calculators and whose claim (to obedience) cannot be satisfied by those who attempt to do so, whom the height of
intellectual courage cannot appreciate, and the divings of understanding cannot reach; He for whose description no limit has been laid down, no eulogy exists, no time is ordained and no duration is fixed. He brought forth creation through His Omnipotence, dispersed winds through His Compassion, and made firm the shaking earth with rocks.The foremost in religion is the acknowledgement of Him, the perfection of acknowledging Him is to testify Him,the perfection of testifying Him is to believe in His Oneness, the perfection of believing in His Oneness is to regard HimPure, and the perfection of His purity is to deny Him attributes, because every attribute is a proof that it is differentfrom that to which it is attributed and everything to which something is attributed is different from the attribute. Thuswhoever attaches attributes to Alláh recognises His like, and who recognises His like regards Him two; and who regardsHim two recognises parts for Him; and who recognises parts for Him mistook Him; and who mistook Him pointed atHim; and who pointed at Him admitted limitations for Him; and who admitted limitations for Him numbered Him.Whoever said in what is He, held that He is contained; and whoever said on what is He held He is not onsomething else. He is a Being but not through phenomenon of coming into being. He exists but not from non-existence.He is with everything but not in physical nearness. He is different from everything but not in physical separation. He acts but without connotation of movements and instruments. He sees even when there is none to be looked at from amongHis creation. He is only One, such that there is none with whom He may keep company or whom He may miss in his absence.
The Creation of the Universe
He initiated creation most initially and commenced it originally, without undergoing reflection, without making
use of any experiment, without innovating any movement, and without experiencing any aspiration of mind. He allottedall things their times, put together their variations gave them their properties, and determined their features knowing them before creating them, realising fully their limits and confines and appreciating their propensities and intricacies.When Almighty created the openings of atmosphere, expanse of firmament and strata of winds, He flowed into it water whose waves were stormy and whose surges leapt one over the other. He loaded it on dashing wind and breaking typhoons, ordered them to shed it back (as rain), gave the wind control over the vigour of the rain, andacquainted it with its limitations. The wind blew under it while water flowed furiously over it.Then Almighty created forth wind and made its movement sterile, perpetuated its position, intensified its
motion and spread it far and wide. Then He ordered the wind to raise up deep waters and to intensify the waves of theoceans. So the wind churned it like the churning of curd and pushed it fiercely into the firmament throwing its front position on the rear and the stationary on the flowing till its level was raised and the surface was full of foam. ThenAlmighty raised the foam on to the open wind and vast firmament and made therefrom the seven skies and made the lower one as a stationary surge and the upper one as protective ceiling and a high edifice without any pole to support it or nail to hold it together. Then He decorated them with stars and the light of meteors and hung in it the shining sun and effulgent moon under the revolving sky, moving ceiling and rotating firmament.
The Creation of the Angels
Then He created the openings between high skies and filled them with all classes of His angels. Some of them
are in prostration and do not kneel up. Others in kneeling position and do not stand up. Some of them are in array and do not leave their position. Others are extolling Alláh and do not get tired. The sleep of the eye or the slip of wit, or languor of the body or the effect of forgetfulness does not effect them.Among them are those who work as trusted bearers of His message, those who serve as speaking tongues forHis prophets and those who carry to and fro His orders and injunctions. Among them are the protectors of His creatures and guards of the doors of the gardens of Paradise. Among them are those also whose steps are fixed on earth but their necks are protruding into the skies, their limbs are getting out on all sides, their shoulders are in accord with thecolumns of the Divine Throne, their eyes are downcast before it, they have spread down their wings under it and they
have rendered between themselves and all else curtains of honour and screens of power. They do not think of their Creator through image, do not impute to Him attributes of the created, do not confine Him within abodes and do not point at Him through illustrations.
