Theology and Creed

God’s being grateful means that He values a believer’s intention and effort in fulfilling their duties, even when their presence of heart is imperfect. A believer’s intention is superior to their action, but they must strive to fulfil that intention to the best of their ability—and God values that effort.

Intercession, mercy, and forgiveness belong to God alone. Intercession is accepted only with His permission and approval, and for those who are mindful of God and believe in His signs. The Infallible Imams (AS) are themselves an expression of divine mercy.

The Praiseworthy Station is the most exalted station God grants to the Noble Prophet (PBUH) and his blessed family. It includes privileges such as holding the keys to the divine treasures, sitting upon the Throne, bearing the Banner of Praise, holding the keys to Paradise and Hell, and exercising a special right of intercession. On the Day of Resurrection, all will envy those who attain this station.

The Infallibles (AS) are called the pillars of divine unity because they are the intermediaries of God’s grace and embodiments of the primordial nature oriented toward divine unity. Without belief in them, no level of divine unity is attainable, for they transform the moon of divine unity into its sun.

In the hadiths, reciting Sūrat al-Tawḥīd means reading it sincerely while affirming God’s oneness. Such a monotheistic recitation keeps sin from drawing near and prevents Satan from leading a person astray. Numerous hadiths emphasize the merits and worldly and otherworldly effects of reciting Sūrat al-Tawḥīd, including protection from sin and the reward of a martyr.

Creating beings without their permission reflects the transcendence of the Divine Essence, which is beyond existence and has no need to seek permission. A being’s initial coming into existence is pure grace, not injustice, since at the moment of creation it had no will with which to grant or withhold permission. The capacity to want and to choose arises in the being through the Creator’s subsequent act of will.

Shiism is Islam itself; the sects arose among those who chose Islam without the wilayah of the Commander of the Faithful, Ali (AS). The Verse of the Perfection of Religion points to this truth. The four Sunni schools of law—the Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi‘i, and Hanbali—had students of Imam al-Sadiq (AS), yet they do not accept the Shiite Imams beyond the sixth Imam.

Casting off the garment of piety means exposing one’s nakedness in body and soul, and opens the way to shamelessness. Whoever wears the garment of piety and does not let remembrance of God leave their heart will not have their nakedness exposed—even if they are unclothed in private.

The believer’s heart is called God’s Throne because it has the capacity to contain thought, reason, and spirit, just as the Divine Throne is the locus of God’s knowledge. The heart is a lamp niche for light and wisdom, the dwelling place of reason and channels of divine grace. If it does not stray, it becomes God’s house and a treasury of knowledge and wisdom.

The Sermon of Tatanjiyya is quoted by Hafiz Rajab Bursi in his book *Mashariq al-Anwar*. Its chain of transmission requires detailed study. As for its content, it contains clear, ambiguous and concise passages and belongs among the advanced discussions of wilayah (divine authority).

God’s names are referred to with masculine pronouns because pronouns are a means of remembering God, and they are themselves created by God. These pronouns were originally used for things that have no sex. God is far beyond having a sex or gender, and nothing is like Him.

The passage on divine unity in Lady Fatima (SA)’s Fadak Sermon describes the declaration of divine oneness, «لا إله إلا الله», as a word whose interpretation is made sincere through devotion, whose hearts are joined to its meaning, and whose intellectual light shines through reflection. It emphasizes the depth of meaning and inner coherence of divine unity.

Purpose, in the sense of a goal to be reached, does not apply to the Lord, for the beginning and end of all things are clear to Him, and the unseen and the visible are alike before Him. Creation and all that unfolds within it manifest divine knowledge and will; the freedom of created beings, too, is subject to His will. Humanity and the jinn were created to worship, and their fulfillment of that worship gives shape to the purpose of their creation.