1. My father (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Sa1d ibn `Abd Allah said, on the authority of Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn `Isa, on the authority of al-Hasan ibn Mahbub, on the authority of Abu Hamzah al-Thumali that Nafi` ibn al-Azraq asked Abu Ja`far al-Baqir that

Inform me about Allah. Since when has He existed? Therefore, he replied to him, “Woe be upon you! Perhaps you should tell me when He did not exist, so that I can tell you when He did exist. Glory be to Him, who has always been and will always be, the Peerless, the Needless, who has taken neither wife nor son.”