سورة الأنعام

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abdullah ibn Sinan narrates: Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) regarding لاَّ تُدْرِکُهُ الأَبْصَارُ [Vision comprehends Him not] said: "It is the encompassing of imagination and thought. Do you not see this word of Allah: قَدْ جَاءکُم بَصَآئِرُ مِن رَّبِّکُمْ [Indeed there have come to you clear proofs from your Lord] — and He does not mean sight of the eyes. فَمَنْ أَبْصَرَ فَلِنَفْسِهِ [Whoever sees, it is for his own self] — He does not intend seeing with the eye. وَ مَنْ عَمِیَ فَعَلَیْهَا [And whoever is blind, it is against himself] — His intent is not the blindness of the eyes; rather, He means the encompassing of imagination. Just as it is said: so-and-so is discerning (basir) in poetry, and so-and-so is discerning in fiqh, and so-and-so is discerning in clothing. Allah is greater than to be seen with the eye."

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): Abu Hashim al-Ja'fari said: I asked Imam Rida (peace be upon him): "Can Allah be described?" He said: "Do you not read the Quran?" I said: "Yes." He said: "Have you not read this word of Allah the Mighty and Majestic where He says: لا تُدْرِکُهُ الْأَبْصارُ وَ هُوَ یُدْرِکُ الْأَبْصارَ [Vision comprehends Him not, and He comprehends (all) vision]?" I said: "Yes." He said: "Do you know what al-absar (vision) is?" I said: "Yes." He said: "What is it?" I said: "The sight of the eyes." He said: "The imaginings of the hearts are greater than the sight of the eyes, so imaginings do not comprehend Him, while He comprehends the imaginings."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Isma'il ibn al-Fadl said: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about whether Allah the Blessed and Exalted will be seen on the Day of Resurrection. He said: "Allah the Mighty and Majestic is far removed and exalted above such a claim. O Ibn al-Fadl! Eyes cannot comprehend anything except what has colour and quality, and Allah is the Creator of all colours and qualities."

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): Abu Hashim al-Ja'fari said: al-Ash'ath ibn Hatim informed me that he asked Imam Rida (peace be upon him) about tawhid (divine unity). He said: "Have you not read the Quran?" I said: "Yes." He said: "Recite: لا تُدْرِکُهُ الْأَبْصارُ وَ هُوَ یُدْرِکُ الْأَبْصارَ [Vision comprehends Him not, and He comprehends (all) vision]." So I recited it. He said: "What is al-absar (vision)?" I said: "The sight of the eye." He said: "No. What is meant is only the imaginings; that is, imaginings do not comprehend the nature of Allah, while Allah comprehends every understanding."

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): Muhammad ibn Abi Umayr said: I came to my master, Imam Kazim (peace be upon him), and said: "O son of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! Teach me tawhid (divine unity)." He said: "O Abu Ahmad! In the matter of tawhid, do not go beyond what Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, has mentioned in His Book, or you will perish. And know that Allah the Exalted is One, Unique, and Eternal Refuge. He [never] begot, that anyone might inherit from Him. And He was not begotten, that He might have a partner. And He has never taken for Himself a spouse or a child. (Al-Jinn/3). He is the Living who never dies, and the Powerful who never becomes helpless, and the Dominant who is never overcome, and the Forbearing who is never hasty, and the Everlasting who never perishes, and the Enduring who never ceases, and the Firm who never passes away, and the Self-sufficient who is never in need, and the Mighty who is never abased, and the Knowing who is never ignorant, and the Just who never wrongs, and the Generous who is never miserly. Intellects and imaginations have no capacity to grasp Him. Regions do not encompass Him. لا تُدْرِکُهُ الْأَبْصارُ وَ هُوَ یُدْرِکُ الْأَبْصارَ وَ هُوَ اللَّطِیفُ الْخَبِیر [Vision comprehends Him not, and He comprehends (all) vision; and He is the Knower of subtleties, the Aware]. And there is nothing like Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing! (Ash-Shura/11). He knows that never do three converse in secret except that Allah is the fourth of them, and never do five converse in secret except that Allah is the sixth of them, and neither fewer nor more than that except that He is with them wherever they may be. (Al-Mujadila/7). He is the First, before whom nothing existed, and the Last, after whom nothing will be. He is the Eternal, and everything besides Him is originated. He is above the attributes of created beings, a great exaltation."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Visions do not perceive Him such that, after their shifting away from Him, He would become changed or altered.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Visions have become weary and exhausted from reaching Him, such that He would be described by direct sight and beholding with the eye and face-to-face vision. And by that essence which none knows and recognises except Him, He would be known in the presence of His creation.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Dawud ibn Qasim said: I said to Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): "What is the meaning of لاَّ تُدْرِکُهُ الأَبْصَارُ وَ هُوَ یُدْرِکُ الأَبْصَارَ [Vision comprehends Him not, and He comprehends (all) vision]?" He said: "O Abu Hashim, the imaginations of hearts are more subtle than the vision of eyes. You may be able to grasp with your imagination Sind and Hind and lands which you have never entered, yet you cannot grasp them with your vision. And the imaginations of hearts do not grasp Him, so how then the vision of eyes?"

