‫‪1. My father (may Allah have mercy on them) said: Sa`d ibn `Abd Allah said: Ibrahim ibn‬‬ ‫‪Hashim and others said, on the authority of Khalaf ibn Hammad, on the authority of al-Husayn‬‬ ‫‪ibn Zayd al-Hashimi, that‬‬ Abu `Abd Allah al-Sadiq said:

Zaynab, the squint-eyed perfume lady, came to the wives of the Messenger of Allah and his daughters. The Messenger of Allah entered when she was with them. So he said to her, “When you visit us our houses are filled with perfume.” Hence, she replied, “Your house is the most pleasant due to your own scent, O Messenger of Allah.” He said: “When you sell, then be good. However, do not engage in deceptive marketing for that is not a good practice for ensuring wealth.” She responded, “I did no come with something to sell. Verily, I came to ask you about ht Greatness of Allah.” Thus, he said: “Glory be to Allah! Let me share His Greatness with you.” The reporter says: then he continued, Verily, the planet earth and everything it contains is like a ring in the vastness of the desert to the one which is below it. The earth and the one below it, and everything they contain, are like a ring in the vastness of the desert to the one that is below them. This how they are until it reaches the seventh one. Then he recited this verse: Allah is He who created seven heavens, and the Earth the like of them. The seven heavens and what they contain are on the back of a rooster like a ring in the open desert. The rooster has two wings; one in the East and the other in the West, and its feet are on the borderline. The seven heavens, the rooster, and whatever they contain, are on a rock like a ring in the open desert. The seven heavens, the rooster, the rock and whatever is in them, are on the back of a fish like a ring in the open desert. The seven heavens, the rooster, the rock, and the fish are in a dark ocean like a ring in the vast desert. The seven heavens, the rooster, the rock, the fish, and the dark ocean are in the air like a ring in the open desert. The seven heave ns, the rooster, the rock, the fish, the dark ocean, and the air are beneath the ground like a ring in the open desert. Then he recited this verse: His is what is in the heavens and what is in the earth, and what is between them two, and what is beneath the ground. Then the tradition stopped. The seven heavens, the rooster, the rock, the fish, the dark ocean, the air, the ground, and whatever is in them are in heaven like a ring in the open desert. All of these things, the heaven of this world, and whatever is in them, are like a ring in the open desert. All of these things and the two heavens are like a ring in the open desert compared to the third heaven. The third heaven and whatever is in it is like a ring in the open desert compared to the fourth heaven, and so on until the seventh heaven. These seven heavens and whatever is in them are like a ring in the open desert compared to the ocean which covers the earth. The seven heavens, and the ocean which covers the earth, are like a ring in the open desert compared to the mountain. Then he read this verse: And He sends down from heavens (clouds like) mountains laden with hail. These seven heavens, the covered ocean and the mountain are like a ring in the open desert compared to the veils of light. There are seventy thousand of these blinding veils light. The seven heavens, the covered oceans, the mountains, and the veils are like a ring in the open-spaced desert in comparison to the air, in which the hearts are fervent. Then he read this verse His Throne extends over the heavens and the earth, and the preservation of them both tires Him not, and He is the Most High, the Great. The seven heavens, the covered oceans, the mountains, the veils, the air, and the Throne are like a ring in the open desert compared to the Empyrean. Then he read this verse: The Most Compassionate Allah is Firm on the Empyrean. The angels cannot carry it except with the statement “there is no god but Allah” and “there is no power and no strength save in Allah.”