4. Ibrahim ibn Harun al-Hiti said: Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Abu al-Thalj said: Ja`far ibn Muhammad ibn al-Husayn al-Zuhri said: Ahmad ibn Sabih said: Zarif ibn Nasib said, on the authority of `Isa ibn Rashid, That

Muhammad ibn `Ali ibn al-Husayn was asked to interpret the Word of the Mighty and High: As a niche in which is a lamp.” He explained: The niche is the Light of Knowledge contained in the Chest of the Prophet . The lamp is in a glass; the glass is the chest of `Ali . The knowledge of the Prophet was transferred to `Ali’s Chest. The glass is as if it were a brightly shining star, lit from a blessed olive-tree. He added: Light, neither eastern nor western. He said: “Neither Jewish nor Christian.’ The oil whereof almost gives light though fire touches it not. He said: “The learned from the Progeny of Muhammad more or less give knowledge before they are even asked. Light upon light, meaning an Imam , endorsed through the light of knowledge and wisdom, one after another, from the Progeny of Muhammad , and that is from Adam to the Day of Judgement. These successors were appointed by Allah, the Mighty and High, as His Caliphs on Earth and His Proofs for His Creation. The Earth is not free at any time from at least one of them . The proof of this statement can be found in the words of Abu Talib regarding the Messenger of Allah : Muhammad! You are the Trustworthy, the Lord, and the Magnanimous Master, For the noble, the best, the generous, and the pure in lineage. You are the Most Auspicious of the fortunate surrounded by the luckiest. Since the time of Adam there has always been amongst us a divinely-guided successor. I have recognized you as the truthful in words that is not refuted. You spoke the truth when you were but a beardless child. He (Abu Talib) says: “You spoke with knowledge as a child, even before anything was revealed to you. You were like Abraham who told his people as a youth: Surely I am clear of what you set up (with Allah); and like Jesus when he spoke from his cradle that Surely I am a servant of Allah; He has given me the Book and made me a prophet; and He has made me blessed wherever I may be. In a similar poem, Abu Talib said the following regarding the Messenger of Allah : There is no one like him among men, master of kinsfolk. If they compare him at the time when he becomes manifested, Then the Lord of the servants endorsed him by His Light, And made apparent the righteousness of the religion which will not be short-lived. He says in it: The fair faced one for the sake of whom one prays for rain. He is a spring for the orphans, and a safeguard for the helpless. The perishing children of Hashim circumambulate around him (to be his ransom), Hence, they are in ease, and excess with him. He is the Balance of Truth which does not break a promise, even for a grain of barley. And he is a Balance of Justice whose measurement does not go astray.