The Book of Divine Unity · Hadith 56 (#Ḥadīth #20)

20 - حدثنا علي بن أحمد بن محمد بن عمران الدقاق رحمه الله، قال: حدثني محمد بن أبي عبد الله الكوفي، عن محمد بن إسماعيل البرمكي، عن الحسين بن الحسن، قال: حدثني أبو سمينة، عن إسماعيل بن أبان، عن زيد بن جبير، عن جابر الجعفي، قال: جاء رجل من علماء أهل الشام إلى أبي جعفر عليه السلام، فقال: جئت أسألك عن مسألة لم أجد أحدا يفسرها لي، وقد سألت ثلاثة أصناف من الناس، فقال كل صنف غير ما قال الآخر، فقال أبو جعفر عليه السلام: وما ذلك؟ فقال: أسألك، ما أول ما خلق الله عز وجل من خلقه؟ فإن بعض من سألته قال: القدرة، وقال بعضهم: العلم، وقال بعضهم: الروح، فقال أبو جعفر عليه السلام: ما قالوا شيئا، أخبرك أن الله علا ذكره كان ولا شئ غيره، وكان عزيزا ولا عز لأنه كان قبل عزه (١) وذلك قوله: ﴿سبحان ربك رب العزة عما يصفون﴾ وكان خالقا ولا مخلوق فأول شئ خلقه من خلقه الشئ الذي جميع الأشياء منه، وهو الماء فقال السائل: فالشئ خلقه من شئ أو من لا شئ؟ فقال: خلق الشئ لا من شئ كان قبله، ولو خلق الشئ من شئ إذا لم يكن له انقطاع أبدا، ولم يزل الله إذا ومعه شئ ولكن كان الله ولا شئ معه، فخلق الشئ الذي جميع الأشياء، منه، وهو الماء.

20. `Ali ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn `Imran al-Daqqaq said: Muhammad ibn Abu `Abd Allah al-Kufi related to me on the authority of Muhammad ibn Isma`il al-Barmaki, on the authority of al-Husayn ibn al-Hasan that Abu Sumaynah related to me on the authority of Isma`il ibn Aban, on the authority of Zayd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Jabir al-Ju`fi who said A man from the learned natives of Sham (Greater Syria) came to Abu Ja`far al-Baqir and said: “I have come to you concerning an issue that nobody could explain to me. I have asked three different persons, and each of them gave me a different answer.” Abu Ja`far said: “What is it?” Hence he explained: “What is the first thing that Allah, the Mighty and High, created from His Creation? Some of those whom I asked said: `Omnipotence.’ Some said: `Knowledge.’ And others said: `the Spirit.” Therefore, Abu Ja`far replied: They have said nothing! Let it be known that Allah, may His Remembrance be Exalted, was there when nothing but Him was there. He was Honorable when there was no honor, because He was there before His Honor and this is His Word: Glory be to your Lord, the Lord of Honor, above what they describe.1 He was the Creator when there was no creation. Thus, the first thing He created in creation was water, the element from which all things are form. So the questioner enquired: “Did He crate the (first) thing from something or from nothing?” Consequently, He answered: He created the thing from nothing which existed before it. And if He had created the thing from something, then nothing would be discontinuous. Thus, other that Allah would have existed along with Him. In fact, Allah was there, and there was nothing with Him. Hence, He created the thing from which all things originate, and that is water.

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