9. `Ali ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn `Imran al-Daqqaq (RA) said: Muhammad ibn Ya`qub said, on the authority of al-Husayn ibn Muhammad ibn `Amir, on the authority of Mua`alla ibn Muhammad that The Learned (AS) was asked: “How is the knowledge of Allah?” He (AS) replied, He knows, He wills, He intends, He decrees, He predestines, and He makes to appear. Therefore, He exercise what He predestines, He predestines what He decrees, and He decrees what He intends. Thus, through His Knowledge is the Divine Will, through His Will is the Intent, through His Intent is the Divine Decree, through His Decree is predestination, and through His Predestination is the Exercise of His Will. Therefore, the Knowledge (of Allah) has precedence over the Will (of Allah), the Will (of Allah) is second, and the Intent (of Allah) is third. The Divine Decree is manifest in predestination through the Exercise (of Allah’s Will). For Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, is the Appearance in whatever He knows, whenever He wills, and in whatever He intends for the decree of the things. Hence, if predestination occurs with authorization then there is no appearance. So the knowledge of the known exists before it. The Will in the originated is prior to itself. The Intent in the intended precedes its existence. The Decree for these known things is prior to their detachment and joining, evidently and obviously. Predestination through exercise is inescapable from the effective possessors of bodies that can be perceived through senses like color, smell, weight and measure, and whatever crawls or walks of the humans, the jinn, the birds, the beasts, and other than that which are perceived through senses. Therefore, for Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, is the Appearance, of what has no existence, However, if the perceived conceptual existence occurs then there is no Appearance. Allah does whatever he wills, and through His Knowledge He knows all things prior to their existence. Through the Divine Will He identifies their attributes and limits; and originate them before their disclosure. Through the Intent He differentiates them in their colors, attributes and limits. Through the Divine Decree He decrees their times, and knows their beginning and their end. Through Predestination He manifested the places of mankind and led them to these. Through the Exercise of His Will He explained their reasons for being, and manifested their mattes. That is the decree of the Honorable, the All-Knowing. Muhammad ibn `Ali the Compiler of this book, may Allah help him in His obedience, says: The Appearance is not the way the ignorant think, namely, that He appears to regret. Exalted is Allah from that. However, it is mandatory upon us to confirm with Allah, the Mighty and High, that He has the power of Appearance. The meaning of that is: Verily, it is for Him to start something from His Creation to create it before something, and then that thing becomes nonexistent, and He begins with something other than it. Or He orders to do something then stops from doing it, or orders to stop from something, then orders to do what He had stopped. The examples of that would be the abrogation of previous Shari`ahs (to Islam), changing of the direction of Qiblah, and the prescribed period [`iddat] of a woman whose husband has passed away. Allah does not command His Servants for a matter in a specified time except when He knows that it is in their interest in that time. And He knows that in another time their interest is in stopping them from the like of which He commanded them to do. Therefore, in all times He commands them for what is in their interest. Thus, whoever confirms for Allah, the Mighty and High, that for Him is to do what He wills, to destroy what He wills, to create in its place what He wills, to advance what He wills, to retard what He wills, to command what He wills and how He wills, to command what He wills and how He wills, then he has confirmed the doctrine of the Appearance. Allah, the Mighty and High, has not revered anything better than the confirmation that for Him is the creation, the command, advancement, and to retard and establishing what does not exist, and to destroy what does exist. The belief in the Appearance is a rejection of the Jews, because they said: Verily, Allah concluded the affair. Hence, we said: Verily, Allah is in a new manifestation everyday. He gives life, and He kills. He gives sustenance, and does what He wills. The Appearance is not from regret. It is certainly manifestation of a matter. The Arabs say: `A man appeared in my way’ i.e. manifested. Allah, the Mighty and High said: And there shall appear to them from Allah that which they had not been expecting, i.e. become plain to them. Whenever Allah, Exalted be His Remembrance, observes that a servant observes the ties of kinship, He increases his life; and whenever He observes that a servant severs the ties of kinship, He decreases his life. Whenever Allah observes that a servant fornicates, He reduces his life. Whenever Allah observes that a servant fornicates, He reduces his sustenance and shortens his life; and whenever he observes that a servant is chaste, He increases his sustenance and lengthens his life.
