The Third And Last In The Book Of Tawhid: A Dissertation In Allah’s Actions, Praised And Exalted Is He,

In the Name of Allah, the most Gracious, the most Merciful

Praise to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, and peace and blessings be with His close servants, especially Muhammad and his Purified Progeny.

In this dissertation, we have put a summary of statement about the actins of Allah, the Praised One, and what speech branches from them regarding destiny and fate, initiation, happiness, suffering, obligation, surrendering and the like of guidance and misguidance, will and the absence thereof, verification, persuasion, anger, regret and the like, and from Allah do we seek help.

Chapter 1

We proved in the dissertation on the Most Beautiful Names that every action comes to be in the realm of existence with diminishing any shortcoming from it, purifying it from the filth of the material, of force, of location, i.e. from every area which is temporal.

Such is His action, Praise to Him. Since void and everything which terminates, since it is temporal, is an external fact, for there is nothing in it but existence, stages, outcomes, there is no action externally except that it is His, Praise and Exaltation to Him. This is proven by evidence and taste.

Chapter 2

What also proves the above is citation: The Almighty has said, “Such is your Lord, Creator of everything” (Qur'an, 40:62),

and,

“Allah increases the sustenance (which He gives) to whichever of His servants He pleases, and He (similarly) grants by (strict) measure (as He pleases), for Allah has full knowledge of all things. (Qur’an, 29:62),

and there are many verses conveying the same meaning.
The Almighty has also said,

“He Who has made everything which He has created excellently. He began the creation of man with (nothing more than) clay, (Qur’an, 32:7).

Thus, the Praised One has conveyed to us the sense that everything is His own creation, and that it is excellent. Then the most Exalted One says,

“Whatever good, (O man!) Happens to you is from Allah, but whatever evil happens to you, is from your (own) soul” (Qur'an, 4:79)

With this verse, the meaning becomes complete that wrongdoings are evil actions of temporal matters. We simply came to this concluded due to the verse preceding it, which is: “If some good happens to them, they say, “This is from Allah;” but if evil, they say, “This is from you (O Prophet).” Say:

“All things are from Allah.” But what has come to these people, that they fail to understand a single fact?” (Qur'an, 4:78).

In Al-Kafi and others, a great deal is tracked to Imam al-Rida (peace be with him) saying

that Allah said, “O son of Adam! It is through My will that you came to be; you wish for yourself whatever you please. Through My might that you performed what I have obligated you to, and through My blessing that you became strong enough to disobey Me.

I made you hearing, seeing, strong; whatever good thing comes your way, it comes from Allah, and whatever evil deed afflicts you, it comes from your own soul. It is so because I am more worthy than you of your good deeds, while you are more worthy of your own evil deeds from Me; I am not asked about what I do, while they are asked.”

This Qudsi tradition is one of wise statements containing an explanation of everything said. As a whole, all actions come from Allah, as has been stated. While overlooking all of that, all actions that are good belong to Him, Praise to Him.

What the Praised One has specifically referred to in His statement, or through His servants, is part of these actions, and they are, still, quite numerous, but they generally are of two kinds:
One of them is His actions, Praise to Him, the details of His creation, subsistence, that is, providing for the needs of creation and for their affairs, such as His statement: “Say: “Do you deny Him Who created the earth in two days?

And do you join equals with Him? He is the Lord of (all) the worlds. He set mountains standing firm, high above (the earth) and bestowed blessings therein, and measured in it all things to grant them nourishment in due proportion, in four periods, in accordance with (the needs of) those who seek (sustenance).

Moreover, He comprehended the sky in His design, and it had been (as) a smoke: He said to it and to the earth, ‘Come together, willingly or unwillingly.’ They said, ‘We come (together) in willing obedience.’

So He completed them as seven firmaments in two Days and He assigned duty and command to each heavens. And We adorned the lower heavens with lights and (provided it) with protection. Such is the decree of the Exalted in might, full of knowledge. (Qur’an, 41:9-12),

and the verse saying,

“Your Guardian- Lord is Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth in six Days, and is firmly established on the throne (of authority): He draws the night over the Day like a veil, each seeking the other in rapid succession: He created the sun, the moon and the stars, (all) governed by laws under His command. Is it not His to create and to govern? Blessed be Allah, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds!” (Qur’an, 7:54),

and also the verse saying,

“Allah sends down rain from the skies, and with it gives life to the land after its death” (Qur'an, 16:65)

and other such verses which contain aspects of actions derived from speech, from statements, from envisioning, providing, writing, recommending, planting, driving, and the like.

The second includes His actins, the most Exalted One, in the area of happiness and misery and everything relevant to them. The Almighty has said,

“If anyone desires the transitory things (of this life), We readily grant them such things as We please, (and) in the end We provide Hell for them: They will burn therein, disgraced and rejected” (Qur’an, 17:18).

These verses convey a summary of all statements with regard to His dominance over both groups, His providing for both sides. Then He, praise to Him, explained in the area of suffering other verses saying,

“We shall punish them by degrees from directions they do not perceive. I will grant them a (long) respite: My plan is truly powerful.” (Qur’an, 68:44-45),

“We have set the evil ones against the unbelievers to incite them with fury” (Qur’an, 19:83),

“If anyone withdraws himself from remembering (Allah) Most Gracious, We appoint for him an evil one to be his truly intimate companion. Such (evil ones) truly hinder them from the path, but they think that they are being guided aright! At length, when (such one) comes to Us, he says (to his evil companion), ‘Would that between me and you (there) was the distance of East and West!’ Ah! The companion is evil (indeed)!” (Qur’an, 43:36-38),

“Thus We have made each people's doings alluring to them. In the end, they will return to their Lord, and We shall then tell them the truth of all that they did. They swear their strongest oaths by Allah that if a (special) Sign comes to them, they will believe in it. Say:

“Certainly (all) Signs are in God's power, but what will make you (Muslims) realize that even if (special) Signs came, they would not believe?’ We (too) shall turn their hearts and their eyes to (confusion), even as they refused to believe in the first instance: We shall leave them in their trespasses, to wander in distraction” (Qur’an, 6:108-110),

“Those whom Allah (in His plan) wills to guide, He opens their breast to Islam; those whom He wills to leave straying! He makes their breast close and constricted, as if they had to climb up to the skies: Thus does Allah (heap) the penalty on those who refuse to believe” (Qur’an, 6:125),

and

“And We have put a barrier in front of them and a barrier behind them, and further, We have covered them up; so that they cannot see.” (Qur’an, 36:9).

In addition to other verses which convey the meaning that the Praised One gets them out of the light and leaves them in fearful, multi-layer darkness, adorning for them the mirage of what is abominable and wrong to appear in a good and beautiful way, pacing shackles round their necks and a barrier before and behind them.

He blinds them, deafens them, renders them dumb, turning their hearts and visions upside down, wounding their hearts and straitening them, so much so that they have no room for what is right. He joins them with the inmates of the devils and companions of the Satans, entices them, dictates to them, then He lodges them into hell to burn, and what an evil abode! The like of these verses exist in the aspect of the happy ones, too.

Similarly are other verses, which indicate the order is carried out such as this verse:

“But the word from Me will come true: 'I will fill Hell with jinns and men all together' (Qur’an, 32:13)

and

“We have made many jinns and men for Hell: They have hearts with which they do not understand, eyes with which they do not see, and ears with which they do not hear. They are like cattle, Nay! They are more misguided, for they are heedless (of warning).” (Qur’an, 7:179).

