Peak of Eloquence Nahjul Balagha By Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib - English Translation - Sermon 181

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It has been related by Nawf al-Bikali that Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib (x) delivered this sermon at Kufa standing on a stone which Ja’dah ibn Hubayrah al-Makhzumi had placed for him. Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib (x) had a woollen apparel on his body, the belt of his

sword was made of leaves and the sandals on his feet too were of palm leaves. His forehead had a hardened spot like that a camel (on its knee, due to many and long prostrations). About Allah’s attributes, His creatures and His being above physical limitations :

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Praise be to Allah to Whom is the return of all creation and the end of all matters. We render Him praise for the greatness of His generosity, the charity of His proofs, the increase of His bounty... And for His favors, a praise which may fulfil His right, repay His thanks, take (us) near His reward and produce an increase in His kindness. We seek His help like one who is hopeful of His bounty, desirous of His benefit and confident of His warding (calamities) off, one who acknowledges His gifts and is obedient to Him in word and in deed. We believe in Him like one who reposes hope in Him with conviction, inclines to Him as a believer, humbles himself before Him obediently, believes in His Oneness exclusively, regards Him as great, acknowledging His dignity and seeks refuge with Him with inclination and exertion.

Allah, the most Glorified One, has not been born so that someone could be (His) partner in glory. Nor has He begotten anyone so as to be inherited. Time has not preceded Him. Increase and decrease do not apply to Him. But He has manifested Himself to our understanding when we observe His strong control and firm decree. Among the proofs of His creation is the creation of the skies which are fastened without pillars, standing without support. He called them and they responded obediently and humbly without being reluctant or loathsome. If they had not acknowledged His being the Lord and not obeyed Him, He would not have made them the place for His throne, the abode of His angels and the destination of the pure utterances and righteous deeds of the creatures.

He has made the stars in the skies by way of signs for the guidance of travelers who traverse the various routes of the earth. The gloom of the dark curtains of the night does not prevent the flame of their light, nor do the veils of blackish nights have the power to turn back the light of the moon when it spreads in the skies. Glory to Allah from Whom neither the blackness of dark dusk nor of gloomy nights in the low parts of the earth or on high dim mountains is hidden, nor the thundering of clouds on the horizons of the skies, nor the sparking of lightning in the clouds, nor the falling of leaves blown away from their falling places by the winds of hurricanes or by downpour from the sky. He knows where the drops fall and where they settle, where the grubs leave their trails or drag themselves, what livelihood will suffice the mosquitoes and what a female bears in its womb.

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Praise be to Allah Who exists before the existence of the seat, the throne, the sky, the earth, the jinns or the humans. He cannot be perceived by imagination nor measured by comprehension. He who pleads to Him does not divert Him (from others), nor does giving away cause Him diminution. He does not see by means of an eye, nor can He be confined to a place. He cannot be said to have companions. He does not create with (the help of) limbs. He cannot be perceived by senses. He cannot be thought of as we think of people.

It is He who spoke to Musa (Moses) clearly and showed Him His great signs without the use of bodily parts, the means of speech or the uvula. O you who exert yourself in describing Allah! If you are serious, then (first try to) describe Gabriel, Michael or the host of angels who are close (to Allah) in the receptacles of sublimity. But their heads are bent downwards and their wits are perplexed as to how to assign limits (of definition) to the Highest Creator. This is so because those things can only be perceived through qualities which have shape and parts and which succumb to death after reaching the end of their times. There is no god but He. He has lighted every darkness with His glory and has darkened every light with the darkness (of death).

An Account of Bygone Peoples and Learning from Them