Theology and Creed

Prayer has no power to change matters that have received God’s final seal, because God has willed that they remain unchanged. These seals include the divine way, the divine words, God’s promise, and the Lord’s appointed time. Badāʾ (the possibility of change) applies to divine decree, but not to what has been finally sealed.

The difference between mediated and immediate perception on the path of divine oneness is that everyone moves from immediate perception to mediated perception. True immediate perception is beyond perception: it does not need to be perceived, and we all abide in it. Seeking knowledge of God’s Proof passes through immediacy, as the supplication for the Age of Appearance states.

Language and expression in knowing the oneness of God are bounded by magnifying and declaring Him transcendent—an approach that is itself the essence of pure tawhid. The conviction that the Lord cannot be described leads one to acknowledge, plainly, one’s inability to describe Him.

The degrees of divine unity correspond to a person’s level of knowledge and understanding. Knowledge is the path to recognizing divine unity, and the extent of one’s understanding determines the degree one attains. The perfection of divine unity lies in sincere devotion to the One worshipped, and the perfection of sincerity lies in denying attributes of God.

To truly know God through God Himself means that knowledge of Him is a decisive proof from God, placed within human nature. By their own free choice, people choose between acknowledging this knowledge and denying it. Knowledge comes from God; acknowledgment is the servant’s acceptance.

To reconcile the mystic’s experiential understanding of oneness with the philosopher’s demonstrative one, we must recognize that demonstration leads to oneness only when it articulates an innate vision. This innate vision is the vision of authentic reason, the voice of human nature.

A change in destiny does not mean a change in God’s knowledge; divine knowledge is unchanging. Change occurs within the sphere of the divine will before the decree takes effect, and even the possibility of *badāʾ* and erasure is already known to God. Divine knowledge encompasses all things and is beyond the limits of our understanding.

Everything being written in the Preserved Tablet does not mean that God willed it all; knowing is not the same as willing. Divine knowledge encompasses will, decree, destiny, and their fulfillment, and has no temporal or spatial framework. The stages that follow, by contrast, unfold within time and space. Divine knowledge transcends the limits of our minds.

The annihilation and abiding of all beings are both signs of the will of the Exalted Lord. The annihilation of beings manifests the Creator’s will that they pass away, while their abiding manifests His will that they endure. In both states—annihilation and abiding—the divine majesty, perfection, and will are manifest at their fullest, and nothing can stand in the way of the manifestation of God’s will.

The true delight of divine oneness lies in a mode of understanding that transcends ordinary comprehension and leads us to the divine state beyond all description. This delight surpasses the ordinary pleasures we experience through understanding and thought. The state beyond description is a state beyond pleasure—it lies beyond pleasure itself.

The Qur’an’s combination of anthropomorphic language and divine transcendence holds a mystery rooted in tawhid. Anthropomorphic language serves as a bridge for reflection and spiritual journeying toward God. Such language belongs to the category of ambiguous verses and must be understood in light of the clear, decisive verses. The sound doctrine of tawhid is the one set out in the Qur’an: neither absolute negation nor likening God to created beings, but affirmation of God’s existence and attributes without resemblance to creation.

The essence of the Almighty Lord lies beyond the reach of the human intellect and does not need to be known. We come to know and relate to created beings through the divine names and attributes, for God’s majesty and grandeur are such that He has no need of any description or relationship. In this context, created beings exist within the realm of the divine names, attributes and acts.

Describing Paradise with material blessings such as gold and pearls is a way of appealing to hearts drawn to worldly things, while reminding us of the far greater and unimaginable delights of the hereafter. In Paradise, these blessings bring a joy beyond the fleeting pleasures of this world, and serve as good news for those who worship God in hope of reward. Yet the greatest blessing is God’s good pleasure.

The existence of the Hereafter can be established through rational and Quranic arguments. Rational arguments include the instinct for survival, sleep and wakefulness, the renewal of nature, and the course of the universe. The Quranic verses also explicitly affirm resurrection, the reward of the righteous in Paradise, and the punishment of the disbelievers in Hell, and describe them as everlasting.

The station of the Master of Martyrs (AS) even transcends the station of divine will: he describes the hearts of God’s friends as the abode of divine will, while calling himself “the trial of God’s friends.” This means that he possesses a station of divine knowledge that encompasses divine will. The souls of other human beings, too, can be a locus of divine will.

The Imam is the truth and spirit that governs the backbone of creation, and creation cannot do without him. When an Imam is martyred, another succeeds him without delay. The wisdom behind the continuity of the Imamate despite oppression lies in the test of creation; the establishment of the order of truth in its fullness will come to pass at the end of time.

In the verse “کل شیء أحصیناه فی إمام مبین,” “احصاء” means recording something quantitatively and qualitatively, with all its calculations and attributes; providing a complete and precise record, down to every nuance and subtlety; making a comprehensive and complete record of it in knowledge; and encompassing and mastering it in all its general and particular details. The Clear Imam is the very reality of the wilayah of the Immaculate Imams, peace be upon them, in whom the knowledge of all things is encompassed.

The status of created beings is distinct from that of the Creator. Created beings share in having existence, whereas the Creator brings existence into being and shares nothing with any created being; He is beyond description. To imagine the Creator in human terms is a mark of ignorance. Allah, the All-Powerful, brought existence into being and granted existence to all beings.

The partisans of personal opinion are those who disregard the inseparable bond between the Prophet’s family and the Qur’an, refuse to accept the authority of the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them), and, when deriving religious rulings, place their own opinions above the rulings of the Imams (peace be upon them). They may try to justify this unwarranted preference with specious arguments.

All spirits, including the spirit attributed to God, are His creation and were once nonexistent. The spirit attributed to God is His chosen and honored spirit, which He created and joins to whomever He wills. The spirit grows subtle and light through greater knowledge of God and piety, under the guidance of the Two Weighty Things (the Qur’an and the Prophet’s Household).