Also similar are verses where there is the indication that the order is carried out, the destiny is concluded; it is written in the Preserved Tablet, and the pen has dried. The Almighty says,

“There is no town that We shall not destroy before the Day of Judgment or punish it with a dreadful penalty: that is written in the (eternal) record.” (Qur’an, 17:58),

“There is not a grain in the darkness (or depths) of the earth, nor anything fresh or dry (green or withered), but is (recorded) in a clear record (for those who can read)” (Qur’an, 6:59)

and

“No calamity can occur except by Allah's leave, and if anyone believes in Allah, (Allah) guides his heart (aright), for Allah knows all things.” (Qur’an, 64:11).

This second part of the actions which the Truth attributes to Him necessitate, according to the seeming meaning of the previous verses, demonstrating His effect on all actions, including bad ones in their attribute as bad. Yet you have come to know that evidence has been provided, citations and clarity have contrived to prove the contrary.

This obligates some to talk about destiny, fate, happiness, peril and the like, and ultimately there is no avoiding a superficial outlook with regard to obligation, reward, punishment, appreciation, remonstration, etc., as you will come to know.

Chapter 3

Since the existents, save the Truth, Praise to Him, His Names and Attributes, are of three orders in their totality providing an irrevocable proof to what is stated in the “mediations message”: three worlds of abstract reason, model world and the world of the material.

They are organized as the cause and the causation, perfection and shortcoming. We did all of that there. Everything that exists in the world of their material and the body has an image totally compatible with what the model world has of images, and it is compatible with the images of the world of the abstract reason.

From this results that the order of every low rank of them is fixed in what is above it with precision. Change and alteration do not affect it since it has been proven that there exists in a lower world what needs a cause in what is above it. If this is met, the reality will not change. It will not be different from what it is, for it is a reality.

Accepting the cause of change while realizing the causation, its existence and its taking place necessitate the opposite of the assumption or the impossible alternation. The order of existence in every world exists as proving what precedes it and what is above it in a fixed way, unchangeable.

Moreover, the incidents that are in the physical world, since their existence is realized through the material, no matter what they are, are in need of existence to a prior readiness which the material carries. Preparations and potentials abound when the aspects ready for it are. It ranks in order among great existents that precede it in time.

Whenever it is regarded as capable of being prepared for any eventuality, its specialization and identification within what is ready decrease while its obscurities, inclusiveness and relation to matters that can exist in it do increase.

The more it gets closer to what is ready for it, the specialization of the latter, and its identification till the readiness is completed, will increase. It will then have the attribute of existence. It will then be identified; it will not be chanted because there is no confusion in it, and altering it becomes impossible.

An example for the above is the human being. Prior to the completion of its human shape, it is a leech and a sperm. Prior to that, it is a nutritional formula. Prior to that, it is a vegetarian formula. Prior to that, it is an element formula. And even before that, it is an element, a simple element.

When he is in the state of an element, it can be one of thousands of possibilities so it will be specialized in thousands of preparations and activities, so it becomes a special element component canceling all other possibilities and does not remain except as it became. Its alteration to something else stops, for it is presupposed that its readiness is void.

It keeps doing so: the closer it gets to the human horizon, the more possibilities fail, and the path is blocked before a host of probabilities till it becomes a human. At that time, all possibilities come to an end except his being a human. It will stop being anything other than a human, and it will not change into anything else, for that “other” is undoubtedly null, vanishing.

It has already become obvious that the obstruction from change during the phase of completing existence, as we have come to see, is complete existence which stamps anything with its nature, for a thing's existence is the very same thing.

When something, such as a human, is forced into being, it will be impossible to change itself, and man will then take its place; so, think about it, and be informed that this does not include the changes and alternations in this world.

Man being changed into dust, for example, and other changes is not a change in the existence of the human form; rather, it is the lifting of the existence of man above the material and the descending of the form of dust to it.

Change happens to an incomplete material, with the exception of its form. As for the presence of the form, it does not undergo any change; rather, it becomes nil. In fact, it is the termination of an existence and the beginning of another.

As a whole, the external presence obstructs the ways of change and alternation, and it requires the latest true details of a thing by itself, its effects, its external ratios with the removal of its obscurity from every aspect. When it is so, and when all material preparations and possible events and what bears these preparations, too, are present outside, they, too, cannot be changed from what they are.

All existents from which the world of the physique and upon which rests its order are fixed matters. Thus, they are incapable of change. Instead, it accepts change except in its own self-but by measuring some of them to others, and measuring its ratio.

The semen, as a semen, is incapable of change into something different than what it is, nor is it ready for a change into a human or into another body as much as it is ready for change, nor is its material which carries the readiness in its being capable of change.

Rather, if the material is added to the images which take place in it, accepts change to happen to one of them, such as the form of a human being. As a whole, this physical system, in all its parts, is one incapable of change like the system in both worlds of the ideal and of the abstract mind except that within, it is another system for accepting change which does not bear an impact on its strength of action.

Since it has been proven through evidence that the world of the ideal includes this world in all its details and the inclusion of the world of reason of the details of the world of the ideal, they have in them the details of the system of this material world.

Some accept change in the phase of its taking place in the world of the material and some does not accept change at all. Since the world of the ideal is a mirage, a model for the world of the abstract mind, proving the judgment of both its parts is done through the fact that lies there; so, absorb and deeply contemplate upon it.

It has become clear from all what has passed that there are two prior phases for the existence of events, one which does not accept to lag behind happening and changing from it, which we call the "imminent destiny", and a phase which accepts to lag behind and to change as a phase in its requirements, faulty causes and preparations, and it is the one which call "destiny" which is capable of obliterating and fixing, which is the initiation.

It has also become clear that this division applies to what accepts a form in its existence. As for that which does not accept it, such as mere abstracts, there is nothing in them except destiny alone.

Chapter 4

What proves the above is citation, too, and we have already come across some verses in this regard. Also, in Al-Mahasin through isnad to Hisham ibn Salim, it is indicated that Abu Abdullah (peace be with him), said, “When Allah wants something, He destines it. If he destines it, he decrees it. If he decrees it, He carries it out.”

In the same reference, through isnad to Muhammad ibn Ishaq, it is said that the father of al-Hassan (peace be with him) said to Younus, slave of Ali ibn Yaqtin, “O Younus! Nbody must discuss destiny.” He said, “I do not talk about destiny, but I say that nothing takes place except what Allah wants, desires, decrees and carries out His decree.”

He said, “I do not say the same, but I say that nothing takes place except what Allah wills, wants, destines and decrees.” Then he said, “Do you know what the will is?” He said, “No.” He said, “It is His intention to do something. Do you know what 'wants' means?”

He said, “No.” He said, “Its completion through His will. Do you know what 'destines' means?” He said, “No.” He said, “It is its engineering with length, breadth and existence. When Allah decides something, He wants it; when He wants it, He destines it. When He destines it, He decrees it. When He decrees it, He carries out His decree.” In another narrative, there is this addition: “Such is the decree that is irrevocable.”

In Al-Tawhid, through isnad to Zurarah from Abdullah ibn Sulayman from Abu Abdullah (peace be with him), he said he had heard hiMusa ying, “Destiny and decree are two of Allah's creation, and Allah increases in creation whatever He wills.”

I say, the narrative ends by a reference to initiation while its midst refers to what we have explained, that is, to their being two levels of existence, although they are from another angle among the levels of knowledge according to other narratives.

In Al-Tawhid, the scholar of exegesis, through isnad to Imam al-Askari (peace be with him), says the following while describing the Lord: “It [description] does not apply to Him. Beings are led towards what He knows, following what is written in His book, not doing anything contrary to what He knows about them, nor do they seek anyone else besides Him.”

