It is as though he has not heard the (wrongful) followers...

It is as though he has not heard the (wrongful) followers disclaiming their false gods by saying, ‘By Allah, we had indeed been in manifest error, when we equated you with the Lord of all the worlds!” [^3] “They are wrong who liken Thee to their idols, and dress Thee with the apparel of the creatures with their imagination, attribute to Thee parts of body of their own thinking and consider Thee after the creatures of various types, through the working of their intelligence.

I stand witness that whoever equated Thee with anything out of Thy creation took a match for Thee, and whoever takes a match for Thee is an unbeliever, according to what is stated in Thy unambiguous verses and indicated by the evidence of Thy clear arguments.

(I also stand witness that) Thou art that Allah who cannot be confined in (the fetters of) intelligence so as to admit change of condition by entering its imagination nor in the shackles of mind so as to become limited and an object of alterations.”[^4] In this sermon, Imām ‘Alī ( ‘a ) has clearly explained that on account of not having correct knowledge, idolaters used to conceive Allah as created things and their deficient intellects used to imagine that he had limbs and body parts.

In the paragraph preceding the above quoted one, Imām ‘Alī ( ‘a ) has stated: “…Then look on questioner, be confined to those of His attributes which the Qur’an has described and seek light from the effulgence of its guidance. Leave to Allah that knowledge which Satan has prompted you to seek and which neither the Qur’an enjoins you to seek nor is there any trace of it in the actions or sayings of the Noble Prophet (s) and other Imāms of Guidance.

This is the extreme limit of Allah’s claim upon you. Know that firm in knowledge are those who refrain from opening the curtains that lie against the unknown, and their acknowledgement of ignorance about the details of the hidden unknown prevents them from further probe. Allah praises them for their admission that they are unable to get knowledge not allowed to them. They do not go deep into discussion of what is not enjoined upon them about knowing Him and they call it firmness.

Be content with this and do not limit the greatness of Allah after the measure of your own intelligence, or else you will be among the destroyed ones.