Does All-Mighty Allah has a particular shape? (Sahih al-Bukhari Page 1021, No.7437, A-Soltaniah Edition)

Sources

• ✓ Al-Kafi 3:102

  Shia

  Al-Kafi · Book 3, Hadith 102

  I was with Abu Ja'far the Second (peace be upon him) when a man asked him, "Tell me about the Lord, the Blessed and Exalted, does He have names and attributes in His Book, and are His names and attributes Him?" Abu Ja'far (peace be upon him) said, "This statement has two meanings: If you mean that He is many and numerous, then Glory be to Allah above that. But if you mean that these attributes and names are eternal, then one of two meanings applies. If you say that they eternally exist with Him in His knowledge and He deserves them, then yes. But if you say that their forms, letters, and phonetics eternally exist with Him—God forbid that He has anything other than Himself—rather Allah was, and there was no creation; then He created these as a means between Him and His creation through which they supplicate and worship Him. These are His remembrance, but Allah was without remembrance, and the one being remembered by remembrance is Allah, the Ancient who was never not. The names and attributes are created meanings, and the meanings indicated by them are Allah, who admits no dissonance nor alliance. Only the segmented differ and ally, so it is not said that Allah is fragmented or limited or abundant. He is the Ancient in His essence, for anything other than the One is segmented. Allah is One, not fragmented nor imagined as little or many. Every segmented or imagined little or many is created and indicates a creator. Saying 'Allah is powerful' denies incapacity and attributes incapacity to anything else. Similarly, saying 'He is knowledgeable' denies ignorance and attributes ignorance to anything else. When Allah annihilates things, He annihilates form, phonetics, and letters, yet He remains the All-Knowing. The man said, 'How do we call our Lord 'Hearing'?' He said, 'Because nothing perceptible escapes Him and we do not attribute to Him the hearing of the ears.' Similarly, we call Him 'Seeing' because nothing perceivable by sight escapes Him, yet not the sight of a moment’s glance. Likewise, we call Him 'Subtle' because His knowledge extends to subtle things like a mosquito and what is subtler, the source of its creation, intellect, desires, and the way it sustains its offspring in mountains, valleys, and barren lands. We understand from this that its creator is subtle without modality. Modality belongs to created, formed beings. We also call our Lord 'Strong' not by the evident might of creatures; if His might were that of creatures, analogy and increase and decrease would apply, and the deficient cannot be ancient. Our Lord, Blessed and Exalted, has no likeness nor opposite nor equal nor modality nor end, and no eyesight can behold Him. It is forbidden for hearts to imagine Him or minds to limit Him or consciences to form Him. Exalted is He beyond His creation’s measure and beyond the limits of His creatures." — OR — I asked him about the verse where Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, says, 'The month of Ramadan in which the Qur'an was revealed.' And that it was revealed over twenty years from its beginning to its end. Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him) said: The Qur'an was revealed all at once during the month of Ramadan to the Paradisiacal House (Bayt al-Ma'mur), and then it was revealed gradually over the span of twenty years. Then he said, the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: The Scrolls of Abraham were revealed on the first night of Ramadan; the Torah was revealed over six nights that passed in Ramadan; the Gospel was revealed over thirteen nights passed in Ramadan; the Psalms were revealed over eighteen nights that elapsed in Ramadan; and the Qur'an was revealed on the twenty-third of Ramadan. — OR — We said to Abu Ja'far: Is the turban for the deceased counted as part of the shroud? He said: No. The required shroud is three garments, and a complete garment that at minimum covers his entire body. Anything extra is a recommended sunnah up to five garments, beyond that is an innovation. The turban is a sunnah. The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) ordered the turban and he himself was turbaned. When the truthful Sheikh died, while we were in Medina, he sent us a dinar and ordered us to buy embalming materials and a turban for him, so we did. — OR — I asked him about a man who took a bird from Makkah to Kufa. He said, "He must return it to Makkah." — OR — Sahl ibn Ziyad and Muhammad ibn Yahya both narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad, from Ali ibn Mahziyar who said: Ali ibn Asbat wrote to Abu Ja'far (peace be upon him) concerning his daughters, saying he could find no one like himself. Abu Ja'far (peace be upon him) wrote back: 'I understand what you mentioned about your daughters and your inability to find anyone like yourself; do not concern yourself with that, may Allah have mercy on you. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said, "When someone whose character and religion you are satisfied with proposes, marry him. If you do not do so, there will be tribulation and great corruption on the earth."' — OR — Bakr ibn Muhammad narrated from Juwayrah: Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him) passed by me while I was waiting for a freed slave for us in the Sacred Mosque. He said, "O Umm Uthman, what keeps you here?" I said, "I am waiting for a freed slave for us." He said, "Have you freed him?" I said, "No." He said, "Have you freed his father?" I said, "No, we freed his grandfather." He said, "This is not your freed slave; this is your brother." — OR — The slave girl, when she reaches nine years of age, childhood ends for her, she is married, and full hudud are enforced on her. I asked: If the boy is married by his father, consummates marriage, but is still immature, are hudud applied to him? He said: The full hudud punishments that men are subjected to are not applied, but he is flogged in all punishments proportional to his age, and through that he is treated between his age and fifteen years. The hudud of God do not become void among His creation, nor do the rights of Muslims diminish among themselves.