In Al-Mahasin, through isnad to Dawud ibn Sulayman the cameleer, the latter says that he heard Abu Abdullah (peace be with him) said the following after some people in his company talked about destiny and about capability: “This talk is bad. I follow the creed of my forefathers, and I do not renege from it. Destiny, whether sweet or bitter, is from Allah; good and bad all comes from Allah.”

I say that narrative in this sense are quite numerous. In Ilal al-Sharaii, through isnad to Amr Bishr al-Bazzaz from Imam al-Baqir (peace be with him) says the following in a tradition: “By Allah! Allah created Adam for the world and lodged him in Paradise so he would disobey Him and He would then take him back to what He had created for him.”

I say that the narratives in this sense, too, are quite numerous about the connection between destiny and decree to sins, too, although they are not connected with them as such.

An incident in this regard is quite often cited, and it involves Ali (peace be with him). It says that a man went to the Commander of the Faithful (peace be with him) and said, “O Commander of the Faithful! Tell me about destiny.”

He said, “It is a deep sea; so, do not wade into it.” The man repeated saying, “O Commander of the Faithful! Tell me about destiny.” The Imam said, “It is a dark path; so, do not treat upon it.”

The man repeated saying, “O Commander of the Faithful! Tell me about destiny.” The Imam said, “It is a secret of Allah; so, you cannot bear it.” The man repeated saying, “O Commander of the Faithful! Tell me about destiny.”

The Imam said, “Since you have refused, I would like to ask you, and I would like you to answer me: Has the mercy of Allah for His servants been before the deeds of the servants, or have the deeds of the servants been before the mercy of Allah?”

The man said, “The mercy of Allah for His servants precedes the deeds of the servants.” The Commander of the Faithful (peace be with him) said, “Stand up and greet your brother, for he has now become a believer after being a disbeliever.”

The Imam went not too far when the man went after him and asked him, “O Commander of the Faithful! Is it through the first will that we stand, sit, contract and release?” The Commander of the Faithful (peace be with him) said, “You are still learning about the will. I am going to ask you about three things from which Allah will not find an exit for you from them: Tell me, Did Allah create the servants as He willed or as they?”

The man said, “As He willed.” The Imam said, “Did Allah create the servants for what He willed or for what they?” The man said, “For what He willed.”

The Imam asked him, “Will they return to Him on the Day of Judgment as He will or as they?” The man said, “They will return to Him as He wills.”

The Imam said, “Stand up, for you have no share of the will [all belongs to Allah].”

I say that he, blessings of Allah be upon him, relied in the fixing of destiny, which is the impact of the Truth, praise to Him, on the details of the existents, including mankind, and on their deeds, on the attributes and their prior effects on deeds.

What precedes mercy is something which requires it. It requires something to be merciful to. What precedes forgiveness requires a sin to forgive, as in the statement saying, “Had you not been sinning, He would have finished you and brought into being people who sin.”

As for the conclusion of the narrative, it refers to the will of the Truth, praise to Him, which subdues everything.

The Imam (peace be with him), though not openly saying so, said what could be used as an indication about the attributes of the Almighty which suit Him, such as omnipotence, subduing, domain, etc., as explained in a narrative when he was asked about destiny and said, “If Allah bestows a mercy upon the people, none can withhold it, and if He holds it back from them, none can release it.”

It was then said to him, “O Commander of the Faithful! We only asked you about the ability whereby we stand and sit, contract and ease.” He (peace be with him) asked them, “Ability that you own with Allah or without Him?”

The folks remained silent and could not answer, whereupon he said, “If you say you own it with Allah, you will be killed, and if you say you own it without Allah, you will be killed, too.” They said, “Then what should we say, O Commander of the Faithful?!”

He said, “You own it through the One Who has it and not you. If he provides you with it, it will be out of his own giving, and if He takes it away, He will thus be testing you.

He is the Owner of what He has made you the owners, and One having the ability of what He has enabled you. Have you not heard what the servants say and how they plead to Him with regard to power and might by saying, “There is neither power nor might except in Allah?”

Also in Al-Tawhid through isnad to Zurarah who says he has heard Abu Abdullah (peace be with him) saying, “Just as the One Who initiates blessings is Allah, and He has granted them to you, evil comes from your own selves even when His destiny decrees it.”

I say, this tradition supports the meaning of what it has preceded it, and the meaning, as a whole is that causing something to be, such as existence, belongs to Him independently and to others through following a cause through Him, glory belongs to Him.

It is also supported by texts in Al-Tawhid through isnad to al-Zuhri who says that a man said to Imam (peace be with him) Ali ibn al-Hussain [Zainul-Abidin] (peace be with him), “May Allah accept me as your sacrifice! Is it through destiny that people are afflicted, or is it because of their deeds?”

The Imam (peace be with him) said, “Destiny and deeds are like the soul and the body; a soul without a body has no feeling, and a body without a soul is a motionless image. If they meet, they strengthen each other and become sound. So is action and destiny.

Had destiny not influenced the action, the Creator could not be distinguished from His creation, and destiny would have been something that is not felt. Had action not been in agreement with destiny, it would not have been carried out and completed, but they became strong when they were together.”

In Al-Kafi and Al-Tawhid, through isnad to al-Mualla, the latter said the scholar Imam (peace be with him) was asked how Allah's knowledge is. He said, “He knew, He willed, He wanted, He destined, He decreed, He carried out whatever He decreed, and He decreed whatever He willed. Through His knowledge was His will, through His will was His desire, through His desire was his destiny, and through His destiny was fate.

Through His fate, action was affected. Knowledge, then, precedes the will, an the will comes next while the desire comes third. Destiny bears an impact on fate by carrying it out. To Allah, the most Blessed, the most Exalted, belongs the start of everything, the initiation of what He knew, whenever He will, whenever He wanted to decree things.

When destiny is affected, there is no initiation, for knowledge of what is known precedes its being, and the will in the beginning precedes it. The desire in what is wanted precedes its actuality. Decreeing these piece of information before their details, getting them to each certain people or things, and the destiny to carry out something is an action bearing an impact on things that can be realized by the senses: by color, smell, weight, measure, etc.

It bears an impact on everything that walks or crawls, on the humans, the jinns, the birds, the beast and everything else that can be identified by the senses. To Allah, the most Praised, the most Exalted, then, belongs the initiation of what we cannot see.

Once the eyes can see what can be identified, there is no initiation there, and Allah does whatever He wills. Through knowledge does He know things before they are; through will did He know their attributes, limits, creation before it appeared. Through will did He distinguish them from each other in their colors, characteristics and limits.

Through His destiny did He determine their sustenance, having known their first and their last, and though destiny did He show people their places and lead them to them. Through carrying them out did He explain their causes and show their matter; such is the destiny of the most Great, the most Knowing.”

I say that it can be learned from this narrative most o what we explained in the previous chapter. It explains the sources of destiny and fate, as already stated, and that initiation (badaa') springs out of destiny while also correcting it.

Al-Ayyashi has quoted Imam al-Baqir (peace be with him) saying that Imam Ali ibn al- Hussain (peace be with him) used to say, “Had it not been for one verse in the Book of Allah, I would have told you of what will be till the Day of Judgment.”

It was said to him, “Which verse is it?” He said, “It is the verse saying,

‘Allah blots out vanity and proves the truth by His words, for He knows well the secrets of all hearts’ (Qur’an, 42:24).”

Similar to this statement exists in Al- Tawhid which cites the Commander of the Faithful (peace be with him), and narratives proving the badaa' are more than many. We have left them aside in preference of brevity.

