Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

Principles of the Shī'īte Creed

Author: Ayatullah Ibrahim Amini

Translator: Ali Reza'i

Publisher: ABWA Publishing and Printing Center

www.alhassanain.org/english

Principles of the Shī'īte Creed

Author: Ayatullah Ibrahim Amini

Translator: Ali Reza'i

Project supervisor: Translation Unit, Cultural AffairsDepartment / The Ahl al-Bayt (‘a) World Assembly (ABWA)

Editor: Larry Ant Allen

Publisher: ABWA Publishing and Printing Center

First Printing: 2008

ISBN: 978-964-529-391-6

Notice:

This workis published on behalf of www.alhassanain.org/english

The typing errors are n’t corrected.

Table of Contents

Preface 6

Foreword 8

Lesson one: Imitation is not accurate in appreciating the primary principles 9

Imitation in the secondary principles of the religion 9

Lesson two: The belief in the existence of God is inherent 10

Lesson three: The harmony of the world is the best testimony to the existence of God 12

Lesson four: Order in the faculty of thought 14

The life of ants 14

Lesson five: God’s traits 16

God is wise, capable and living 16

God is All-Hearing and All-Seeing 17

Lesson six: God is one and has no partner 18

The first argument 18

The second reason for the unity of God 19

Lesson seven: Defective qualities 20

a. God is not material 20

b. God is not compounded 20

c. God could not be seen with eyes 20

d. God does not need anything in any way 20

Lesson eight: God is Just 21

Lesson nine: the prophetic mission 22

The necessity of the appointments of prophets 22

Man is social 22

Lesson ten: Prophets must be infallible 24

Prophets must perform miracles 24

Lesson eleven:The last prophet 25

The Qur’ān, the immortal miracle 25

Lesson twelve: Leadership of Imāms 28

Lesson thirteen: Imām’s traits 30

Who has been appointed as the successor of the Prophet? 30

1. The prophetic mission and the leadership of Imāms are continuous 30

The Ḥadīth of Ghadīr 31

Ḥadīth al-Thaqalayn 31

The Ḥadīth of Jābir 31

Lesson fourteen: The Resurrection 33

The relationship between the divine justice and wisdom and the Resurrection 33

Lesson fifteen: The second reason to establish the Resurrection 35

The Resurrection is corporeal 35

The implications of the faith in the Resurrection 35

Lesson sixteen: The first infallible figure, the great prophet 37

The great Prophet’s conduct 37

Lesson seventeen: the second infallible figure, Imām ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭalib (‘a) 39

‘Alī’s will 39

Lesson eighteen: the third infallible, FāṬimah al-Zahrā, the daughter of the prophet 41

Lesson nineteen: the second Imām and the fourth infallible figure, Imām Ḥasan (‘a) 42

Imām Ḥasan’s peace agreement 42

The text of the peace agreement 44

Lesson twenty: the third Imām and the fifth infallible figure, Imām Ḥusayn (‘a) 45

Excerpts from Imām Ḥusayn’s supplications 46

Lesson twenty one: the fourth Imām and the sixth infallible figure, Imām AL-Sajjād(‘a) 47

Lesson twenty two: the fifth Imām and the seventh infallible figure, Imām al-Bāqir (‘a) 48

Lesson twenty three: the sixth Imām and the eighth infallible figure, Imām al-Sādiq (‘a) 49

His advice on deathbed 49

Lesson twenty four: the seventh Imām and the ninth infallible figure, Imām al-KāẒim (‘a) 50

Some remarks by the Imām 50

Lesson twenty five: the eighth Imām and the tenth infallible figure, Imām RiḌā (‘a) 51

Some remarks by the Imām 51

Lesson twenty six: the ninth Imām and the eleventh infallible figure, Imām Jawād (‘a) 52

Some remarks by the Imām 52

Lesson twenty seven: the tenth Imām and the twelfth infallible figure, Imām Hādī (‘a) 53

Some remarks by the Imām 53

Lesson twenty eight: the eleventh Imām and the thirteenth infallible figure. Imām Ḥasan ‘Askarī (‘a) 54

