قال أيضا: (من أهان لي وليا فقد بارزني بالمحاربة ودعاني إليها). وقال أيضا: ﴿من يطع الرسول فقد أطاع الله﴾ (١) وقال أيضا: ﴿إن الذين يبايعونك إنما يبايعون الله﴾ وكل هذا وشبهه على ما ذكرت لك، هكذا الرضا والغضب وغيرهما من الأشياء مما يشاكل ذلك ولو كان يصل إلى المكون الأسف والضجر وهو الذي أحدثهما وأنشأهما لجاز لقائل أن يقول: إن المكون يبيد يوما ما، لأنه إذا دخله الضجر والغضب دخله التغيير وإذا دخله التغيير لم يؤمن عليه الإبادة، ولو كان ذلك كذلك لم يعرف المكون من المكون، ولا القادر من المقدور، ولا الخالق من المخلوق، تعالى الله عن هذا القول علوا كبيرا، هو الخالق للأشياء لا لحاجة، فإذا كان لا لحاجة استحال الحد والكيف فيه، فافهم ذلك إن شاء الله .
Tags Divine Transcendence
hadith 236
3. Muhammad ibn Musa ibn al-Mutawakkil (may Allah be pleased with him) said: `Ali ibn Ibrahim ibn Hashim said, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-`Abbas ibn `Amr al-Fuqaymi, on the authority of Hisham ibn al-Hakam, that
a man asked Abu `Abdillah al-Sadiq (AS) whether Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, feels pleasure or anger. Thus, he (AS) replied, Yes; however, it is not like the pleasure or anger found in created beings. Unlike human beings, pleasure and anger do not change Allah from one emotional state to another. Human beings are operated and composed. Things can affect human beings, while things cannot affect our Creator. He is One in Essence and Concept.
Thus, His Pleasure is His Reward, and His Anger is His Punishment, without anything interfering with Him so as to ridicule Him and transform Him from one sate to another. Emotional changes are an attribute of the created, the helpless, and the needy. While He, the Blessed and Exalted, is the Supreme and the Honorable, who has no need from any of His Creation although all of His Creation is in need of Him. Verily, He created everything without any need to create or innovate.
3 - حدثنا محمد بن موسى بن المتوكل رضي الله عنه، قال: حدثنا علي بن إبراهيم بن هاشم، عن أبيه، عن العباس بن عمرو الفقيمي، عن هشام بن الحكم أن رجلا سأل أبا عبد الله عليه السلام عن الله تبارك وتعالى له رضا وسخط؟ فقال
نعم، وليس ذلك على ما يوجد من المخلوقين، وذلك أن الرضا والغضب دخال يدخل عليه فينقله من حال إلى حال، معتمل، مركب، للأشياء فيه مدخل وخالقنا لا مدخل للأشياء فيه، واحد، أحدي الذات، وأحدي المعنى، فرضاه ثوابه و سخطه عقابه من غير شئ يتداخله فيهيجه وينقله من حال إلى حال، فإن ذلك صفة المخلوقين العاجزين المحتاجين، وهو تبارك وتعالى القوي العزيز الذي لا حاجة به إلى شئ مما خلق، وخلقه جميعا محتاجون إليه، أنما خلق الأشياء من غير حاجة ولا سبب اختراعا وابتداعا.
Tags Divine Transcendence
hadith 237
4. Ahmad ibn al-Hasan al-Qittan said: al-Hasan ibn `Ali al-Sakkari said: Muhammad ibn Zakariyya al-Jawhari said, on the authority of Ja`far ibn Muhammad ibn `Umrah, on the authority of his father that
I asked al-Sadiq Ja`far ibn Muhammad (AS): “O Son of the Messenger of Allah! Inform me about Allah, the Mighty and High. Does He feel pleasure or anger?” Thus he (AS) replied, “Yes; however, not in the sense that applied to created beings. When it comes to Allah, His Anger is His Punishment, and His Pleasure is His Reward.”
4 - حدثنا أحمد بن الحسن القطان، قال: حدثنا الحسن بن علي السكري قال: حدثنا محمد بن زكريا الجوهري، عن جعفر بن محمد بن عمارة، عن أبيه، قال
سألت الصادق جعفر بن محمد عليهما السلام، فقلت له: يا ابن رسول الله أخبرني عن الله عز وجل هل له رضا وسخط؟ فقال: نعم، وليس ذلك على ما يوجد من المخلوقين ولكن غضب الله عقابه، ورضاه ثوابه. باب معنى قوله عز وجل: ﴿ونفخت فيه من روحي﴾
Tags Divine Transcendence