The Book of Divine Unity · Hadith 41 (#Ḥadīth #5)

5 - حدثنا محمد بن الحسن بن أحمد بن الوليد رضي الله عنه، قال: حدثنا محمد بن يحيى العطار، وأحمد بن إدريس جميعا، قالا: حدثنا محمد بن أحمد بن يحيى، عن بعض أصحابنا رفعه، قال: جاء رجل إلى الحسن بن علي عليهما السلام فقال له: يا ابن رسول الله صف لي ربك حتى كأني أنظر إليه، فأطرق الحسن بن علي عليهما السلام مليا، ثم رفع رأسه، فقال: الحمد لله الذي لم يكن له أول معلوم ولا آخر متناه، ولا قبل مدرك، ولا بعد محدود، ولا أمد بحتى ولا شخص فيتجزأ، ولا اختلاف صفة فيتناهى فلا تدرك العقول وأوهامها، ولا الفكر وخطراتها، و لا الألباب وأذهانها صفته فتقول: متى؟ (١) ولا بدئ مما، ولا ظاهر على ما، ولا باطن فيما، ولا تارك فهلا (٢) خلق الخلق فكان بديئا بديعا، ابتدأ ما ابتدع، و ابتدع ما ابتدأ، وفعل ما أراد وأراد ما استزاد، ذلكم الله رب العالمين.

5. Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ibn Ahmad ibn al-Walid (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Muhammad ibn Yahya al- `Attar, and Ahmad ibn Idris both said: Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Yahya said on the authority of some our scholars hurrying the transmission that A man came to al-Hasan ibn `Ali and said to him: “O son of the Messenger of Allah! Describe your Lord to me so that I can understand Him better.” Therefore, al-Hasan ibn `Ali bowed his head in silence for quite a while, before lifting it up and saying: All praise is for Allah, who has no beginning, nor end. He neither has a face through which He may be perceived, nor a back that He may be restricted. He cannot be limited with (the word) `till what,’ nor with an appearance so that He may have parts. He cannot be described with variation so that He may have an extent. He can neither be perceived by intellects and imaginations, nor by thoughts and concepts. Reason and intellect cannot describe Him by means of the questions: `when,’ `from what did He begin,’ `on what’ does He reveal or `in what’ does He conceal? We cannot say `why not’ as He does not shun (His Creation). He created the creations; therefore, He was Original and unprecedented. He originated what He unprecedented and unprecedented what He originated. He did what He intended, and intended what He extended. Such is Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.

Gradings are classical jarḥ-wa-taʿdīl, name-matched to a rijāl index (not individually re-verified).