In this chapter Allama Sheikh Abu Ja’far has stressed on two things.

1. It is prohibited to discuss the nature of God, because discussions on this issue lead to detriment instead of benefit.

2. Those who are fully aware of the teachings of the Qur’an and that of Imams, and discuss the matter in an amicable way, can defend their point of view against the opponents, are encouraged to participate in such debates, but those who are not capable they are advised to keep away from such encounters.

Since understanding God’s essence and nature is beyond our capabilities, therefore, God had not placed the burden of knowing Him, on our shoulders. This was clear from one of the narrations of Usul al-Kafi, in which the honourable Mr Sahl made a written request to Imam Al-’Askari (‘a) about the nature and essence of God.

Imam replied, “You have asked about the nature of God. You must know that you are free of this obligation. It is sufficient for you to believe that He is unique in His attributes and essence. He has no progeny nor is He the offspring of any other being.

He is a Creator not the creature. He can fashion as many corporeal or non-corporeal beings as He wishes. He can create shapes, but does not possess any shape for Himself. His Person is far beyond this status that He should be in configuration of something else. It is His individuality that nothing resembles Him. He hears and He sees.”

Clarification Of Doubt

If further probing and debates would have to be avoided in matters of Tawhid by adopting the attitude as indicated above, then it would become necessary to adopt Taqlid (obedience of someone else’s edicts and decisions without questioning him) about this issue while keeping the fundamental views on the sideline.

A question that arose in this context is whether Taqlid is permissible on the fundamental issues of the religion or not?

The answer to this misgiving would be that the problem under consideration is not Tawhid or the arguments about the existence of the Creator of the Universe. The conflict is about bringing the essence of God into the arena of quibbling and debate. We are not burdened to know about this. Therefore, there is no question of invoking Ijtihad (reinterpretation) or Taqlid (replication) in this matter, because these terms are only applicable when there are legal obligations for the people.

Warning

In the above text there was a mention of the terms and conditions of a debate between Abu Hazeel Allaf and Hisham. This provided guidelines for those engaging in modern debates.

It would be incorrect to change the conditions of religion on the basis of personal debates. This should be avoided completely, because only those who had doubt about their own religion made such stipulations.

A person who had confidence and faith in his religion would not alter his religion upon being defeated by his opponent. The maximum he would do was to refer the questions raised in the debate to some higher authority of his denomination.