• ✓ Al-Kafi 3:70

  Shia

  Al-Kafi · Book 3, Hadith 70

  I wrote to Abu al-Hasan (peace be upon him) asking about 'body' and 'shape.' He wrote back saying, "Glory be to Him, there is nothing like Him; He is neither body nor shape." This was also narrated by Muhammad ibn Abi Abdullah but without naming the man. — OR — If speech is obstructed from him, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and, if Allah wills, others come; the Messenger of Allah sits to his right and another to his left and says to him, 'As for what you hoped for, it is before you; and what you feared, you are safe from it.' Then a door to Paradise is opened for him. The Messenger of Allah says, 'This is your place in Paradise. If you wish, we will return you to the world where you have gold and silver.' He says, 'I do not need anything in the world.' At that moment his color becomes bright, his forehead sweats, his lips shrink, his nostrils expand, and his left eye weeps. He tells you, 'Take satisfaction from these signs.' When the soul departs from the body, it is presented as it was presented to him while in the body. He chooses the Hereafter. He is washed, turned over during washing, and when placed in shrouds and laid on his bed, his soul departs walking ahead between people. The souls of the believers meet him, greet him, and give him glad tidings of what Allah has prepared for him from the pleasures. When he is placed in his grave, his soul returns to his hips and he is questioned. If he responds correctly, the door to Paradise, which the Messenger of Allah showed him, is opened, and he enters by its light, radiance, coolness, and pleasant fragrance. I asked, 'May I be your ransom, what about the pressure of the grave?' He said, 'Far be it! There is nothing of it upon the believers. By Allah, this earth boasts over it saying, "A believer has trodden upon my back; not another believer has trodden upon yours." And the earth says, "By Allah, I used to love you when you walked upon me, but when I am given charge of you, you will know what I will do to you." It then spreads its sight for him.' — OR — I asked him about the verse: 'And whoever enters it shall be safe.' He said: "If a person commits a crime outside the sanctuary and then flees to the sanctuary, no one has the right to seize him there, but he is prevented from the market, he is not bought from or sold to, not given food or water, nor spoken to. If such treatment is applied, he is close to being taken. If he commits a crime inside the sanctuary, the prescribed punishment is applied to him there, for he did not leave the sanctuary’s sanctity." — OR — Abu Basir asked Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him) while I was present: I recite the Qur'an in one night? He said: No. Then two nights? He said: No, until it reached six nights. Then he pointed and said: This is it. Then Abu Abdullah said: O Abu Muhammad, the companions of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) who came before you used to recite the Qur'an in a month or less. The Qur'an should not be recited hastily but recited in measured, melodious tone. When you pass a verse mentioning hellfire, pause and seek refuge with God from hellfire. Abu Basir said: I want to recite the Qur'an in Ramadan in one night? He said: No. Then in two? No. Then in three? Yes. And he gestured with his hand: Ramadan is a month unlike any other months with a right and sanctity. Pray as much as you can. — OR — Among the happiness of a man is to uncover the cloth from a fair-skinned woman. — OR — I asked about a mentally incapacitated woman who is losing her mind, whether it is permissible to sell her and her dower. He said no, and about the divorce of an intoxicated person and his manumission, he said it is not permissible. — OR — Whoever commits fornication with a close relative until he has intercourse with her is struck with a sword blow that reaches its goal. If a woman follows him (commits fornication with him), she is struck with a sword blow that reaches its purpose. When asked: Who hits them if they have no accuser? He replied: That matter is for the Imam when they are brought before him.