In Al-Mahasin through isnad to Hareez or to Abdullah ibn Maskan, Imam Abu Jaafar (peace be with him) says, “Nothing on earth or in the heavens comes into being except through these seven attributes: through the will, the desire, the destiny, the fate, the permission, the Book, and the termination. Anyone who claims he can cancel any of these commits apostasy.”

I say that this is a reference to these verses:

“Allah will empower those who believe with the word that stands firm in this world and in the hereafter: But Allah will leave to stray those who do wrong: Allah does what He wills” (Qur’an, 14:27),

“Truly when He intends to create a thing, His command is, 'Be,' and it is!” (Qur’an, 36:82),

“Truly We have created all things in proportion and measure” (Qur’an, 54:49),

“And He is Allah: There is no god but He. To Him be praise, at the first and at the last: The command is His, and to Him shall you (all) be brought back.” (Qur’an, 28:70),

“No calamity can occur except by Allah's leave, and if anyone believes in Allah, (Allah) guides his heart (aright), for Allah knows all things.” (Qur’an, 64:11),

“We created the heavens, the earth, and everything between them for just ends. And the Hour is surely coming (when this will be manifest). So overlook (their faults) with gracious forgiveness.” (Qur’an, 15:85),

and

“A Book is (revealed) for each period.” (Qur’an, 13:38)

and such verses.

Be informed that the narratives in this chapter, like those in the Chapter about happiness and suffering, obligation and surrender, are of three parts: Some of them deals with the realities of matters, some contend themselves and apply to people according to what they manifest, and some forbid tackling these researches as we have already quoted the Commander of the Faithful advising someone thus:

“… It is a dark path, so do not tread it, etc.”

In al-Qummi's Tafsir, and in other tradition, Imam al-Sadiq (peace be with him) was asked, "Is there a stage between obligation and destiny?" He answered in the affirmative, whereupon he was asked what it was. He said, "It is one of the secrets of Allah." It is well known that the answers of the Imams (peace be with them) used to answer people according to the extent of comprehension of their questioners and listeners in their various levels [of comprehension].

Chapter 5

The abstraction of the types [of beings] that have abstract souls may have been abstracted at the beginning of existence of their types as mere material, then they move about through essential movement, and they become abstract through imagination; they stand there, or they may transcend it through essential movement, becoming fully rational abstracts.

This is so in some members of the human species. These species are all physical in their happening, spiritual in their existence. These species with souls are intermediary, contrary to [the contention of] ancient philosophers from among those of Egypt and Greece and others as well as Islam's thinkers.

Mankind, from among them, in particular can be followed by some intermediary animals less than the humans, many species that we can imagine. These take their forms after man is stripped of their forms, stands less than them or transcends them to mental images and stands less than them.

Since the return is like the beginning, or the same in kind, the latter, to which it rises and against which mankind stands, is the stage from which it descended although he may be between both stages, I mean the start and the return, there is a great deal of difference to which reference will be made. These are principles the description of which and the proof for which were undertaken by the most prominent of all theologians, may Allah rest his soul in peace.

After presenting them, we say that the perfect experience indicates that among the particulars of the structures o bodies and their tastes there is a perfect connection with manners. Manners are faculties, that is, deeply rooted knowledge with which the souls are outfitted through conditions, and they repeat them till they are firmly rooted in a way which does not permit disappearance.

Experience also rules that there is an impact of the upbringing, especially educational learning, through instruction, and this tells us that the impact of the condition of bodies on manners becoming pleased is not [merely] on the limit of being positive but through the great readiness. But manner has a limit with which the disappearance of this limit becomes impossible. The first that the soul does is to move the essence of the body. Imagination starts working.

It then is colored by the body's color, strongly colored, but it is yet to reach the stage of obliging. Then it abandons what it holds in its hands of the type of education, sciences, beliefs, and events connected to it, attached to it, so it takes one path after another, and conditions and beliefs keep piling on it, some resulting from others, so much so that they become deeply rooted, inseparable.

This is a psychological picture whereby the soul distinguishes between one and another. It is the diversity of the soul. If it is the picture of happiness, it will then fall into the barzakh on the path of happiness. If it is the picture of suffering, it shall fall on the path of suffering. And if its abstraction is relevant to the barzakh, it will stand before it, an if it transcends it, it will transcend the same.

One thing remains: The perfection of any cause and the ultimate objective of its existence is the existence of its causation. It is impossible for any cause to be perfected, so it transcends the perfection of the cause of its existence and the status its existence occupies, and it is impossible for any cause to fold all stages of its perfection of existence, so it does not end at the stage of its cause; that is, it does not reach the limit of distancing itself from its cause.

Obligation is the contrary of supposition. It is also impossible that the goal of an absolute cause is cancelled fro its action, for it is presupposed that it is a fixed an unchangeable abstraction, and its causations came out of it in such a way. It is unchangeable. The supposition that its goals or the goals of its justification lag behind it is impossible.

From all these introductions, it is deducted that in its return, the thing settles in a status from which its essence, above which its cause, is assigned. Everything returns to where it started from, but there is a difference between the beginning and the return in as far as the return branches out to a house of felicity and to a house of perdition, while there is no such branching out from the beginning; rather, it is only a house of felicity.

But it must be borne in mind that felicity at the beginning is a general one, different from the special felicity which contrasts perdition. There is no contradiction between the felicity of the beginning and the wretch coming out of it and returning to that stage as a wretch. Yet the start and the return are one and the same; so, bear that in mind if you are qualified to do so by the Will of Allah Almighty.

It has already been stated that the mental order in the world of abstractions and the ideal order in the ideal world is one of two faces of the physical order in the world of the physique, a fixed order, unchangeable; so, however the diversity of the physical kind, including mankind who is a physical happening, in as far as felicity and perdition, so shall he return.

Thus must be the explanation of felicity and perdition of the self regardless of the appearance of their names, till this is nullified by the effect of education, of the language of obligation, and the imbalance of the system of legislating. As a whole, it will be the nullification of rewards, awards and punishment, and surely Allah is the One Who guides.

Be informed that all what we have stated in this chapter is proven, but we referred to the proof of some and abstained from doing so to others due to the length of the latter's introductions and order; so, whoever wishes may refer to the details.

Chapter 6

Quotations, too, prove what has been said above. The verses cited in the first chapter, although they point to the types of the Almighty's contempt for the wretches and to their straying others from the path of guidance, their trickery, the types of inner behavior…,

yet if we return to them and contemplate upon them, we will find out the actions of the Truth and His dealing with them explain the evils within them, that it hinges on their debauchery, apostasy and oppression:

“O you who believe! Guard your own souls: If you follow (right) guidance, no harm can come to you from those who stray. Allah is the goal of all of you: It is He Who will show you the truth of all that you do” (Qur’an, 5:108),

“Of camels (take) a pair and a pair of oxen; (then) say: Has He forbidden the two males, or the two females, or the (the young) within the wombs of the two females?! Were you present when Allah ordered such a thing?! But who does more wrong than one who invents a lie against Allah, to lead men without knowledge astray? For Allah does not guide people who do wrong” (Qur’an, 6:144),

and

“What they spend during the life of this (material) world is like a wind which brings a nipping frost: It strikes and destroys the harvest of men who have wronged their own souls: It is not Allah Who has wronged them, but they wrong their own selves” (Qur’an, 3:117).

They refer to the blocking of the achievement of guidance from those who turn away from it, to His avoidance [of some] and letting them stray as being in no contradiction with His general justice, Praise to Him, and the inclusion of His mercy.

Permitting such afflictions and their outfitting with the outfits of misery is explained by their own selves. As for Iblis and his tempting the wretches, it is not due to his own power over them. Rather, it is due to their own letting him have power over themselves by following him due to the misguidance of their own souls.