Some remarks by the Imām 54

Lesson twenty nine: the twelfth Imām and the fourteenth infallible figure, The promised Mahdī, the Imām of the age (‘a) 56

Peoples’ duties during the occultation 57

Is it possible that someone might live over 1000 years? 57

Lesson thirty: the rule of jurists during the occultation 59

Notes 61

Preface

In the Name of Allah, the All-beneficent, the All-merciful

The precious legacy left behind by the Holy Prophet’s Household [ahl al-bayt] (may peace be upon them all) and their followers’ preservation of this legacy from the menace of extinction is a perfect example of an all-encompassing school [maktab], which embraces the different branches of Islamic knowledge. This school has been able to train many talented personalities by quenching them with this gushing fountain. This school has presented scholars to the Muslim ummah who, by following the Holy Prophet’s Household (‘a), have occupied the station of clarifying doubts and skepticisms brought forth by various creeds and intellectual currents both inside and outside Muslim society. Throughout the past centuries, they have presented the firmest answers and solutions to these doubts.

Anchored in the responsibilities it is shouldering, the Ahl al-Bayt (‘a) World Assembly has embarked upon defending the sanctity of risālah [messengership] and its authentic beliefs—truths which have always been opposed by the chiefs and leaders of anti-Islamic sects, religions and trends. In this sacred path, the Assembly regards itself as a follower of the upright pupils of the school of the Ahl al-Bayt (‘a)—those who have always been ready to refute those accusations and calumnies and have tried to be always in the frontline of this struggle on the basis of the expediencies of time and space.

The experiences in this field, whichhave been preserved in the books of scholars belonging to the school of the Ahl al-Bayt (‘a), are unique in their own right. It is because these experiences have been based upon knowledge [‘ilm] and the preeminence of the intellect and reasoning, and at the same time, they are completely devoid of blind prejudice,whim and caprice. These experiences address experts,scholars and thinkers in a manner that is acceptable to a healthy mind and the pure human natural disposition [fiṭrah].

In a bid to assist those who are in quest of truth, the Ahl al-Bayt (‘a) World Assembly has endeavored to enter a new phase of these worthy experiences within the framework of research and translating the works of contemporary Shī‘ah writers or those who, through divine guidance, have embraced this noble school.

The Assembly is also engaged in the study and publication of the valuable works of pious predecessors and outstanding Shī‘ah personalities so that those who are thirsty for the truth could quench their thirst from this refreshing fountain by listening and embracing this truth, which the Holy Prophet’s Household (‘a) has offered as a gift to the entire world.

It is hoped that our dear readers would not deprive the Ahl al-Bayt (‘a) World Assembly of their valuable opinions,suggestions and constructive criticisms in this arena.

We also invite scholars, translators and other institutions to assist us in propagating the pure Muhammadan (ṣ) Islam.

We ask God, the Exalted, to accept this trivial effort and enhance it further under the auspices of His vicegerent on earth, Hadrat al-Mahdī (may Allah, the Exalted, expedite his glorious advent).

It is appropriate here to express our utmost gratitude to Ayatollah Shaykh Ibrahim Amini for writing thebook, and to Mr. Ali Reza'i for translating it, as well as to all our honorable colleagues in accomplishing this task especially the dear ones in the Translation Office for undertaking this responsibility. ?

Cultural Affairs Department

The Ahl al-Bayt (‘a) World Assembly

Foreword

Our actions and our conduct are the results of our beliefs. A faithful person, believing in God and the Day of Resurrection, leads a completely different life from that of a non-believer.A set of moral and human virtues constitute the foundations of the believer’s life, because he considers death as the opening to another world and believes that death is not tantamount to dissolution of his life and therefore in the hope of reward or out of fear of the Judgment Day, avoids wrongdoing and evil deeds, volunteers for useful activities, whereas a non-believer’s situation is at the opposite end of the pole.

Therefore, those who seek felicity and prosperity for their society should promote faith among individuals because an individual’s felicity is not separate from that of the society.

