He -asws said: ‘Listen attentively, and make it reach to wherever your ride takes you, that Amir-ul-Momineen -asws preached to the People at Al-Medina, seven days after the passing away of the Messenger -saww of Allah -azwj , and that was when he -asws was free from collecting the Quran and compiling it.
فَقَالَ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي مَنَعَ الْأَوْهَامَ أَنْ تَنَالَ إِلَّا وُجُودَهُ وَ حَجَبَ الْعُقُولَ أَنْ تَتَخَيَّلَ ذَاتَهُ لِامْتِنَاعِهَا مِنَ الشَّبَهِ وَ التَّشَاكُلِ بَلْ هُوَ الَّذِي لَا يَتَفَاوَتُ فِي ذَاتِهِ وَ لَا يَتَبَعَّضُ بِتَجْزِئَةِ الْعَدَدِ فِي كَمَالِهِ فَارَقَ الْأَشْيَاءَ لَا عَلَى اخْتِلَافِ الْأَمَاكِنِ وَ يَكُونُ فِيهَا لَا عَلَى وَجْهِ الْمُمُازَجَةِ وَ عَلِمَهَا لَا بِأَدَاةٍ لَا يَكُونُ الْعِلْمُ إِلَّا بِهَا وَ لَيْسَ بَيْنَهُ وَ بَيْنَ مَعْلُومِهِ عِلْمُ غَيْرِهِ بِهِ كَانَ عَالِماً بِمَعْلُومِهِ He -asws said: ‘Praise be to Allah -azwj Who has Prevented the imaginations to grasp Him -azwj except for His -azwj Existence, and Veiled the intellects to think about His -azwj Essence due to the restrictions of Him -azwj having no similarities or images.
But He -azwj is the One in Whose Essence there are not differences nor any division into a number of parts due to the Perfection. He -azwj is separate from the things, not due to being in a different place, and He -azwj is in things, not being mixed within them, and He -azwj Knows these, not by the use of tools. And He -azwj is not Knowledgeable except by it, and there is nothing between Him -azwj and His -azwj Knowledge, any other knowledge. He -azwj is the Knowledgeable by Himself -azwj .
إِنْ قِيلَ كَانَ فَعَلَى تَأْوِيلِ أَزَلِيَّةِ الْوُجُودِ وَ إِنْ قِيلَ لَمْ يَزَلْ فَعَلَى تَأْوِيلِ نَفْيِ الْعَدَمِ فَسُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى عَنْ قَوْلِ مَنْ عَبَدَ سِوَاهُ وَ اتَّخَذَ إِلَهاً غَيْرَهُ عُلُوّاً كَبِيراً نَحْمَدُهُ بِالْحَمْدِ الَّذِي ارْتَضَاهُ مِنْ خَلْقِهِ وَ أَوْجَبَ قَبُولَهُ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ If it is said that He -azwj was, it would be interpreted as the eternal existence, and if it is said that He -azwj will never cease (to exist), it would be interpreted as the negation of the non-existence.
He -azwj is Glorious, and higher than the words of those who worship other than Him -azwj and have taken a god other than Him -azwj . He -azwj is Higher and Greater. We -asws Praise Him -azwj with a Praise of those of His -azwj creatures who has Pleased Him -azwj , and He -azwj has Made it to be more than Obligatory upon Himself -azwj to Accept it.