The Almighty, quoting Iblis, says,

“(Iblis) said, “Lord! Because You have put me in the wrong, I will make (wrong) seem fair to them on earth. And I will put them all in the wrong” (Qur’an, 15:39).

The Almighty, also quoting the accursed one addressing them on the Day of Judgment, says, “And when the matter is decided, Satan will say,

“It was Allah Who gave you a promise of truth: I too promised, but I failed in my promise to you. I had no authority over you except to call you, but you listened to me: Then do not reproach me, but reproach your own souls. I cannot listen to your cries, nor can you listen to mine. I reject your former act in associating me with Allah. There must be a grievous penalty for wrongdoers” (Qur’an, 14:22).

Thus, Iblis renders their sinning to their ownselves, justifying their punishment by oppressing themselves when they did not respond to the right call and the right invitation. All of this is rendered to the self, to the nafs. The Almighty tells us their own admission against their souls as they are being tormented: “They will say,

“Our Lord! Our misfortune overwhelmed us and we became a people astray!" (Qur’an, 23:106),

and

“Say: “Everyone acts according to his own disposition: But your Lord knows best who it is that is best guided on the way” (Qur’an 17:84).

Thus, there is a happy soul, and there is a tormented one. Since He rendered wretchedness to the self, even if its actions fall outside it and emotions beyond it, it is well known that its actions and emotions, especially those rendered to its inner self, are not actually coming out of anyone else but itself and the circle of the self; the Almighty has said,

“Anyone who does righteous deeds benefits his own soul; whoever commits evil, it is against his own soul: Nor is your Lord ever unjust (in the least) to His servants” (Qur’an, 41:46),

“Such is Allah, your true Cherisher and Sustainer: Apart from truth, what (remains) but error? How then are you turned away?” (Qur’an, 10:32),

“Thus have We placed leaders in every town its wicked men to plot (and burrow) in it, but they only plot against their own souls, but they do not perceive it" (Qur’an, 6:123),

and

“Fain would they deceive Allah and those who believe, but they only deceive themselves and do not realize (it)!” (Qur’an, 2:9).

If such is the case, whenever it intends to do something or sought an objective, this comes out of none but itself. It may seek a good picture or a bad one of its own. This is a fact, for the goal is the ultimate objective of the doer, and the deed is characterized by its affairs, trends, and phases as was explained in its rightful pace.

And if such, too, is the case, these bad pictures which the wretched soul acquires increase, grow and accumulate on it till it blinds and deafens it. Their hearts will be turned. They will beautify everything that turns them away from the path of Allah. Sinning becomes the habit of their hearts, and these will be the safe haven for satanic companions, up to the end of that against which Allah warned them.

All of this is the result of the path treaded by their own souls in these dark places, outfitting them with the outfits of the dark. The Almighty says,

“For the wrong-doers, their portion is like the portion of their fellows (of earlier generations): Then let them not ask Me to hasten (that portion)!” (Qur’an, 51:59).

It is through the wretchedness of their own souls that they hurl themselves into the fire:

“… that We might try them by those (means), so if any turns away from remembering his Lord, We will cause him to undergo a severe penalty” (Qur’an, 72:17).

What supports the above are groups of traditions which connote the incidents of happiness and perdition. For example, in Al-Aamali, through isnad to Imam al-Sadiq (peace be with him), the Imam (peace be with him) says that the Messenger of Allah (peace be with him and his progeny) has said, “A wretch is a wretch even as he is inside his mother's womb, and a happy one is happy even inside his mother's womb.” This narrative is reported by a host of traditionists through various paths from among the Sunnis and the Shi'as.

In Qurb al-Isnad, from Ibn Isa citing al-Bazanti citing Imam al-Rida (peace be with him) saying that the semen remains in the womb for thirty days, then it remains for thirty more days as a leech, then as an embryo, bearing life or not, for thirty days.

Once it finishes the four months, Allah, the most Praised and Exalted One, sends it two creating angels who form it, writes down its sustenance and destiny, as a wretch or as a happy one. This meaning exists in other traditions as well.

In Al-Tawhid and Al-Mahasin, through isnad to Ibn Hazim who quotes Abu Abdullah (peace be with him) saying, “Allah created happiness and wretchedness before creating those whom He created.

Whoever Allah knows as a happy one He will never ate even if he does something bad, for He then will hate such a bad deed but not hating him, and if He knows him to be a wretch, He never loves him even if he does something good; He will then loves his deed while hating his fate. If Allah loves something, He never hates it, and if He hates something, he never loves it.”

In Al-Basaair [Basaair al-Darajat], through isnad to Muhammad ibn Abdullah, the latter says he heard Imam Ja’far son of Muhammad (peace be with him) saying that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his progeny) delivered a sermon once then raised his right fist above and asked the attendants, “Do you know what I am holding in my hand?”

They said, “Allah and His Messenger know best.” He said, “They contain the names of the companions of Paradise, the names of their parents and tribes till the Day of Judgment.”

Then he raised his left fist and asked, “O people! Do you know what is in my hand?” They said, “Allah and His Messenger know best.”

He said, “They are the names of the fellows of the Fire, the names of their parents and tribes till the Day of Judgment.”

Then he added saying, “Allah ruled and effected justice; Allah ruled and effected justice: a party in Paradise and a party in the inferno.” This same connotation is narrated in Al-Mahasin, too.

There are others, which give the indication that the return will be to what the beginning was. In 'Ilal al-Sharaai', through isnad to Abu Ishaq al-Laithi from Imam al-Baqir (peace be with him) in a lengthy tradition saying,

“Tell me, O Ibrahim, about the sun: When it comes up and its ray reaches the bodies, does it show in the disk?” Ibrahim said, “When it does comes out, it shows.”

The Imam (peace be with him) said, “When the sun sets, does that same ray contact the disk till it returns to it?”
He answered in the affirmative. The Imam (peace be with him) then said, “Such is the case with everything: It returns to its kind, essence and origin.”

This meaning, in addition to repeated similitude in the traditions about the mold has many interesting meanings.

In Al-Aamali and in al-Qummi's Tafsir, a tradition indicates that He created them, when He did, as a believer or a disbeliever, as a wretch or a happy one; so will they return [to Him] on the Day of Judgment either as a guided one or as a strayer, till he said, “As you started, so shall you return.

Whomever Allah created as a wretch on the day He created Him, so shall he return to Him. And whoever He created as happy on the day He crated hi, so shall he return to Him happy.” The Messenger of Allah (peace be with him and with his progeny), has said, “A wretch is a wretch even as he is inside his mother's womb, and a happy one is happy even as he is inside his mother's womb.”

I say, the start of the citation bears a reference to the verse saying,

“It is He Who has created you: some of you are unbelievers, and some are believers, and Allah sees well all that you do” (Qur’an, 64:2).

And there are those that talk about the “mold”, and these are quite numerous, indicating, despite the differences in their context, that the origin of the happy ones and the wretches, as well as the mold from which they were created and from which they started, which i described as the “mud”, piece of clay, mold, varies.

The mold of the happy ones comes from the world of light, of Paradise, of “Illiyyeen” (the lofty station), the good earth and the sweet water. Ye the return of all is one and the same as we will point out by the will of Allah.

But the mold of the wretches is from the world of darkness, of fire, of “sijjeen” (the everlasting inferno prison), the salty earth, the bad one, and the undrinkable water. Yet the return of all is one and the same.

