Tradition

اَلتَّوْحِيْدُ أَنْ لاتَتَوَهْمَهُ و الْعَدْلُ أَنْ لا تَتَّهِمَهُ

Imam ‘Ali (‘a) is narrated to have said: “The reality of God’s oneness is that you should not limit his essence to your imagination, and faith in his justice is that you should not accuse him in regards to anything.”1

Brief Commentary

God’s existence is clear and manifest for us in this world and even the smallest things are a reminder and a proof of his greatness. At the same time, the reality of his essence (Dhat) is hidden to us because he is an existence without any limitations and therefore, he is higher than our limited understanding. Due to this reason, we must consider his essence to be higher than anything which we can possibly imagine.

The second issue discussed in this tradition is God’s justice where it is explained that everything which takes place in this world happens based on precise rules and due to very exact reasons. Therefore, we should never look at anything which happens with a negative viewpoint and imagine that God has done something improper or wrong. Such a view of God is not in concordance with faith and belief in his perfection.

• 1. Nahj al-Balaghah, Words of Wisdom, Bihar Al-Anwar, vol. 5, p. 52, Aalam Al-deen, p. 318, Qasa'is Al-A'imma, p. 124, Mutashabah Al-Qur'an, vol. 1, p. 105.