About twenty years ago, a group of Iranian expatriates asked the honorable jurisprudent Āyatullāh Subḥānī to compile a brief and concise article about the primary principles of the Islamic beliefs to familiarize themselves and their acquaintances with them.

He composed anarticle which was subsequently sent and welcomed by them and later on it was translated and published in other languages. After a while, a number of friends noted that if a compelling but simple book on the primary principles of the religionwas published , it would prove useful to religious gatherings and high schools.

To achieve this objective, the honorable master called onme to compile a book by supplementing that article. In obedience to his request, all the sections of that articlewere rewritten elaborately and extensively, and the book was published. From then onward, tens of thousands of copies of the bookhave been published by Dār al-Fikr publications and have been utilized across the country.

Recently, having decided to reprint the book, the publications has made slight corrections thatis hoped to render it more useful.

Qum Seminary.

Reza Ostadi

Lesson one: Imitation is not accurate in appreciating the primary principles

The primary principles of the religion are a series of beliefs (unity, justice, the prophetic mission, the leadership of Imāms, and the Resurrection) which constitute the foundations of the faith. Since there have been various beliefs that have prevailed in the human communities, or in other words, each group has propagated its own peculiar set of beliefs, therefore it is incumbent upon everyone to identify the primary principles of their faith through reasoning, so they could withstand the toxic propaganda of their prejudiced opponents and not be diverted everyday.

Of course when it is said that everyone should learn the primary principles of his faith through reasoning it does not mean that each person should engage in a prolonged study of religion and should extensively study philosophical and argumentative books but he should do so to the extent that he could know the foundations of his faith with solid but simple reasons. It is helpful to recall the story of an old woman busy spinning, whowas asked ,

“What reasons do you have to establish the existence of God?”

She stopped working immediately and as the wheel came to a standstill, said,

“While such a little wheel needs a person to spin it, how could one say that the immense world with all the awe-inspiring heavenly bodies that revolve, have spun on their own or without an operator?”

Imitation in the secondary principles of the religion

Having learned the foundations of his faith through reflection and sound reasoning, one can imitate a qualified jurisprudent who is an expert in deducing divine edictsfrom its sources in the secondary principles such as questions about prayers, fasting, Ḥajj pilgrimage, and transactions and so on and so forth. Here imitation signifies consulting the experts.Just as in our lives, when we don’t know anything well, we seek experts in those areas, for instance, when we fall ill, we see a doctor or when we want to build a house, we seek an architect, similarly, in the secondary principles and beliefs and divine commands, if the person is not an expert, that is, a jurisprudent, he should consult a qualified jurisprudent and follow his opinions and insights.

Lessontwo : The belief in the existence of God is inherent

Having ended the childhood and attained a discrimination between good and evil, if one consults his conscience, he will realize that he inherently loves virtues such as honesty, justness, and sympathy, that is, he appreciates the goodness of these traits and for this recognition he does not need any instruction or book, and if he is asked,

“How did you understand that honesty is a virtue?”

He would reply, “I did not learn this through reasoning but the recognition of its goodness is mingled with my conscience and nature.”

The belief in the existence of God (the Creator of the universe and its inhabitants) rests parallel to such inherent beliefs and to obtainthis belief one does not need to be instructed or educated, but rather by consulting his nature and conscience, he will realize that this universe possesses an Omniscient and Omnipotent Creator.

Therefore, when we look back on thepast history of mankind, we see that the belief in the existence of God has existed through all the previous eras even among people who lived in a savage manner and were not acquainted with culture and education. Of course, they occasionally erred in identifying God and assumed thatsun or some stars or some earthly creatures are the creator of the universe but they never did without a principal belief in the existence of God.

Having clarified the meaning of an inherent belief in the existence of God, we should bear in mind one point:

At times, inherent thingsare neglected due to certain causes. Just as a light covered by a thickcloth which will stop illuminating, the God-knowing nature is occasionally covered by thick curtains of negligence, scientific conceit or over-indulgence in instinctive and impulsive desires. In this case, it is as if therewere no such faith (in the existence of God) in one’s nature.But when these curtains are removed, one will automatically return to God.