All what awaits them of happiness, or wretchedness, goodness or evil, since they started their onset from their original abode and till they return to it and occupy their place, are all the effects of the mold from which they were created, and you shall never find any alteration to the way Allah deals with His servants.

This is the gist of the narratives which are based on the Holy Qur’an. The Almighty has said,

“ Say: ‘My Lord has commanded justice, and that you set your whole selves (to Him) at every time and place of prayer, and call upon Him, making your devotion sincere in His sight: Such as He created you in the beginning, so shall you return’” (Qur’an, 7:29),

thus the most Praised One indicates that they would return as two parties; they started as two parties. Then the most Praised One says, “Nay! Surely the record of the wicked is (preserved) in Sijjin. And what will explain to you what Sijjin is? (There is) a register (fully) inscribed. Woe, that Day, unto those who deny, those who deny the Day of Judgment.

And none can deny it except a transgressor beyond bounds, a sinner! When Our Signs are recited to him, he says, “Tales of the ancients!” By no means! But the stain of the (ill) that they do is on their hearts! Truly they will be veiled from (the light of) their Lord that Day. Further, they will enter the Fire of Hell. Further, it will be said to them,

“This is the (truth) which you rejected as false!' Nay! Truly the record of the righteous is (preserved) in ‘Illiyyin. And what will explain to you what ‘Illiyyin is? (There is) a register (fully) inscribed, o which those nearest (to Allah) bear witness. Truly the righteous will be in bliss” (Qur’an, 83:7-22)

up to the end of these verses. The most Exalted One has also said,

“Every sect will be called to account: 'This Day you shall be recompensed for all that you did!” (Qur’an, 45:28).

In our "Wasaait" (intermediaries) dissertation, we explained that the “book of everything in existence” is a series of existent matters which are his own self, the consequences of his actions, his legacy, tracks and what is attached to him.

Like cloning, it is a copy of an original, then an original, then the very first original, and so on, arriving at the “mother book”. If you contemplate on these verses, you will find out that “illiyyeen” and “sijjeen” are two books containing those who re righteous and those who re debauchees, and they re Paradise and Hell, and from them are the molds of the righteous and that of the debauchee.

The most Exalted one has said,

“If any seek glory and power, all glory and power belongs to Allah. (All) words of purity mount up to him: It is He Who exalts each deed of righteousness. Those who lay plots of evil (there) is a terrible penalty for them, and the plotting of such people will be futile” (Qur’an, 35:10).

Thus, He tells us that the deeds of the happy ones are raised to Him, while the deeds of the wretches perish and are rendered futile. Then the Almighty adds saying,

“And Allah created you from dust; then from a sperm-drop; then He made you in pairs. And no female conceives, or lays down (her load), except with His knowledge. Nor is a man granted a prolongation length of days, nor is one's life-span shortened except in an (ordained) decree. All this is easy for Allah” (Qur’an, 35:11).

Here, He tells us that He created them in stages and in measures preserved with Him in a written book before their existence and creation. Then the most Praised One says,

“Nor are the two bodies of flowing water alike one is palatable, sweet, and pleasant to drink, and the other is salty and bitter. Yet from each (kind of water) you eat fresh and tender meat, and you extract ornaments to wear, and you see ships on them that plough the waves so that you may (thus) seek God's bounty, so that you may be grateful” (Qur’an, 35:12).

Thus, the most Praised One explains the difference in the flow of actions of those who re happy and of those of the wretches: The deeds of one of these parties is raised to Him, Praise belongs to Him, while the deeds of the other perish even though they all were created of dust, then semen, then they are pairs, that sharing some casual aspects and resulting benefits does not require equation after the selves were different in their origins: some wee from the sweet sea and some from the salty one.

This meaning can be derived from this verse:

“It is He Who has set free the two bodies of flowing water: One palatable and sweet and the other salty and bitter; yet He has made a barrier between them, an inviolable obstruction. It is He Who has created man from water: Then He has established relationships of lineage and marriage, for your Lord has power (over all things)” (Qur’an, 25:53-54).

He also says,

“The unbelievers spend their wealth to hinder (men) from the path of Allah, and so will they continue to spend, but in the end they will have (only) regrets and sighs; at length they will be overcome, and the unbelievers will be gathered together in Hell, so that Allah may separate the impure from the pure, put the impure one on the other, heap them together, and cast them all into Hell. They will be the losers” (Qur’an, 8:36).

Thus, the most Praised One informs that the deeds that have a lot in common , which exist in many quotations above, will be sorted out and gathered with their likes and rendered to their origin after having been mixed and intermingled in the life of this world. The most Exalted One has said,

“Impure Women are for impure men, and impure men are for impure women, and women of purity are for men of purity, and men of purity are for women of purity: These are not affected by what people say, for them there is forgiveness and an honorable provision.” (Qur’an, 24:26).

Then the Almighty narrates a story about the people of Paradise thus:

“They will say,’Praise be to Allah Who has indeed fulfilled His promise to us, and has given us (this) heritage: We can dwell in the garden as we please: How excellent a reward for those who do (righteous deeds)!'” (Qur’an, 39:74)

and

“He will forgive you your sins, and admit you into gardens beneath which rivers flow, and to beautiful mansions in gardens of eternity: That is indeed the supreme achievement.” (Qur’an, 61:12).

He informs us that He will let them inherit good abodes, i.e. Paradise; the most Praised One says,

“It is He who sends the winds like heralds of glad tidings, going before His mercy: When they have carried the heavy-laden clouds, We drive them to a land that is dead, make rain descend on it, and produce every kind of harvest with it:” (Qur’an, 7:57)

“Thus shall We raise up the dead: Perhaps you may remember, from land that is clean and good by the will of its Cherisher, (rich) produce springs up, after its kind, but from land that is bad, nothing springs up but what is meager: Thus do We explain the Signs by various (symbols) to those who are grateful.” (Qur’an, 7:58).

He informs us that the great difference between the fruits of happiness and misery throughout their conduct towards the living and to the [Day of] Gathering is rendered to the difference in the lands from which they were made and on which they lived and were sustained: from a good land from which all good fruits grow through the water of His mercy, Praise to Him, to a land that is bad, salty, from which nothing comes out except what is useless, rendering the matter of the mold to the Hereafter.

The most Praised One has also said,

“… We have created them out of a sticky clay!" (Qur’an, 37:11),

“Behold! The Lord said to the angels, ‘I am about to create man from clay’” (Qur’an, 38:71),

and

“We created you from the (earth), and We shall return you into it, and We shall raise you from it again” (Qur’an, 20:55);

so, think about what we have stated and discern the paths o speech and the specific statements and be informed that His speech, the most Praised One, is one, and no speech is altered before Him; He says the truth and guides to the right path.

Upon this single origin do we run the course and tread, and all Praise belongs to Allah. In Ilal al-Sharaii, through isnad to Abu Busayr, the latter says that he entered into the presence of Imam Abu Abdullah (peace be with him) with a man from among his fellows and said, "May I be your sacrifice,

O son of the Messenger of Allah! I feel depressed and grieved without knowing any reason for it.” Abu Abdullah (peace be with him) said, "this grief, and this elation, reaches you from us [Ahl al-Bayt] because when grief or elation encounters us, it will encounter you [followers of Ahl al-Bayt], too, because we and you are from the noor of Allah, the most Exalted One, the most High.

He made us and our mold one and the same. Had your mold been left as it was taken, we and you would have been the same, but your mold was mixed with that of your foes. Otherwise, you would never have committed one sin at all.” Abu Busayr asked, “May I be your sacrifice! Will our mold and noor return as they started?”

The Imam (peace be with him) said, “Yes, by Allah, O Abdullah! Tell me about this profuse ray coming from the disk [of the sun], when it does come out, is it connected to it [to the disk], or is it distinct from it?”

