3. Muhammad ibn Musa ibn al-Mutawakkil said: `li ibn al-Husayn al-Sa`dabadi said, on the authority of Ahmad ibn Abu `Abd Allah al-Barqi, on the authority of Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Abu Nasr, on the authority of Abu al-Hasan al-Musili that Abu `Abdillah said:

A Jewish rabbi came to the Commander of the Faithful , and asked him: “O Commander of the Faithful! Since when has your Lord existed?” He replied, ”May your mother grieve you! When did He not exist so that it may be asked when did He exist? My Lord preceded the beginning and is without any beginning. He will remain after the end without an end. There is no end and termination to His Destination. He is separated from all ends. He is the Utmost of all Ends.” Then he asked, “O Commander of the Faithful! Are you a Prophet?” So he answered, “Woe be upon you! Verily, I am but a servant from the servants of Muhammad ﷺ.”

The Compiler of this book says: What he meant was that he was a servant in obedience, and nothing more than that.