Those who have deviated from the authentically innate belief in God as a result of wrongdoing and indulgence in instinctual desires will return to God and seek His help whenever they confront danger and feel that they can’t escape the threat by seeking ordinary means, for example, when they are faced with the threat of a plane crash or a car accident and so on. It demonstrates that at these moments, their God-knowing nature correctly manifests itself.

The sixth infallible Imām has concisely raised this point. Someone asked him to direct him toward the Creator of the universe (state reasons for His existence), the revered Imām replied thus,

“Have you ever been aboard a ship?”

“Yes.”

“Has it ever happened that you have had a shipwreck and there was no other ship to rescue you and you didn’t know how to reach safety? (You could not rescue yourself through ordinary means).

“Yes.”

“When you were desperately hopeless, did not you turn, deep in your soul, to one that would be able to save you?”

“Yes, I felt that there is a power which can save me.”

Imām al-Ṣadiq (‘a) observed, “The power toward whom you turned is God.” [1]

This demonstrates that the power toward which the stricken people turn, intentionally or otherwise, and the same power to which one returns after removing the curtains of haughtiness, egoism, reliance on other people and dependence on superficial means, is the Creator of the universe who can fulfill needs and rescue the afflicted.

Lesson three:The harmony of the world is the best testimony to the existence of God

If you consider a watch or a sewing machine or a refrigerator, a motorcycle, a car or an airplane, you will discover a peculiar order in each of them. Do you think it is probable that these precise and neat systems could have arisen on their own and without the involvement of scientists and thinkers?

If you don’t regard this logical that the engine of an airplane with its awesome order and sophistication could have come on its own, then how about the amazing systems operating throughout the worldwhose every corner is thousand times as exact and precise as the engine of a plane or car. Howwas it created ?

Whatis the source of the astonishing order and the hidden secrets of the creatures of the world that are so mysterious that they have bewildered the thinkers?

With a little reflection, man’s wisdom and reason will conclude that an Omniscient and Omnipotent Creator has created this orderly world and its manifold creatures.

To appreciate the existence of order in the universe, it suffices to take one part of your body, for instance, your eyes into consideration.

This tiny system, that is, the eye is so precise and sophisticated that even the expert ophthalmologists who have spent years in studying it,are eventually forced to acknowledge their inability to solve all its secrets.

Can any reasonable individual consider it possible that eyes with their astonishing features and their precise structure could have come into existence on their own? The respiratory and digestive systems and other parts of the human body that are created according to special principles and rules do testify to the existence of a wise and capable Creator who has based all these on certain calculations and measurements.

Apart from man and his body, take a seed of wheat or a kernel ofalmond which emerge from the soil and turn into an ear of wheat or a fruitful tree. Since the seed is planted in theearth and penetrated the soil and emerges from the ground to grow into a shrub or a tree, what extensive and precise systems should be at work until that seed of wheat or that kernel of almond has completed it process. In fact, all these vast and amazing systems like the yearly seasons, days and nights and so on should cooperate like kind nurses so that a shrub or a tree flourishes and we could use their fruits.

Are not the almond tree and the shrub of wheat sufficient evidence to establish the existence of God and His Omnipotence and His Wisdom and Will?Could it be claimed that this order has arisen on its own?

Does man’s reason let him think that sun, moon, stars, seasons, days and nights, and so on, have emerged on their own and does not have any creator? Mufaḍḍal (one of Imām aṣ-Ṣādiq’s disciples) told him, “When we explain the order of the universe, some materialists who are dubious about the existence of God or deny it, say, ‘all these have been created by nature.’”

Imām al-Ṣādiq (‘a) observed,

“If by nature, they mean something that has wisdom, capability and will and freedom, it’s the same as God. They have given it the wrong name (because they have called God, the nature). If by nature, they mean something that does not have power and wisdom, this is out of the question, because it is not possible that such a neat and wonderful world could have been created by a blind and deaf and senseless nature.” [2]

In short, given the conclusions of reason and reflection, the universe possesses a wise and capable Creator who is “God” and it is impossible that an ignorant and senseless nature could have created such a precise system.

