Shaikh Ali Abu Talib presents a rhymed refraction of the first sermon of Imam Ali (peace be upon him) in Nahjul Balagha, talking about God’s attributes. The sermon is available online.
Oh Allah Bless Muhammad’s Soul
And Rain Down Peace On His Household.
The Praise To Allah Who Cannot Be Described
By a talented speaker, or an inspired scribe;
Whose Bounties Cannot Be Numerically Counted;
Whose Claim Cannot Be Surmised Or Surmounted.
And those who attempt it are most thoroughly frustrated;
No matter how smart, or how brilliantly lustrated.
No matter how grateful, God’s Not Fully Appreciated.
Profound understanding Cannot Fathom, Or Demarcate It.
No mind’s so profound to soar high enough or plummet.
His Depth Has No Bottom. His Height Has No Summit.
No Description Has God, No Beginning; No End;
No Birth, And No Death. Time, God Does Transcend.
The Almighty Created. His Mercy Made Winds.
And He Stilled The Earth’s Shaking, Using Mountains For Pins.
The first step of religion is to acknowledge God’s Existence.
The perfection of acknowledgment is bearing witness with persistence.
The perfect witness believes in God’s Oneness for sure.
The perfect believer in God’s Oneness Sees His Oneness as Pure.
Perfectly perceiving His Purity is not describing Him At All.
For each description is different from what it describes; large or small.
Thus whoever tries to describe God, thinks there’s a Godlike facsimile.
And whoever thinks that, thinks God has duplicity.
And whoever thinks that, thinks God has partners or parts.
And they, mistook Him for a creature, or some form of the arts.
And whoever mistook Him identified, the created as The Creator.
Their god can be multiplied or divided by a common denominator.
Whoever said God is in something or somehow incarnated,
Believes that The Infinite God can be contained or incarcerated.
And whoever said what God Is, must say what He Is Not.
He’s A Being. He Exists. But He Won’t fit In a Slot
Like any other being. For created, He was not.
He Did Not Become. He Did Always Exist.
And His Eternal Existence Will Never Desist.
He Is Close, But Not Physically, To All Of Creation.
He’s Different, But Not Like A Physical Separation.
He Moves With No Vessel, and Acts Without Movement.
He’s Not Lacking, Or Wanting Or In Need Of Improvement.
He Sees Where There’s Nothing To See Of Creation.
He’s Aware At All Times Without Any Cessation.
He Is One, Without Two. He Is One, And One Only.
He Gets Neither Tired, Nor Bored. And He Never Is Lonely.
He Started Creation; The Initial Originator.
From The Very Beginning, The Almighty Illuminator.
He Created Creation Without Reflection Or Blueprints.
Without trial; without error; without any experiments;
Without instruments for measurements, and without any movement;
Done perfect the first time with no need for improvement;
Without fatigue, or confusion; without any collaborator;
Every thing set in motion without need of an operator.
He gave all things their time; dispensed each a duration;
Put together their like and made each variation.
He gave each thing a trait, and determined each feature;
Before God Created, He knew every space, place, and creature.
He comprehended their limits; perceived every propensity,
He knew all their confines; each length, breadth, and density.
This Is Your Lord, There Is No God But He.
Alone In His Oneness Throughout All Eternity.
This is Allah Who Sent A Savior to Man
With A Book, And Behavior To Show Us God’s Plan
For Mental, Physical, and Spiritual Health;
Morals, and Virtues, and Eternal Wealth;
Prophet Muhammad, God’s Compassion to all;
The Seal Of The Prophecies; With Allah’s Final Call.
Oh Allah Bless Muhammad’s Soul
And Rain Down Peace On His Household.
