wa-bi-ʿilmika lladhī aḥāṭa bi-kulli shayʾ
[I beseech you] by your knowledge, which encompasses all things.
As the creator of all things, God is intimately aware of both the outer and inner dimensions of everything. He knows every last grain of sand, every drop of rain, every breath anyone takes, and what is concealed in the recesses of our minds. There is no corner of the universe that lies beyond God’s knowledge because he created the universe. He knows what has been, what is, and what will be. Quran 3:29 states:
“Say, ‘God knows everything that is in your hearts, whether you conceal or reveal it. He knows everything in the heavens and earth. God has power over all things.’”
Quran 6:59 states:
“He has the keys to the unseen: no one knows them but Him. He knows all that is in the land and sea. No leaf falls without his knowledge nor is there a single grain in the darkness of the earth or anything, fresh or withered, that is not written in a clear record.”
And Quran 64:4 states:
“He knows what is in the heavens and earth. He knows what you conceal and what you reveal—God knows very well the secrets of every heart.”
There is a hadith in which Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib says no one dared to leave Mecca before Imam Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn. When the Imam left the city, he stopped at a certain place and prayed two cycles of the ritual prayer. In his prostrations, he prayed to God in the following words:
“Glory be to you, oh God, and have mercy.
Glory be to you, oh God, you are exalted.
Glory be to you, oh God, clothed in might.
Glory be to you, oh God, shrouded in grandeur.
Glory be to you, oh God, your power is majestic.
Glory be to you, you are great and yet greater.
Glory be to you, you were glorified in the assembly on high, and you hear and see what lies beneath the ground.
Glory be to you, who witnesses every whisper.
Glory be to you, to whom every complaint is made.
Glory be to you, who is present in every gathering.
Glory be to you, in whom great hopes are placed.
Glory be to you, you see what lies in the depths of the ocean.
Glory be to you, you hear fish breathing in the depths of the seas.
Glory be to you, you know the weight of the heavens.
Glory be to you, you know the heft of every land.
Glory be to you, you know the weight of the sun and the moon.
Glory be to you, you know the weight of darkness and light.
Glory be to you, you know the weight of shadows and air.
Glory be to you, you know how much heavier wind is than a particle of dust.
Glory be to you, most holy, most holy, most holy.
Glory be to you! How can the one who knows you not fear you?
Glory be to you, oh God, all praise belongs to you.
Glory be to you, oh God, the highest, the greatest.”
Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib says that, as the Imam spoke, every last tree and every last clod of earth glorified God too. When the people heard this, they were terrified. The Imam raised his head and asked Saʿīd, “Were you afraid?” to which he replied, “Yes.” The Imam said, “This is the greatest tasbīḥ. I learnt it from my father Husayn, who learnt it from my grandfather Ali, who learnt it from the Messenger of God. This tasbīḥ erases all sin. When God created the angel Gabriel, he taught him this tasbīḥ. It is the greatest name of God.”
In the sentence “[I beseech you] by your knowledge, which encompasses all things,” the word “knowledge” means the perception or the comprehension of the reality of a thing. We could also think of it as a belief about which you are absolutely certain and that corresponds to reality.
God’s knowledge is God’s essence. Prophets and Imams have the capacity to know by means of illumination and inspiration. But ordinary people acquire knowledge, either through conventional means or the purification of the heart. One hadith states:
“Knowledge does not descend upon you from the sky nor does it ascend to you from the limits of the earth; it has been molded into your nature so perfume yourselves with the noble characteristics of God (takhallaqū bi-akhlāqillāh) and knowledge will come to light.”
It is said that a man named Mujāshiʿ once came to the Prophet and asked, “What is the way to truly know God?”
The Prophet answered, “Knowing the self.”
“And what is the way to harmony with God?”
“Opposing the self.”
“And what is the way to please God?”
“Displeasing the self.”
“And what is the way to reach God?”
“Renouncing the self.”
“And what is the way to obey God?”
“Disobeying the self.”
“And what is the way to remember God?”
“Forgetting the self.”
“And what is the way to draw close to God?”
“Abandoning the self.”
“And what is the way to intimacy with God?”
“Estrangement from the self.”
Finally, Mujāshiʿ asked, “And how does one do that?” to which the Prophet replied, “By seeking God’s help against the self.”