Lesson four: Order in the faculty of thought

Again we return to the question of the creation of man. A person by himself is an immense world. Each part of his body attests to the boundless wisdom and capability of its Creator.And as the human knowledge is expanded and more secrets of the creation are disclosed, the existence of a powerful and wise Creator gets more obvious.

As we can see, a light from the Unseenis placed in everyone’s nature, which guides him toward virtues, and felicity. This shining light is the faculty of thought.

Every new invention is the fruit of this power of “thought.” All the books, libraries, and scientific majors have emerged due to the tremendous power of “thought.”And this is the power of thought and reflection that guides us toward felicity and prosperity, when we are faced with dilemmas. Who has endowed human beings with such a useful and wonderful power?

Could it be supposed that anyone but a wise Creator has bestowed such a great asset upon human beings? In the human body, a delicate, small, and precisesystem which weighs very little and has a delicate substance is placed. This systemis called “brain,” or the nervous center one of whose miraculous wonders is that it works completely on its own.

Human made calculators operate according to directions. They work as theyare directed .But this automatic machine (brain or the nervous center) is just the opposite of these machines. Not only no direction is necessary,but it issues commands to the body and directs it.

The body itself is a machine that transforms substance into energy, but it is utterly different from human-made machines with similar function. Because such machines could only change special things into energy but the human body draws its raw materials from nature and transforms them into a variety of energies. Human bodyis endowed with automatic and advanced labs and drug companies in the form of “glands” each one of which is in charge of producing a certain substance, which performs a special duty of the different vital functions of the body.

Does not the existence of such orderly and exact machine testify to the creation of man by a wise and capable Creator?

The life of ants

Let’s abandon man to take a look at the life of ant, this mysterious insect whose whole life teaches us the knowledge of God and His unity.

These tiny insects have founded their lives upon distribution of efforts, and close cooperation and perform tasks through understanding and contribution to one another. All of us have observed this close cooperation when they build a house or carry a burden.

This insect knows instinctively and through its God-given intelligence, without going to college or majoring in agriculture, that in order to prevent the decay of seeds, they should be divided in two and actually does this. If it notices that the seed is damp, it will take out the wet seed to expose it to sunlight and dry it. Furthermore, it constructs its house at a high altitude to keep it frombeing immersed in water.

Could it be said that it performs such amazing things without guidance from a higher authority? Who is the instructor of this little insect? From where it has learned such important lessons, and has founded its life upon them, that human could not have acquired unless they studied or learned through experience?[ 3]

Remarks by Imām aṣ-Ṣādiq (‘a),

Abū Shākir Deisan, who was one of the materialists, called on the revered Imām, “Prove the existence of God for me!” he said.

As he posed this question, a boy was playing with an egg nearby. The revered Imām took the egg from the boy and turned to Abū Shākir and said,

“Do you see this egg? It has afortress which is strong and firm. Inside this fortress, and beneath its walls, rests a thin layer and there are melted gold and silver inside it (the yellow and white fluids of the egg).But these two parts are never mixed [could it be said that these two parts with this special quality could have come into being on their own?].

“Abū Shākir, no one knows whether the chicken that is hatched from this egg, will be male or female.And when the chicken emerges from the egg, it has beautiful colors. (For example, consider the colorful feathers of the peacock. What power has so beautifully painted the chicken?). Is painting a chicken or a peacock less important that painting a picture?Could it be ever said that these paintings have painters but these natural colorings have arisen by themselves?

Then, he said to Abū Shākir, “Don’t you agree that this egg and the chicken that is going to emerge from it with its attributes must have a thoughtful and wise Creator?”

