Ali's concept of God

In his various sermons, conspicuous for the debt of learning, Ali has emphasized on the various attributes of God in a most masterly way. Extracts from some of his sermons are given: "All praise is due to the creator of the world whose wisdom is hidden. The various subjects of nature openly confirm his existence. He is not surpassed in strength and superiority. He is the nearest to us. No one can be nearer to us than He. His distance height has not segregated Him from His creation, and His nearness has not established His equality with His creation. He is that sublime and matchless Being in comprehending when the intellect cannot reach the bottom of His attributes, yet nothing prevents a person from comprehending Him. He is that being whose existence even an atheist feels in His heart of hearts. Undoubtedly God is free and sublime and bears no comparison with anyone, then how can anyone have the audacity to deny Him."

God is higher and superior to all things to such an extent that even the wildest imagination cannot have a definite idea about Him. He is the beginning, which has no end. He is infinite. God is one. He has no partner. He is the first cause of everything. There was nothing before Him. He existed when nothing existed. He is unique. We can have only glimpses of his greatness. His effulgence is so dazzling that we cannot face it. Our intellect is finite and He is infinite. He is beyond description. He is Almighty. All things in the Heavens and on Earth are subject to His command.

We thank God what He has taken, for what he has given; for the kindness he has done, and what test He has taken. He is aware of all that is hidden. He knows every secret. Whatever is concealed in one's heart is known to Him. He is omnipotent, and omniscient. None is to be worshipped except Him. He has no partner. He has no parallel. He is Mighty, Majesty, and Mercy. He is our Creator. We come from Him and we have to ultimately return to Him. His bounties are unlimited.

When did God exist

A Jew went to Ali and asked him, "When did God exist." Ali said that God is above consideration of time and space. Creation was not, and He was. He was while there was no being. He existed without cause. He has no beginning and no end. He is subject to no limitations. He is infinite. He is the end of all soul.

The Jew next asked, "What is fate." Ali said. "It is a gloomy road; treat it not." The Jew repeated the question for the third time and Ali said, "It is a mystery of God which is hidden from you; do not probe into it. "The Jew insisted on a reply, and Ali asked him, "Has God created you for what he has willed, or what you have willed?" Thereupon Ali said, "Then He will do with you as He thinks fit, and that is fate." This impressed the Jew and he was converted to Islam at the hand of Ali.

Protection of God

Once a Jew came to Ali with a view to ridiculing Islam. The Jew was very rich, and he disparaged the Islamic way of austerity. He tried to enter into an argument with Ali, and declared that if his questions were answered to his satisfaction he would accept Islam. Ali said that he would be glad to answer any question that was put to him. The Jew said, "Suppose you are standing on the roof of a high building at a dizzying height, who will protect you?" Ali said, "Of course, God will protect me". The Jew thereupon said, "Do you feel confident that God would really protect you". Ali said, "Certainly, it is our faith that as long as we are ordained to live, God will protect us." The Jew observed, "If you are sure of the protection of God, would you be prepared to climb to a high building, and then jump therefrom in order to test how God protects you". Ali said that he was not a fool to jump from a high building for nothing. The Jew said that he was not asking him to undertake the exercise for nothing, for if God actually protected of him, he would thereby get a Jew converted to Islam. Ali said that such stipulation was erroneous and fallacious. "How was that?" inquired the Jew. Ali said that God is the Master, and man is His servant. It is open to the Master to put the servant to test, but it does not behoove the servant to put the master to test. Ali added: "If we put God to any test, that means our lack of faith, and when faith is lost, everything is lost."

The Jew said, "This means that you are afraid that if you take a jump, you will die and God will not protect you," Ali said, "I am not afraid of death, but as a servant I cannot defy the Master. Everything in the universe is subject to the Will of God. That Will is the law, and man has been endowed with reason and intelligence to discern such law. If knowing the law I choose to defy it, I will have to suffer for breaking the law. When I deliberately break down the law laid down by the Master, I lose the right of His protection. Moreover, God protects us as long as we are ordained to live. If I take a jump and die, it would merely mean that I am ordained to do like that, it would not mean that God has withdrawn his protection."

The argument of Ali impressed the Jew He said, "Ali, you are right. We must observe the law, and then seek the protection of the Master. We certainly lose the right of His protection when we break the law." Thereupon the Jew was converted to Islam, and for the rest of his life he remained a true Muslim.

Counsels of All with reference to God

Some of the counsels of Ali with reference to God are:

Fear God, and you will have no cause to fear anyone else. Fear of God checks the soul from committing sins, and restrains one from transgression. Shedding tears for the fear of God enlightens the heart and fortifies it against the repetition of sins. Fear of God purifies the heart.
Resignation to God's will is the cure of the diseases of the heart. Resignation to the will of God makes the greatest affliction easy.
Glorify God even for little blessings. If you are grateful to God for His blessings, He will increase them.
The Word of God is the medicine of the heart. A believer is thankful to God in prosperity, and patient in adversity. To repose one's trust in God is the believer's castle.

Ali's prayer to God

Ali used to pray to God in the following terms: "O God, forgive my sins of which you know me more than me. And if I commit these sins again, even then because of Your munificence forgive me. If all the promises that I had made with myself to act according to Your command have not been fulfilled, kindly pardon my lapse. Moreover if I sought your proximity through my tongue, but my heart did not keep accord with my tongue even then forgive me, O God, forgive my acts of commission or omission, advertent or inadvertent. "