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): [Regarding] لاَّ تُدْرِکُهُ الأَبْصَارُ وَ هُوَ یُدْرِکُ الأَبْصَارَ [Vision comprehends Him not, and He comprehends (all) vision]: The imaginations of hearts cannot grasp Him, so how then the vision of eyes!

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): In Fiqh al-Rida (peace be upon him) it is narrated: I asked Imam Kazim (peace be upon him) about something concerning the attributes [of Allah]. He said: "Do not go beyond what is in the Quran." I narrate that in his presence this word of Allah لا تُدْرِکُهُ الْأَبْصارُ وَ هُوَ یُدْرِکُ الْأَبْصارَ [Vision comprehends Him not, and He comprehends (all) vision] was recited. He said: "[Allah] meant the eyes of the hearts, and they are the imaginations [and fancies]." Then he said: "Imaginations do not comprehend His nature, but He comprehends every imagination. As for the eyes of humans, they do not perceive Allah, because Allah [is unlimited and does not] enter [into any place]; therefore He is not described." This is what we all believe in.

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): Ash'ath ibn Hatim said: Dhu al-Ri'asatayn narrates: I said to Imam Rida (peace be upon him): "May I be your ransom, inform me about the disagreement of the people regarding the vision [of Allah]; some of them say: He cannot be seen." He said: "O Abu al-Abbas! Whoever describes Allah contrary to what Allah has described Himself has attributed a grave slander against Allah, for Allah says: لاَّ تُدْرِکُهُ الأَبْصَارُ وَ هُوَ یُدْرِکُ الأَبْصَارَ وَ هُوَ اللَّطِیفُ الْخَبِیرُ [Vision comprehends Him not, and He comprehends (all) vision; and He is the Knower of subtleties, the Aware], and these visions are not with the eyes, but rather they are eyes that are in the heart. Allah cannot be the subject of imaginations, and His nature cannot be comprehended."

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): Whoever describes Allah the Exalted contrary to what Allah has described Himself has attributed a great lie to Allah. لا تُدْرِکُهُ الْأَبْصارُ [Vision comprehends Him not] means the eyes that are in the hearts. That is, imaginations and fancies cannot comprehend Him, and it cannot be comprehended how He is.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Abu Ma'mar al-Sa'dani narrates: A person came to Imam Ali (peace be upon him) and said: "O Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him), I have doubts about the revealed Book of Allah, when I find Allah the Mighty and Majestic saying: [Yes] on that Day faces will be radiant and joyful, looking at their Lord! (Qiyamah/22,23). And He says: لا تُدْرِکُهُ الْأَبْصارُ وَ هُوَ یُدْرِکُ الْأَبْصارَ وَ هُوَ اللَّطِیفُ الخَبِیرُ [Vision comprehends Him not, and He comprehends (all) vision; and He is the Knower of subtleties, the Aware]." [The Imam (peace be upon him) said in reply]: "This is a praise by which our Lord has praised Himself — blessed and exalted and hallowed, sublimely exalted and great."