Abū Shākir thought for a while as if he had been asleep and were suddenly awakened, and then he said, “Yes, I testify that the universe has a creator called “Allah” who possesses all the great qualities and testify that Muḥammad is God’s servant and His prophet and you are the Prophet’s successor and God’s proof on earth, obedience to whom is obligatory.” [4]

Yes, any creature of this world, any atom or cell from the animate cells of creatures, testify to the existence of its Maker and Creator.

Lesson five: God’s traits

Any quality that bestows dignity and grandeur to its owner and eliminates deficiency or shortcoming from himis called a great quality. For instance, take knowledge andenlightenment which remove ignorance from its owner and wipe out this shortcoming in him. Similarly, someone who is not strong and powerful is incomplete and the quality of strength or power will eliminate his defects. The Creator of the world possesses all the great qualities and is free from shortcomings and defects. Because God is the one that fulfills the needs of the world and bestows all the blessings and benefits, therefore He should possess all the great qualities. Itcould never be assumed that one who does not possess a great quality could bestow it upon someone else. For instance, an illiterate personcan not do away with another’s illiteracy. Now, read this argument in a more extended way.

God is wise,capable and living

We could appreciate God’s qualities by examining the creatures He has created. Because the vast universe whose every part has been created with precision and order and whose every creature has been fashioned with special features and certain calculations, is the strongest evidence thatits Creator possesses knowledge, competence and power. The astonishing order of the universe (some of instanceswere studied in the preceding lessons) attests to the fact that its Creator is aware of every creature’s secrets as well as the causes of their survival or destruction.

Every creaturehas been created with all-out knowledge and perfect deliberation. Having realized the qualities of knowledge and power in God, we can appreciate another quality of His, that is, life or the quality of being alive, because knowledge and power presuppose life. Any one who enjoys knowledge and power must be alive.

God, the Exalted, has adorned Himself with every great quality (including knowledge,power and life) in His scripture [Koran]. Furthermore, He has introduced Himself as free from and innocent of any blemish or shortcoming.

“God is aware of everything.” [5]

“Indeed, God has power over everything.” [6]

“He (God) is alive, and there is no god save Him.” [7]

Of course, as it was stated earlier, the universe with all its wonders and riddles clearly proves the knowledge,competence and life of its Creator.But the state of these qualities is not clear to us, because our thought and wisdom are limited and can not have access to the true essence of the qualities of God. Indeed, no thought, however, high it might soar, can fly over this tall and boundless summit, and wecan not and are not obliged to appreciate the true nature of God and His qualities. The only thing we are capable of and obliged to do is to believe in the “existence” of God and His qualities by carefully examining the world and the traces of the divine grandeur.But the true nature of God and His qualities has never been known and will never be!And we should never imagine that because as our religious leaders have observed, “Anything that we might imagine, that is not God but the figment of our imagination, and it will return to ourselves.”

God isAll-Hearing and All-Seeing

“Samī’ and Baṣīr” are equivalents of capable of hearing and seeing. It means that He is aware of the things thatcould be seen or heard, just as He is aware of the creatures and all of them are present before Him . Of course, humans see and hear by means of eyes and ears, but when it is said that God isAll-hearing and All-seeing it does not mean that he has eyes and ears.But it means that God, the Exalted, is cognizant of all that could be seen or heard and everything is manifest before Him and it is evident that His awareness of all these does not necessitate eyes or ears.

Regarding this, Imām aṣ-Ṣādiq (‘a) has said, “When it is said that God is All-hearing and All-seeing, it does not mean that He, like us, has eyes and ears but He can see without eyes and hear without ears.” [8]

Now you might ask, why should God beAll-hearing and All-seeing? The answer to this question is very simple, because as we earlier noted God enjoys limitless knowledge and is aware of “everything.”And this knowledge and awareness presuppose cognizance of anything that could be seen or heard.

Therefore, to establish these two qualities (All-hearing and All-seeing) we don’t need two distinct set of reasons. Furthermore, as was noted earlier, the Creator should possess the greatqualities and be free from any shortcoming and seeing and hearing, in the sense that was explained are great qualities whose absence would accordingly constitute an imperfection.

