O Hisham...

O Hisham, did you fully grasp the point so you can defend your belief and contest successfully against our opponents, who, along with Allah, the Exalted, the Great, except things other than Him?" Hisham replied, "Yes, I did understand." The Imam said, "O Hisham, may Allah benefit you thereby and grant you steadfastness." Hisham (the narrator) says, "I swear by Allah, no one has ever defeated me on the issue of the Oneness of Allah until now." H 311, Ch.

16, h 3 A group of our people has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad from al-Barqi from al- Qasim ibn Yahya from his grandfather al-Hassan ibn Rashid from abul Hassan Musa ibn Ja'far (a.s.), who was questioned about the meaning of the word Allah. The Imam replied, "He (Allah) dominates all things small or big." H 312, Ch. , h Ali ibn Muhammad has narrated from Sahl ibn Ziyad from Ya'qub ibn Yazid from al-'Abbass ibn Hilal who has said the following.

"I asked Imam al-Rida (a.s.), about the words of Allah, 'Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth'" (24:35). The Imam replied, "Allah is the Guide for all that is in the heavens and the Guide for all that is on the earth." According to another Hadith narrated by al-Barqi,(the Imam said), "Allah has guided everyone in the heavens and every one on the earth." H 313, Ch.

16, h 4 Ahmad ibn Idris has narrated from Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Jabbar from Safwan ibn Yahya from Fudayl ibn 'Uthman from ibn abu Ya'fur who has said the following.

"I asked abu 'Abdallah (a.s.), about the words of Allah, The Majestic, the Glorious, 'He (Allah) is the first and the last.' (57:3) We have understood His being the first but explain for us the meaning of His being the last." The Imam said, "There is nothing in the universe, but that is subject to annihilation, alteration, change, decay, transition from one color to another, from one shape to another and from one quality to another.

They increase, decrease and change from decrease to increase, except He, Who is the Lord of the worlds. He alone is eternal and in one state. He is the first, before every thing and the last eternally. His attributes and names do not change as they do in the case of others. A man at one time is dust, at other time flesh and blood, then turns into decaying bones and finally becomes dust. A piece of date at one time is raw, at another time ripe, mature and then it dries up.

With every change, the names and attributes also change.