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): The word of Allah لا تُدْرِکُهُ الْأَبْصارُ [Vision comprehends Him not]; that is, [visions] do not encompass Him. وَ هُوَ یُدْرِکُ الْأَبْصارَ [And He comprehends (all) vision]; that is, He encompasses them and has created everything.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) was asked, "O brother of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), have you seen your Lord?" He said, "How should I worship a Lord whom I have not seen? Eyes do not see Him outwardly and visibly, but hearts see Him through the realities of faith. If it were the case that a believer sees his Lord with the eye, then everyone who is seen by the eye is created and is a creature [of another], and every creature must have a Maker and Creator, and in that case you have made Allah created and a creature. And whoever likens Allah to a creature has set up a partner with Allah. Woe to them! Have they not heard the saying of Allah the Exalted [where He says]: لا تُدْرِکُهُ الْأَبْصارُ وَ هُوَ یُدْرِکُ الْأَبْصارَ وَ هُوَ اللَّطِیفُ الْخَبِیرُ [Vision comprehends Him not, and He comprehends (all) vision; and He is the Knower of subtleties, the Aware]."

Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him): Allah is not described even by His firm revelation, and our Lord is too great to be described. How can He be described who cannot be limited, while He is the One who comprehends vision [and has dominion over it]: لاَّ تُدْرِکُهُ الأَبْصَارُ وَهُوَ یُدْرِکُ الأَبْصَارَ وَ هُوَ اللَّطِیفُ الْخَبِیرُ [Vision comprehends Him not, and He comprehends (all) vision; and He is the Knower of subtleties, the Aware].

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): Muhammad ibn Abdullah al-Khurasani, the servant of Imam Rida (peace be upon him), said: A zindiq (heretic) came in to the Imam (peace be upon him), and a group was also present ... The zindiq said, "May Allah bestow kindness and mercy upon you, explain to me: how is Allah? And where is He?" The Imam said, "Woe to you! What you have supposed is wrong. He created place and location; He existed while no place or location existed. He created quality (kayfiyya); He existed while no manner or quality existed. Therefore He cannot be perceived by quality, by place and location, or by the senses, and He does not resemble anything." The man said, "Now that He cannot be perceived by any of the five senses, then He does not exist at all." The Imam said, "Woe to you! Because your senses are unable to perceive Him, you deny His lordship? Whereas we, when our perception is unable to grasp Him, become certain that He is our Lord, and that He is a thing unlike other things." The man said, "Then tell me, since when has Allah existed?" The Imam said, "You tell me: when was Allah not, that I may tell you since when He has been?" The man asked, "What proof is there of the existence of Allah?" The Imam said, "When I look at my body and see that I cannot decrease or add anything to it in its length and breadth, nor repel hardships from it, nor bring about anything for its benefit, I understand that this structure has a builder, and I believe in Him. Furthermore, I see the rotation of the celestial sphere by His command and power, the formation of clouds, the movement of winds, the motion of the moon, sun and stars, and the other wondrous and firmly established divine signs, and so I understand that all these have a Determiner and Originator." The man asked, "Then why is He hidden?" The Imam said, "His being veiled from creation is because of their many sins; but as for Him, nothing hidden is hidden from Him in the hours of the night and day." He asked, "Then why does the eye not see Him?" The Imam said, "So that there may be a distinction between Him and His creation, which is visible. Moreover, His station is too exalted for the eye to see Him, or for thought to grasp Him, or for the intellect to perceive Him."

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): Muhammad ibn Ubayd said: I wrote to Imam Rida (peace be upon him) and asked him about the vision of Allah and what the general public and the elect narrate, and I asked him to explain this matter for me. He wrote in his own hand: "All are agreed and there is no disagreement between them that recognition by way of seeing is necessary and definitive. So if it were correct that Allah can be seen with the eye, then recognition of Him would definitely be obtained. Then this recognition is not outside of one of two cases: either it is faith or it is not faith. If this recognition by way of seeing were faith, then the recognition in this world, which is by way of acquiring proof, would not be faith — because this recognition is its opposite — and there should be no believer in this world, because they have not seen Allah. And if the recognition by way of seeing were not faith, then the recognition by way of acquiring proof is not outside of one of two cases: either it is destroyed at the resurrection or it is not destroyed. This is the proof that Allah the Mighty and Majestic is not seen with the eye, because seeing with the eye leads to what we have said."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Beware of thinking about Allah, for thinking about Allah adds nothing but bewilderment. Indeed, vision cannot comprehend Allah the Mighty and Majestic, and He cannot be described by any measure.