Abu Busayr said, “May I be your sacrifice! It is distinct from it." The Imam (peace be with him) said, "When the sun sets and the disk falls [into the horizon], will it not be connected to it just as it started from it?”

The man answered in the affirmative. The Imam (peace be with him) then said, “So it is, by Allah, with our Shi'as: From the noor of Allah were they created and to Him will they return. By Allah! You will be rendered to us on the Day of Judgment.”

In the Al-Aamali book by the Sheikh [al-Tusi], through isnad to Yahya ibn Abdullah ibn al-Hassan who quotes his father quoting Jaafar son of Muhammed who both quote their father quoting their grandfather saying that the Messenger of Allah (peace of Allah be with him and his family) said, "Paradise is a fountain sweeter than honey, more supple than butter, colder than ice and better than musk.

There is a mold in it from which Allah, the most Exalted, the most Great, created us and our followers. Anyone who is not created from that mold is none of us nor of our followers, an it is the covenant which Allah, the most Exalted, the most Great, took regarding the authority of Ali ibn Abu Talib (peace be with him).” Ubayd said, “I mentioned this tradition to Muhammed ibn Ali ibn al-Hussain ibn Ali who said, 'Yahya ibn Abdullah told you the truth.

Thus did my father inform me from my grandfather from the Prophet (peace of Allah be with him and his family).”

In Ilal al-Sharaii, Zayd al-Shahham quotes Imam Abu Abdullah (peace be with him) as having said, “Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, created us from a noor derived from another noor.

He originated that noor in a mold in the highest point of Illiyyeen, and He created the hearts of our followers from that from which He created our bodies, and He created their bodies from a different mold. Their hearts, therefore, lean towards us because they were created from that from which we were created,” then he recited this verse:

“Nay! Truly the record of the righteous is (preserved) in ‘Illiyyin’” (Qur’an, 83:18).

Also in Ilal al-Sharaii, through isnad to Habbah al-Arni from Ali (peace be with him) sying, “llah, the most Exalted, the most Great, created Adam (peace be with him) from the surface of the earth: some of it is briny, some salty, and some good. Thus, among his offspring are those who are good and those who are bad.”

I say that this is the context and its likes can touch upon the link between the composition and mixture of the bodies and the manners and deeds supported by a text in Nahjul-Balagha from the speech of Imam Ali (peace be with him) where there is reference to people being different from each other.

The Imam (peace be with him) says, “What distinguished between them are the origins of their mold. They were a split from the earth's saline soil, its sweet, rugged and placid soil. They, according to the proximity of their soil, get close to each other, and according to its variation, they vary.

A person may be fully outfitted but short of reason, while a tall person may be short of resolve. One whose deeds are good may be ugly in appearance, closer to the bottom, far-sighted, known for his ability, whereas a person known for his influence does not bring any good, is mind wanders about, his speech fluent and his body as strong as iron.”

In Al-Mahasin, where Ali ibnal-Hakam quotes Aban quoting Zurarah quoting Imam Jaafar al-Sadiq (peace be with him) in a tradition saying, “Allah, the most Blessed, the most Exalted, before creating creation said, ‘Be sweet water; from you shall I create my Paradise and those who are obedient to Me.’

And He said, ‘Be briny, salty water, from you shall I create my Fire and those who disobey Me.’ Then He ordered them to mix. From that [mixture], a believer may give birth to an unbeliever, and an unbeliever may give birth to a believer.

Then He took Adam's mold from the surface of the earth. He scoured it extremely roughly till they were like toms crawling. He said to the folks on the right: ‘Go to Paradise in peace' and said to those of the Fire: ‘Go to the Fire, and I do not care.’”

These are samples of the narratives about the mold, and it contains five types of clear explanation as we explained. Each of these types is fully explained, and all of them are one and the same, as you have come to know.

And there are the reports of the atoms and the covenant. Despite their multitude, they explain that Allah, the most Praised One, took the covenant after presenting it before both those who are happy and those who are wretches, taking from their an admission of His being the Lord, of the truth being true, and of falsehood being false, as will be pointed out by verses from the Holy Qur'an.

The Almighty said,

“When your Lord drew forth from the children of Adam from their loins their descendants, and made them testify concerning themselves, (saying,) ‘Am I not your Lord (Who cherishes and sustains you)?’ They said, ‘Yes! We do bear witness!’ (This is so) lest you should say on the Day of Judgment, ‘We were never mindful of this’,” (Qur’an, 7:172)

“or lest you should say, ‘Our fathers before us may have taken false gods, but we are (their) descendants after them: Will You, then, destroy us because of the deeds of men who were vain doers?’” (Qur’an, 7:173).

The most Exalted One has thus explained that He took the offspring of Adam from their loins, taking from them an admission that He is their Lord. It is known that their father, Adam, is not excluded from this matter. He is with them. This, in fact, is his admission as well as theirs, all of them.

Thus, when He says “… from the children of Adam from their loins, etc.”, He implies Adam and all his offspring as well as whatever his offspring produce of progeny coming out of their loins.

Therefore, He, according to the interpretation of traditions, tells us that His getting the progeny of Adam out of his loins till the Day of Judgment points to overwhelming inclusion by token people are descendants of each other, and these [lineage] differences have no effect on completing the argument against them, since they themselves said “Yes! We do bear witness”, hence it comes to confirm what He mentions after that, that is, “… or lest you should say, ‘Our fathers before us may have taken false gods, but we are (their) descendants after them.”

Moreover, had such taking and testifying been originated in this worldly creation, His saying "'Yes! We do bear witness!" would have been a narrative of the present situation, and their taking them would have meant creating them through birth and procreation.

Taking an admission from them and their testimony against their own souls in response to “Am I not your Lord?” is to show them their reality and as one of the verses indicative of the existence of the True One and of His Unity which requires them to admit the same, that is, the Unity of the most exalted One.

The outcome of all of this is that Allah, praise is all due to Him, created the offspring of Adam in this life and spread them throughout this world after having taken a testimony from them against their own souls that they need their Lord who manages their affairs, admitting these verses and their connotation by heart, and their tongues pronounced it as well: “Yes! We do bear witness!’ (This is so).”

But the sequence of these verses conveys the meaning that this general sense and testimony was definitely for two pretexts which they could use on the Day of Judgment once they witness the torment and they find no help, that is,

“We were unaware of all of this” or “We did not know about this, and although we did not, the sin originated from our fathers before, and we are their descendants; we followed them in their polytheism; so, should You cause us to perish because of what those vain doers did?”

The meaning sought is that such “taking” and testifying is to either to remove the lack of knowledge or to foil its effect and the latter's consequences by birth even though the offspring is not unaware.

It is obvious that the second goal is not built on this “taking” and testifying, for the rising of the leverage of ignorance removes the excuse, no matter what, and noting removes like it.

Adding a word to the first, no matter what, necessitates a deterioration in the quality o speech, and His speech, the most Praised One, is far away from such deterioration.

Had the Almighty made "… else you should say…, etc." the objective of His saying "… and He made them testify…, etc." the speech would have become even worse because the meaning becomes like this: "Your Lord took the progeny of the descendants of Adam from their loins…"

He has also explained everything so that some of them might not fall under the liability of others due to the fact they were not separated from them, so they may say on the Day of Judgment that the doers of apostasy were their forefathers, so, why should they be penalized because of them? This is so since there are neither ancestors nor offspring if we suppose they are not distinguished from each other.

