The Book of Divine Unity · Hadith 64 (#Ḥadīth #28)

28 - حدثنا تميم بن عبد الله بن تميم القرشي رضي الله عنه، قال: حدثني أبي، عن حمدان بن سليمان النيسابوري، عن علي بن محمد بن الجهم، قال: حضرت مجلس المأمون وعنده علي بن موسى الرضا عليهما السلام، فقال له المأمون: يا ابن رسول الله أليس من قولك إن الأنبياء معصومون، قال: بلى، قال: فسأله عن آيات من القرآن، فكان فيما سأله أن قال له: فأخبرني عن قول الله عز وجل في إبراهيم (فلما جن عليه الليل رأى كوكبا قال هذا ربي) فقال الرضا عليه السلام: إن إبراهيم عليه السلام وقع إلى ثلاثة أصناف: صنف يعبد الزهرة، وصنف يعبد القمر، وصنف يعبد الشمس، وذلك حين خرج من السرب الذي أخفي فيه، فلما جن عليه الليل و رأى الزهرة قال: هذا ربي على الانكار والاستخبار، فلما أفل الكوكب قال: (لا أحب الآفلين) لأن الأفول من صفات المحدث لا من صفات القديم، فلما رأى القمر بازغا قال: هذا ربي على الانكار والاستخبار، فلما أفل قال: (لئن لم يهدني ربي لأكونن من القوم الضالين) فلما أصبح (ورأى الشمس بازغة قال هذا ربي هذا أكبر) من الزهرة والقمر على الإنكار والإستخبار لا على الإخبار والإقرار، فلما أفلت قال للأصناف الثلاثة من عبدة الزهرة والقمر والشمس: (يا قوم إني برئ مما تشركون إني وجهت وجهي للذي فطر السماوات والأرض حنيفا وما أنا من المشركين) وإنما أراد إبراهيم بما قال أن يبين لهم بطلان دينهم، ويثبت عندهم أن العبادة لا تحق لما كان بصفة الزهرة والقمر والشمس، وإنما تحق العبادة لخالقها وخالق السماوات والأرض، وكان ما احتج به على قومه مما ألهمه الله عز وجل وآتاه كما قال الله عز وجل: ﴿وتلك حجتنا آتيناها إبراهيم على قومه﴾ فقال المأمون: لله درك يا ابن رسول الله. والحديث طويل أخذنا منه موضع الحاجة، وقد أخرجته بتمامه في كتاب عيون أخبار الرضا عليه السلام.

28. Tamim ibn `Abd Allah ibn Tamim al-Qarashi (may Allah be pleased with him) said: My father related to me on the authority of Hamdan ibn Sulayman al-Naysaburi, on the authority of `Ali ibn Muhammad ibn al-Jahm that I entered the presense of al-Ma`mum while `Ali ibn Musa al-Rida was with him. AlMa`mum said to him: “O son of the Messenger of Allah , do you not say that the Prophets are infallible?” He replied: “Certainly.” He says that he asked him about some verses from the Qur`an. Among his questions was: “Then tell me about the Word of Allah, the Mighty and High, regarding Ibrahim : So when the night overshadowed him, he saw a star; said he: Is this my Lord?”1 Hence, (`Ali) al-Rida responded: Ibrahim was faced with three types of people: the first worshiped Venus, the second worshipped the moon, and the third worshiped the sun. This was when the came out of the den in which he was hiding. So when the night overshadowed him, he saw the planet Venus, and said: this is my Lord, as a denial and inquiry So when it set, he aid: I do not love the setting one,2 because setting is one of the attributes of the created [muhdath] and not from the attributes of the Eternal [qadim]. Then when he saw the moon rising, he asked: Is this my Lord? He said this as both denial and inquiry. So when it set, he said: If my Lord had not guided me I should certainly be of the erring people.3 Then when the day began and he saw the sun rising, he said: This is my Lord. This is greater than Venus and the moon. He said this as denial and inquiry and not as information and approval. So when it set, he said to all three types of people from the worshippers of Venus, the moon and the sun: O my people! Surely I am clear of what you set up (with Allah). Surely I have turned myself, being upright, wholly to Him who originated the Heaven and the Earth, and I am not of the polytheists.4 Verily, Ibrahim intended to clarify for them the invalidity of their religion, and prove to them that worshipping Venus, the Moon, and the Sun was wrong. Rather, service belongs only to their Creator, the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth. The argument he brought forth was inspired by Allah, the Mighty and High: And this was Our argument which we gave to Ibrahim against his people.5 Al-Ma`mum said: “For Allah’s sake continue, O son of the Messenger of Allah!” The Compiler of this book says: The tradition is detailed; we have extracted from it the required passage. I have transmitted all of it in the book `Uyun Akhbar al-Rida . 29. Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ibn Ahmad ibn al-Walid (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Muhammad ibn Yahya al-`Attar said on the authority of al-Husayn ibn al-Hasan ibn Aban, on the authority of Muhammad ibn Auramah, on the authority of Ibrahim ibn al-Hakam ibn Zuhayr, on the authority of `Abd Allah ibn Jarir al-`Abdi saying that Abu `Abd Allah al-Sadiq used to say: All praise be to Allah who cannot be sensed, felt or touched, as He cannot be perceived by the five senses. Imagination cannot grasp Him. Tongues cannot describe Him. Everything that can be sensed is a creation. All praise be to Allah who was when there was nothing but He. He made all things according to a design. He knows what has been and what will be.

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