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): Safwan ibn Yahya said: Abu Qurra the muhaddith asked me to bring him in to Imam Rida (peace be upon him). I sought permission from him and he permitted me, so Abu Qurra entered upon him and asked him about the lawful and the unlawful and the rulings, until his questioning reached tawhid (the oneness of Allah). Abu Qurra said: "It has been narrated to us that Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, divided vision and speech between two prophets: speech was the share of Musa (peace be upon him), and vision was the share of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)." Imam Rida (peace be upon him) said: "Then who is the one who conveys from Allah to the two weighty ones — the jinn and mankind — that لا تُدْرِکُهُ الْأَبْصارُ وَ هُوَ یُدْرِکُ الْأَبْصارَ. وَ لا یُحِیطُونَ بِهِ عِلْماً [Vision comprehends Him not, and He comprehends (all) vision; and they do not encompass Him in knowledge] (Ta-Ha/110), and لَیْسَ کَمِثْلِهِ شَیْءٌ [There is nothing like Him] (al-Shura/11)? Is this conveyor not Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)?" He said: "Yes." He said: "How can a man be sent to all people and inform them that he has come from Allah, and that he calls them from Allah to Allah by the command of Allah, and says: لا تُدْرِکُهُ الْأَبْصارُ وَ هُوَ یُدْرِکُ الْأَبْصارَ. وَ لا یُحِیطُونَ بِهِ عِلْماً [Vision comprehends Him not, and He comprehends (all) vision; and they do not encompass Him in knowledge] (Ta-Ha/110), and لَیْسَ کَمِثْلِهِ شَیْءٌ [There is nothing like Him] (al-Shura/11), and then say: 'I saw Him with my own eye, and my knowledge encompassed Him, and He is in the form of a human being'?! Have they no shame?! The heretics were not able to level this accusation against him — that he would bring something from Allah and then bring something else contrary to it in another manner." Abu Qurra said: "Allah the Blessed and Exalted says: 'And he saw Him another time' (al-Najm/13)." Imam Rida (peace be upon him) said: "What follows this verse indicates what he saw, where He says: 'The heart [of the pure one] did not lie about what he saw' (al-Najm/11). The heart of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) did not deny what his eye saw; then He informed of what he saw, saying: 'Indeed he saw some of the greatest signs of his Lord' (al-Najm/18). So the signs of Allah are other than Allah, and Allah said: 'But they do not encompass Him in knowledge' (Ta-Ha/110). So whenever eyes see Him, knowledge encompasses Him and recognition takes place." Abu Qurra said: "So do you deny the narrations?" Imam Rida (peace be upon him) said: "If the narrations are contrary to the Qur'an, I deny them (that is, the narrations); and what the Muslims are agreed upon is that knowledge cannot encompass Him, وَ لا تُدْرِکُهُ الْأَبْصارُ. وَ لَیْسَ کَمِثْلِهِ شَیْءٌ [and vision does not comprehend Him, and there is nothing like Him]."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): لا تُدْرِکُهُ الْأَبْصارُ [Vision comprehends Him not]; what is meant is that He does not fit within imagination. Do you not see His saying in another verse: قَدْ جاءَکُمْ بَصائِرُ مِنْ رَبِّکُمْ [Indeed insights have come to you from your Lord], where what is meant is not seeing with the eye. فَمَنْ أَبْصَرَ فَلِنَفْسِهِ [So whoever sees does so for himself]; what is meant is not seeing with the eye. مَنْ عَمِیَ فَعَلَیْها [And whoever is blind, it is against himself] — here too, blindness of the eye is not meant. Indeed, what is meant is the encompassing of imagination. Just as it is said: so-and-so is basir (perceptive) in poetry, and so-and-so is basir in fiqh, and so-and-so is basir in dirhams, and so-and-so is basir in garments. Allah is greater than that He should be seen with the eye.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Mufaddal narrates: Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: "... So I bear witness that there is no god but the One Allah, and He has no partner, and He is the Creator of deadly poisons and dangerous vermin and all plants and trees, and He is the One who planted them and made them grow... And He is the One who established these astronomical calculations and is aware of them, and He guides to the ill-omened and the auspicious and what influences the newborn. And His governance is one, without any discrepancy in it. And all that is between the heavens and the earth and what is in them is connected. So explain to me how you said: He is the First and the Last, the Knower of subtleties, the Aware, and other such attributes?" I said: "He is the First without any modality, and the Last without any end. There is no likeness for Him. He created the creatures and things from no thing and from no state, without contriving or toiling or thinking or employing any modality, just as He Himself has no modality. For in reality, modality itself is among His creatures, because He is the First who has no beginning, no likeness, no similitude, no opposite and no counterpart. He is not perceived by sight, not felt by touch, and He is not known except through His creation, and He is Blessed and Exalted."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Ya'qub al-Sarraj said: I said to Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): "Some of our companions imagine that Allah has a form like a human being, and another said that He is in the shape of a beardless youth with curly, tightly-curled hair!" The Imam (peace be upon him) fell down in prostration, then raised his head and said: "Glory be to Allah, whom nothing is like, and vision does not comprehend Him, and no knowledge encompasses Him. He did not beget, because a child resembles its father. And He was not begotten, that He should resemble one who was before Him. And no one from His creation has been or will be equal to Him. And He is exalted above the attribute of any other than Himself, a great exaltation."