So, the setting cannot be one of the shorter life. Rather, the sacred verse saying,

"… or lest you should say, ‘Our fathers before us may have taken false gods’” (Qur'an, 7:173)

conveys the meaning that there was a setting had it not been for the fragmentation of the progeny from their ancestors, the mere kinship would have had an impact, and apostasy would have been one deed issued by their ancestors rather than the progeny, so much so that the progeny would say on the Day of Judgment:

“We were connected with our ancestors and were present because of our kinship, and apostasy was their own doing; so, how would you justify tormenting us since You are the One Who separated us from them and distinguished our presence from theirs?”

Hence, the most Praised One explained that there was no distinction between them so that their pretext would be nullified and His verse saying

“(This is so) lest you should say on the Day of Judgment, ‘We were never mindful of this’” (Qur'an, 7:172)

Would be seeking to win the argument by claiming mindlessness with regard to the testimony in this setting. At that juncture, its judgment does not accept alteration, that is, a reversal to the self, towards existence, so that life in this world may go on according to its requirement that obligated their torment in it. This mindlessness would thus be linked to them with regard to His being the Lord, Praise to Him.

Their testimony would be coming from their own selves, from their vision, from their existence, a testimony against their own selves, a self- revelation, and it is null by itself. For this reason, the Almighty followed it by saying “… and He made them testify against their own souls…” with “Am I not your Lord?” in one meaning, in the meaning that He stated.

Thus, the meaning of these verses, and Allah knows best, would be that there was another setting other than that of this world where He separated between the humans, multiplying them, after they had been together and united.

He identified them and manifested His Being to them, and made them see their own selves; so, they testified and admitted His being the Lord; otherwise, mindlessness would have included them in this life and they would have admitted His Unity in this world; so, consider.

This is so because anyone who submits and recognizes such Unity in that setting cannot have a way to take other gods, and if anyone there had taken other gods, he would have had no alternative to taking other gods in this life as well as is clear in this verse of the Almighty1:

“… they would not believe what they had rejected before” (Qur'an, 7:101)

and the verses following the one where He says, "Your Lord took…, etc." up to six more verses in the meaning that has passed by before the sixth of which is this verse:

“We have made many jinns and men for Hell: They have hearts with which they do not understand, eyes with which they do not see, and ears with which they do not hear. They are like cattle nay, more misguided, for they are heedless (of Our warning)” (Qur’an, 7:179).

The end of the verse refers to its beginning, a determination that negligence happens in the hearts, in what the eyes see, and in what the ears hear. As for the testimony of the soul for itself and for its Lord, no veil can ever hide it.

Moreover, the verses that start with “When your Lord drew forth …, etc.” is a reference, as you already know, to his abode, and that He required them to testify for His being their Lord, but this life is not without believers and polytheists, for there are those who believe in His Unity and those who do not.

And his description of the polytheists as heedless in the end of these verses refers to such a branching out. Their nullification despite their soul's testimony necessitates labeling them as apostates even though they believe in His Unity.2 Perhaps the most Praised One described both matters as obedience and disobedience:

“… While all creatures in the heavens and on earth have, willing or unwilling, bowed to His will (accepted Islam), and all of them shall be brought back to Him” (Qur’an, 3:83)

and

“Moreover He comprehended the sky in His design, and it had been (as) a smoke: He said to it and to the earth, ‘Come together, willingly or unwillingly.' “(Qur’an, 41:11)

“They said, ‘We come (together) in willing obedience'. So He completed them as seven firmaments in two Days and He assigned duty and command to each heavens" (Qur’an, 41:12).

This undertaking and testifying is what the most Praised One describes as the “covenant” in this verse:

“We took from the Prophets their covenant as (We did) from you: From Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus son of Mary: We took a solemn covenant from them.” (Qur’an, 33:7).

The last part of this verse indicates that taking the covenant3 was so that the truth is expressed by the truthful ones; so, its abode is this short life and not the eternal one. The abode of the covenant preceded that of this life; so, consider.

The verses which convey this sense are numerous, and they are interpreted by many narratives, more than sufficient.

In al-Qummi's book of exegesis, where he quotes his father quoting the son of Abu Umar quoting Abdullah ibn Miskan quoting Abu Abdullah, peace be upon him, about the verse saying

“… When your Lord drew forth from the children of Adam…, etc.” (Quran, 7:172),

he was asked, “Was that done by observation?” The answer came in the affirmative; so, knowledge was fixed, but they forgot that stand, and they will remember it. Had it been otherwise, none of His creatures would have come to know Who created and sustained him.

Some of them admitted so in that world by their tongues but not by their hearts, so Allah said,

“Such were the towns whose story We (thus) relate to you: Truly their Apostle came to them with clear (Signs), but they would not believe what they had rejected before. Thus does Allah seal up the heart of those who reject faith” (Qur’an, 7:101).

Let Musa y that the gist of this narrative is stated in these books: Mahasin, Ilal, Tawhid and in the books of exegesis by al-Qummi, al-Ayyashi and others in various numerous sources.

In Al- Ilal, through isnad traced to Habib who quotes Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him), the latter Imam (peace be with him) said, "Allah Almighty took the covenant of the servants, while they were straying, prior to the Day of Appointing; therefore, the souls that recognized it befriended each other, and those that did not differ."

If you ask them who created them, they will certainly say, "Allah"; How then are they deluded away (from the truth)? (Qur’an, 43:87)

Such were the towns whose story We (thus) relate to you: Truly their Apostle came to them with clear

“This (is so) because you used to take Allah's Signs in jest, and the life of the world deceived you.” Therefore, on that Day, they shall not be brought forth (from) it, nor shall they be received into grace. (Qur’an, 45:35)

But you shall not will (so) except as Allah wills the Cherisher of the worlds. (Qur’an, 81:29)

When We decree to destroy a population, We (first) send Our commandment to those among them who are given the good things of this life but they transgress therein, so that (in the end) the word is proven true against them, then We destroy them with utter destruction. (Qur’an, 17:16)

Truly when He intends to create a thing, His command is,

“Be,” and it is! (Qur’an, 36:82)

• 1. This sequence does not connote merely a negation but also conveys the meaning of waiting and expectation such as when one says, “I advised someone to stop going to time-wasting places, and he did not accept my advice. He has become so much used to them.”
• 2. It is understood from the verse saying “We offered the trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains: But they refused to undertake it, being afraid of it: But man undertook it: He was truly unjust and foolish” (Qur'an, 33:72) that man undertook the burden of a trust which the heavens and others refused to undertake; therefore, he was truly unjust to his own soul, foolish. Then the Almighty stated the objective of this offer and the undertaking by saying: "(With the result) that Allah has to punish the hypocrites, men and women, and the unbelievers, men and women, and Allah turns in mercy to the believers, men and women, for Allah is oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful" (Qur'an, 33:73). With regard to this offer, the Almighty divided people into two kinds: hypocrites and believers to let us know that in that abode, there was no unbeliever due to the undertaking was general to all; none rejected it; thus was the covenant. His saying that "Allah turns in mercy…, etc." proves that happiness comes from Allah, and so does repentance. His statement "… for Allah is…, etc." is to justify the offer, that His is the attribute of being forgiving and merciful. As the quality of tormenting, avenging and the like, they are through the offer of special forgiveness and mercy. The appearance of salvation in the world requires the existence of those who perish and those who deserve to be saved from perishing, as is obvious. If you deeply contemplate on this verse, you will find it one of those relevant to intercession, and surely Allah is the One Who guides.
• 3. Had the purpose been for asking this question on the Day of Judgment, it would have been about holding to account and answering about responsibility. But what is understood from this system and structure is a requirement, not accounting, as in similar statements.