8. `Ali ibn ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn `Imran al-Daqqaq, may Allah have mercy on him said: Muhammad ibn Abu `Abd Allah al-Kufi said: Muhammad ibn Isma`il al-Barmaki said: alHusayn ibn al-Hasan said: Bakr on the authority of al-Hasan ibn Sa`id on the authority of alHaytham ibn `Abd Allah on the authority of Marwan ibn Sabah that Abu `Abd Allah al-Sadiq said:

Verily, Allah the Mighty and High, made us the best of creation, and moulded us from the best of moulds. He made us His Eye though which He sees His Servants. He made us the Tongue with which He speaks to His Creation. He made us the Outspread Hand of Mercy over His Servants. He made us the Face through which He bestows His Bounties.1 He made us the Gate that leads to Him. And He made us His Treasure in the Heaven and on His Earth. It is due to us2 that trees bear fruits, that fruit ripens, that rivers flow, that clouds shower down rain, and that the Earth grows grass. It is through our service [`ibadah], Allah is served. If it were not for us, Allah would not have been worshipped.3