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): Fath ibn Yazid al-Jurjani said: I met him (peace be upon him). ... [He said:] Indeed the Creator cannot be described except by that with which He has described Himself. And how can He be described whom the senses are incapable of perceiving, and imaginations cannot reach, and thoughts that arise from the heart have no power to set a limit for Him, and eyes are too dull to encompass Him. He is far greater than what the describers describe Him with, and more exalted than what the speakers say of Him in their speech. With the nearness He has, He is far; and with the farness He has, He is near. So His Honour is near in His farness, and far in His nearness. He brought into being the reality of quality and manner, and made quality itself — so it cannot be said that He has quality or manner. And He gave existence to 'thisness' and 'where' and 'whereabouts', and made 'thisness' — so it cannot be said that He has a place or is somewhere. For His Honour is the inventor and originator of quality-ness and thisness, which arose from 'how' and 'this'. O Fath! Every body is fed by a food that is its nourishment, except the Creator, the Sustainer! For indeed He made bodies to be bodies, and He Himself is neither body nor form. He has not been broken into pieces so as to have parts, and He has no end so as to reach a limit, and He does not increase nor decrease. And He is pure and free from the essence of that which He composed into the essence of that which He made into a body. And He is the Possessor of subtlety, the Aware, the Hearing, the Seeing, the One.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abdullah ibn Sinan said: Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Allah is Great and Exalted, the servants are unable to describe Him, and they do not reach the depth of His greatness. Vision does not comprehend Him, and He comprehends (all) vision, and He is the Subtle, the Aware. He is not described by 'how' or 'where' or 'wherein'; how shall I describe Him with a 'how' when it is He who gave 'how' its quality until 'how' came into being? So I recognised 'how' by the 'how' that He made known to us. Or how shall I describe Him with a 'where' when it is He who gave 'where' its whereness until 'where' came into being, and 'where' was recognised by the whereness He created for us? Or how shall I describe Him with 'wherein' when it is He who gave 'wherein' its whereinness until 'wherein' came into being, and 'wherein' was recognised through the whereinness He granted things for us? Allah the Blessed and Exalted is within every place and outside of every thing. Vision does not comprehend Him, and He comprehends (all) vision. There is no god worthy of worship except Him, the High, the Great, and He is the Subtle, the Aware.

Imam Husayn (peace be upon him): O people, beware of these deviants (mariqin) who have gone out of the religion and who liken the One Allah to themselves; their speech resembles the speech of those from the People of the Book who disbelieved. Rather He is the One Allah, nothing is like Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing. Vision does not comprehend Him and He comprehends (all) vision, and He is the Subtle (fine of perception, penetrating in insight) and the Aware [of the outward and the inward]. He has reserved oneness and dominion for Himself alone [no one but Him has any part in it], and has carried through His will over all that is to be.

Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him): Jabir ibn Yazid al-Ju'fi said: Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him) said: "Jabir! The affirmation of tawhid (divine oneness) and the knowledge of the ma'ani (meanings): as for the affirmation of tawhid, it is to know the eternal Allah, hidden from sights, whom sights do not comprehend, while He comprehends the sights, and He is the Knower of subtleties, the Aware. He is the unseen and the hidden, and you comprehend Him only in the way He has described Himself. As for the ma'ani, we are the ma'ani of Allah and His manifestations among you. He created us from the light of His essence and entrusted to us the affairs of His servants. With His permission, we do whatever we will. When we will, Allah wills; and when we intend, Allah intends. Allah has raised us to this station, chosen us from among His servants, and made us His proof upon the earth. Whoever denies any of this and rejects it has rejected Allah, whose name is exalted, and has disbelieved in His signs, His prophets (peace be upon them) and His messengers (peace be upon them). Jabir! Whoever knows Allah by this description has affirmed tawhid, because this description accords with the Noble Qur'an in this verse: لا تُدْرِکُهُ الْأَبْصارُ وَ هُوَ یُدْرِکُ الْأَبْصارَ لَیْسَ کَمِثْلِهِ شَیْءٌ وَ هُوَ السَّمِیعُ الْبَصِیرُ [Vision comprehends Him not, and He comprehends (all) vision; there is nothing like Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing], and this verse: 'No one can find fault with His work, but in their works there is room for question and objection.' (Anbiya/23)."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Praise is for the Allah other than whom there is no deity... He is the Hearing without an ear, the Seeing without an eye, the Powerful without any strength from His creation. The pupils of the beholders do not comprehend Him, and He does not fit into the hearing of the hearers [meaning, one cannot grasp His essence by hearing His attributes through the ear]. When He wills a thing, He has no need to consult, seek help or take information from another, and He does not ask anyone about anything He has willed concerning His creation, لا تُدْرِکُهُ الْأَبْصارُ وَ هُوَ یُدْرِکُ الْأَبْصارَ وَ هُوَ اللَّطِیفُ الخَبِیرُ [Vision comprehends Him not, and He comprehends (all) vision; and He is the Knower of subtleties, the Aware].

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Praise befits the Lord who has no partner or peer... وَ هُوَ یُدْرِکُ الْأَبْصارَ وَ هُوَ اللَّطِیفُ الخَبِیرُ [and He comprehends (all) vision; and He is the Knower of subtleties, the Aware]; no one grasps His description through sight, and no one comprehends Him, in secret or in the open, except by what Allah Himself guides one to.

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): Fath ibn Yazid al-Jurjani said: I heard the Imam (peace be upon him) say: The "lutf" (subtlety) of Allah is different from the "lutf" of creatures, because there is a distinction between the Creator and the creation ... but I would like you to explain this for me. The Imam said: "O Fath! We say al-Latif because in creating He shows subtlety and delicacy, and He is aware of small and delicate things. Do you not see the trace of His workmanship in delicate and non-delicate plants? Have you not seen the trace of His creation in the delicate and precise formation of small animals like the mosquito and the tiny gnat, and what is smaller than that which the eye can barely perceive — indeed, due to its extreme minuteness, its male cannot be distinguished from its female, nor its young from its adult? When we see how small they are along with their delicacy, when we observe their familiarity with their own particular manner of mating, and their fleeing from death, and their gathering of what they need from the depths of the seas, the bark of trees, and the expanses of plains and deserts; when we reflect on how they speak, how they understand each other's speech, how the young understand the words of the elders, and how parents bring food to their young; and likewise when we observe the blending of their colours — red with yellow, white with green — and also that whose whole body our eyes can barely see, and that which neither the eye can see nor the hand can touch — we understand that the Creator of these creatures is subtle and precise, and that He carried out the creation and formation of what has been described with precision and delicacy, without any means, instrument or tool. For every maker fashions his creation out of some other thing, but Allah — the Subtle, the Precise, the Majestic — created His creatures not from anything, but rather brought beings into existence from nothing and non-existence."

Imam al-Rida (peace be upon him): As for the word al-Latif, it does not mean smallness, littleness or thinness; rather it means "penetration into things" and "not being grasped," as in the expression: "such-and-such a matter was hidden (latufa) from me," and "so-and-so is subtle (latif) in his method and speech" — meaning that he has an intricate method and speech which astonishes the intellect and is beyond reach, being very deep and subtle, so that thought and reflection cannot attain him. Likewise Allah is more precise and more intricate than to be grasped by any limit or description, or to be described by any attribute. But "subtlety" in our case, as human beings, means smallness and littleness — so again we share the name, but its meaning and sense differ.

Imam al-Rida (peace be upon him): As for al-Khabir, He is the one from whom nothing is hidden and nothing escapes — but not through experience and trial, in the sense that trial should teach Him something such that, without this experience and trial, He would know nothing; for one who is like that is ignorant [not knowing and aware]. And Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, has from eternity been Knower and Aware of whatever He wills to create. But among people, one is called khabir who is ignorant and then sets out to learn and gain awareness. In this too, our name and Allah's name are shared, but its meaning differs.