Lesson six: God is one and has no partner

The unity of God could be established in manifold manners but in thislesson we will present two of them.

The first argument

The solidarity and coordination of the universe by itself is a strong evidence of God’s unity. Imagine that there is a five-hundred-page book beforeyou which you have not yet read.As yet you don’t know whether it is the work of the mind and pen of one author or each section of the book has been written by one separate writer. To establish this, you will have to read the entire book. If you realize that the spirit of the contents, the style of the arguments and organization of the sentences are unified and harmonious, you will definitely conclude thatthe whole book is written by one writer , because if it were co-authored by two or more authors, you would have come up with a difference. No matter how subtle, hidden, and insignificant that difference is, so that it won’t be discovered bylaymen , it won’t evade the scrutiny of experts who will figure out that the book is not the work of one person.

Given this introduction, we begin studying theuniverse which has been called “God’s book” by some scientists. We will consult the experts of every science pertinent to the world to see whether all the pages of this magnificent book of creation are unified and harmonious or not. If it so, it will be the strongest testimony to the unity of its Creator.In fact, when we pose this question to the scientists of these disciplines, they reaffirm the unified order that is prevalent throughout the world and they contend that this world is founded upon a unified plan and its rules are so encompassing, comprehensive and harmonious that an experiment with a single creature would reveal a general rule that is valid everywhere. All scientists, including biologists, physicists, and astronomers attest to the existence of this harmony and coordination.

Could harmony and similarity be more obvious than this that the solar system and other gigantic systems are subject to the same rule to which the tiny atom is subject. As we all know, the revolution of the big planets around their orbits results from two forces, viz. “gravity” and “centrifuge.” Atoms, hundreds of millions of whichdon’t take up more than a millimeter, also have these two forces of “gravity” and “centrifuge.”As a result of these forces, “electrons” revolve around “protons.”

If you look at the world of plants, animals and humans, you will come across the same harmony. The general rule of reproduction among plant,animals and humans is so similar to one another that it has led some to conclude that “All species, in principle, spring from one specimen.” Could not you figure out thatexcerpts from different speeches extracted from a number of recordings have been delivered by one person ? You could establish the fact that by means of investigating the coherence, cohesion, the similarity of style and structures.

The world is like a book composed of many pages, whose every page and linehas been examined and studied by thousands of scientists . All unanimously concur that the entire length of the book is subject to series of general rules. For instance, the rule of causality is valid everywhere or the rule of gravity could be applied to the entire world of substance. All atoms have a center and the rule of light is the same everywhere.

Does not the harmony and coordination observed in the book of creation attest to the unity of its Creator? Do not you think it likely that if the world had two or more creators, it would result in diversity and discordance in the management and maintenance of the world?

Hishām, one of the youngest and most outstanding disciples of Imāmaṣ- Ṣādiq (‘a) asked him, “What is the reason for the unity of God?”

The revered Imām summarized the above-mentioned argument in a concise sentence, “The continuity and coordination of the world (that are inextricably linked to one another) and the integrity and perfection of the creatures testify to the unity of the Creator.” [9]

The second reason for the unity of God

The second reason for the unity of God is the fact that all the prophets sent to guide people who proved their authenticity with miracles and innumerable signs, encouraged people to worship the Only God and practice monotheism without any exception. Itgoes without saying that if there were more than one god, the prophets would not invite people to practice monotheism but would direct people to the gods by whom they were appointed.And it is quite baseless to argue that there might be gods who have not sent any prophets to guide their creatures. How is it probable that God could have been so indifferent to his most superior creature (man) and neglect to send any leader or guide to lead him towardprosperity.

The Commander of the Faithful in a letter to Imām Ḥasan (‘a) has raised the same point. “O dear son! Know that if there were any god except the Only God, it must have sent prophets.And the fact that all the prophets invite us to worship the Only God, strongly testifies to the fact that there is no god except the Only God. Besides, if God had any partner, the traces of his divine dominion and rule would be evident, when no such vestige could be traced, we are reassured that God has no partner.” [10]