ʿUyūn akhbār al-Riḍā, vol. 1, no. 158

11-50 Ali ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Imran ad-Daqqaq - may God be pleased with him - narrated that Muhammad ibn Yaqoob al-Kolayni quoted on the authority of Ali ibn Muhammad - known as Al’lan, on the authority of Muhammad ibn Isa, on the authority of Al-Hussein ibn Khalid that Abil Hassan Al-Ridha (s) said, “May God bestow upon you knowledge of the good! Know that the Blessed the Sublime God is eternal. Eternity is that attribute which guides the wise to know that there was nothing before Him in eternity, nor is there anything eternal along with Him. That this attribute is a miraculous one has come to light from the acknowledgement by the common folks that there is nothing before God, with God or after Him. At the same time, it invalidates the belief that there was something before or along with Him. Had there beensomething eternal along with Him, He would not have been the Creator of that thing. If it was along with Him, how then could He have been its creator? Had there been something existing before Him, then that thing might have been His creator because of its existing earlier than Him.The Blessed the Sublime God has ascribed certain names to Himself. When He created His creatures, He enabled them to worship Him and told His creatures to call Him by those names. He called Himself All-Hearing, All-Seeing, All-Powerful, Guarding, Standing, Manifest, Hidden, Subtle, All-Aware, Powerful, Majestic, Wise, the All-Knowing and other similar names. When the animosity-mongers who speak lies heard us mention such names and that there is nothing similar to Him, and that none of the creatures are like onto Him they began to speak out. They said, “When you say that there is nothing like onto Him and nothing is similar to Him, then how come you also use those beautiful names for yourselves? This is a proof that you are similar to Him in all conditions or in some conditions because of having the same beautiful names.” It is said to them that the Blessed the Sublime God has named His servants with some of His own names but with differences in meaning. A name may have two different meanings. The proof of this is simply what is popular amongst the people. This is the same way that the Honorable the Exalted God has addressed the people. He has spoken to them by means of things that they understand so that they will have no excuse in their misdeeds.A man is sometimes called a dog, a donkey, a bull, a lion, sweet or bitter. All these are used with a meaning different from their true meaning since they are not used in their original meaning. Man is not a lion or a dog. May God have Mercy upon you! Please pay close attention to this.The Honorable the Exalted God is called All-Aware. This does not mean that He has created knowledge. It does not mean that with His knowledge of things He knows things and He uses this knowledge to preserve His future commands and the process of creating what He creates, and destroying what He destroys and without such knowledge He would have been weak and ignorant.We see that people of knowledge among the people are called knowledgeable because of having some created knowledge, which they did not have at some time before. Perhaps such knowledge may go away from them and they become ignorant.God is called All-Knowing because He is not ignorant of anything. Thus, the Creator and the creatures are both called knowing, but the meaning is different as you have noticed.Our Lord is called All-Hearing. However, this it is not through a body part on Him with which He could hear the sound but could not see as is the case with us. We cannot see with the part with which we hear. However, the Honorable the Exalted God has told us that no sound is hidden from Him. His hearing is not limited as it is in our case. Here again the name hearing is used in both cases, but its meaning is different. He is also All-Seeing in the same way. That is He is seeing not through an organ unlike us. We see using a body part with which we cannot do anything else. However, God is All-Seeing but not by looking at any object. Again the same name is used in both cases, but its meaning is different.God is said to be Standing but not in the sense of standing in an upright position on the legs as is the case with other things. When He says that He is Standing it means that He is the Guardian. This is like saying that a man is standing behind our affairs. The Honorable the Exalted God is Standing behind every soul regarding what it gains. As used by people the word standing also has meanings like remaining and sufficing. As you may say to a man, ‘Stand up over the affairs of so and so’ which means deal with them in a sufficient manner. Standing for us means that we stand on our legs. Therefore, the name is similar but its meaning is different.The name al-Latif, meaning ‘the Subtle’ is not in the sense of smallness or being infinitesimal, but it is in the rarity and hard to perceive nature of things. As an example it may be said, ‘It has become very delicate for me and that so and so is very delicate in his manners and dealings.’ This means that it is profound for the intellect and it is very difficult to understand. It has become so delicate that even one’s imagination cannot perceive it. The Blessed the Sublime God is far more Subtle than to be comprehended through definitions or be limited by an attribute in the way we are subtle, small and delicate. Names are the same but different in meaning.The name al-Khabir, meaning ‘All-Aware’, is for One Who knows all things completely but not by means of gaining experience and learningfrom the past as if were it not for this experience he would know nothing. One without any experience and training is an ignorant person. The Sublime God is always All-Aware of what He has created. The people who are well are those people who are learning to overcome their ignorance. Thus names are the same but again, they differ in meaning.The name al-Zahir meaning ‘clear and conspicuous’ is not because of Him being over and on top of all things or sitting on the topmost part of them, but it is because of His Domination and having power over all things. An example of this is when a person says, ‘I overcame my enemies or that God granted me victory over my enemies.’ In this case, there is a report of the failure and victory. Thus this shows God’s Domination over all things.Another example is that His Existence is clear for those who want (to know) Him. Nothing is hidden from Him and He is the guardian of all that can be seen. Whose existence can then be clearer than that of the Sublime God? Wherever you are you will see His creatures. Even within your own self there is enough of His Creation. However, for us our existence is what is apparent and has limits. Therefore the names are the same, but their meaning differs.The name al-Batin, means ‘the Hidden.’ This is not in the sense of being inside of things by means of diving in, or by other means. Rather it is in the sense of His dealing with, having knowledge of, preserving and regulating the internal aspect of all things. As one may say, “I tried to find the inside to learn and discover the secrets.” Hidden for us is what is unseen and covered. In this case again the names are the same but they differ in meaning.The name al-Qahir, means ‘the Subduer.’ It is not in the sense of plotting, using certain devices and speaking attractive words or cunning means as some people subdue each other. The victorious among the people may become subdued and vice versa. For the Blessed the Sublime God all the creatures are weak. Due to the absence of obstacles in what He wills about them, it only takes less than a blinking of the eye to say it Be and it is. ‘We but say the word, ‘Be’, and it is.’ Subduing in our case is how I mentioned and explained. Thus names are alike but their meanings differ. That is the case for all the names, although we have not mentioned all of them. We will suffice with this for learning purposes. May the Honorable the Exalted God be your helper and our helper in the matters of guidance and success.”