Nous a informé Ali ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Imran al-Daqqaq (qu'Allah lui fasse miséricorde) qui a dit: Nous a informé Muhammad ibn Ya'qub, de la part de Al-Hussein ibn Muhammad ibn 'Amir, de la part de Mu'alla ibn Muhammad, qui a dit: L'Imam 'Ali (que la paix soit sur lui) a été interrogé sur comment Allah a acquis Sa connaissance. Il a répondu: Il a su, a voulu, a désiré, a décrété, a ordonné, et a manifesté. Il accomplit ce qu'Il a décrété, décréta ce qu'Il a ordonné, ordonna ce qu'Il a désiré. Par Sa connaissance, la marche fut établie, par Sa marche fut établi le désir, par Son désir fut établi le décret, par Son décret fut établi le destin, et par Sa manifestation fut établi l'accomplissement. La connaissance précède la marche, la marche est secondaire, le désir est troisième, le décret est lié au destin par l'accomplissement. Allah, exalté soit-Il, commence par ce qu'Il sait quand Il le veut, et dans ce qu'Il désire pour déterminer les choses. Lorsque le destin est établi par l'accomplissement, il n'y a pas de commencement. La connaissance de l'objet est antérieure à son existence, la marche dans l'origine avant son apparition, le désir dans ce qui est désiré avant sa réalisation, le destin pour ces connaissances avant leur détail et leur réalisation de manière évidente et effective, et le destin établi par l'accomplissement concerne les créatures matérielles perceptibles par les sens, de différentes couleurs, odeurs, poids, formes et mouvements, incluant les humains, les djinns, les oiseaux, les bêtes et autres êtres perceptibles par les sens. Allah, exalté soit-Il, commence par ce qui n'est pas perceptible par les sens. Lorsque ce qui est perçu et compris par les sens se manifeste, il n'y a pas de commencement. Allah fait ce qu'Il veut, et par Sa connaissance, Il connaît les choses avant leur existence, par Sa marche, Il connaît leurs caractéristiques et leurs limites et les crée avant de les manifester, par Son désir, Il distingue leurs couleurs, caractéristiques et limites, par Son décret, Il détermine leurs moments et connaît leur début et leur fin, par Son destin, Il montre aux gens leurs lieux et les guide vers eux, et par Son accomplissement, Il explique leurs raisons et manifeste leurs affaires, et c'est un destin puissant et savant. Muhammad ibn 'Ali, l'auteur de ce livre, que Dieu l'assiste dans Son obéissance, a dit: Le commencement n'est pas comme le pensent les ignorants par regret, que Dieu soit glorifié au-dessus de cela, mais il est nécessaire pour nous de reconnaître qu'Allah, exalté soit-Il, a le commencement, ce qui signifie qu'Il peut commencer par une création, puis l'annuler et commencer avec une autre, ou ordonner une chose puis l'interdire, ou interdire une chose puis ordonner son contraire, comme l'abrogation des lois, le changement de la direction de la prière, et le nombre de tours du pèlerinage. Allah n'ordonne à Ses serviteurs une chose à un moment donné que s'Il sait que c'est bénéfique pour eux à ce moment-là, et Il sait qu'à un autre moment, ce qui est bénéfique pour eux est de leur interdire ce qu'Il leur avait ordonné. Ainsi, lorsqu'Il leur ordonne ce qui est bénéfique pour eux à ce moment-là, celui qui reconnaît qu'Allah, exalté soit-Il, peut faire ce qu'Il veut, annuler ce qu'Il veut, créer ce qu'Il veut à la place, avancer ce qu'Il veut, retarder ce qu'Il veut, ordonner ce qu'Il veut
