Peak of Eloquence Nahjul Balagha By Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib - English Translation - Sermon 90

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This sermon is known as the sermon of Skeletons150 (Khutbatul-Ashbah), and it holds one of the highest positions among the sermons of

Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib (x). Mas`adah ibn Sadaqah has related from Imam Ja`far ibn Muhammad as-Sadiq (x) saying: “Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib (x) delivered this sermon from the pulpit of (the mosque of) Kufa when someone asked him, ‘O Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib (x)! Describe
Allah for us in such a way that we may imagine that we see Him with eyes so that our love and knowledge may increase about Him.’ Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib (x) became angry at this (request of the inquirer) and ordered the Muslims to gather in the mosque. So many Muslims gathered in the mosque that the place was over-crowded. Imam Ali (x) ibn Abu

Talib (x) ascended the pulpit while he was still in a state of anger and his color was changed. Having praised and extolled Allah and sought His blessings on the Prophet (h), he said the following:

About Allah:

Praise be to Allah Whom refusal to give away and stinginess do not reach and Whom munificence and generosity do not make poor, although everyone who gives away loses (to that extent) except He and every miser is blamed for his niggardliness. He obliges through beneficial bounties and plentiful gifts and grants. The whole creation is His dependents (in sustenance). He has guaranteed their livelihood and ordained their sustenance. He has prepared the way for those who turn to Him and those who seek what is with Him. He is as generous about what He is asked as He is about that for which He is not asked. He is the First for whom there was no before so that there could not be anything before Him. He is the Last for whom there is no after, so that there could not be anything after Him. Time does not change over Him, so as to admit of any change of condition about Him. He is not in any place so as to allow Him movement (from one place to another).

If He gives away all that the mines of the mountains emit of the gold, silver, pearls and cuttings of coral which the shells of the ocean vomit out, it would not affect his munificence, nor diminish the extent of what He has. (In fact) He would still have such treasures of bounty as would not decrease by the demands of the creatures because He is that generous. Being Whom the begging of beggars cannot make poor nor the pertinacity of those who beseech make miser.

Attributes of Allah as Described in the Holy Quran:

Then look at the inquirer, be confined to those of His attributes which the Holy Quran had described and seek light from the glory of its guidance. Leave to Allah that knowledge which Satan has prompted you to seek and which neither the Holy Quran enjoins you to seek nor is there any trace of it in the actions or sayings of the Prophet (h) and other

leaders (Imams) of guidance. This is the extreme limit of Allah’s claim upon you. Be informed that firm in knowledge are those who refrain from opening the curtains that lie against the unknown and their acknowledgment of ignorance about the details of the hidden unknown prevents them from further probing. Allah praises them for their admission that they are unable to get knowledge not allowed to them. They do not go deep into the discussion of what is not enjoined upon them about knowing Him and they call it firmness. Be content with this and do not limit the Greatness of Allah after the measure of your own intelligence, or else you would be among the destroyed ones.

He is Powerful, such that when the imagination shoots its arrows to comprehend the extremity of His power, the mind, making itself free of the dangers of evil thoughts tries to find Him in the depth of His realm, the hearts long to grasp realities of His attributes and the openings of intelligence penetrate beyond description in order to secure knowledge about His Being, crossing the dark pitfalls of the unknown and concentrating towards him, He would turn them back. They would return defeated admitting that the reality of His knowledge cannot be comprehended by such random efforts, nor can an iota of the sublimity of His Honor enter the understanding of thinkers.

Allah’s Creation:

He originated the creation without any example which He could follow and without any specimen prepared by any known creator that was before Him. He showed us the realm of His Might and such wonders which speak of His Wisdom. The confession of the created things that their existence owes itself to Him made us realize that argument has been furnished about knowing Him (so that there is no excuse against it). The signs of His creative power and standard of His wisdom are fixed in the wonderful things He has created. Whatever He has created is an argument in His favor and a guide towards Him. Even a silent thing is a guide towards Him as though it speaks and its guidance towards the Creator is clear.