4. Abu al-Husayn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Ishaq al-Farisi said: Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Abu Sa`id al-Nisawi said: Abu Nasr Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn `Abd Allah al-Sughdi said in Marw that Muhammad ibn Ya`qub ibn al-Hakam al-`Askari and his brother Mu`adh ibn Ya`qub both said: Muhammad ibn Sinan al-Hanzali said: `Abd Allah ibn `Asim said: `Abd al-Rahman ibn Qays said, on the authority of Abu Hashim al-Rummani, on the authority of Zadhan that Salman the Persian related the following detailed tradition concerning the coming of the Catholicos to Median with one hundred Christians and asking Abu Bakr questions. He could not answer so he guided them to the Commander of the Faithful `Ali ibn Abu Talib . Therefore, he asked `Ali some questions; thus, he answered them all. Among the questions the Catholicos asked him was: “Tell me. Did you recognize Allah through Muhammad or di you recognize Muhammad through Allah, the Mighty and High?”

`Ali ibn Abu Talib replied, I did not recognize Allah through Muhammad , but I recognized Muhammad through Allah, the Mighty and High, when He created him and made in him the size of the length and breadth. Hence I recognized that He was the Planner of the Produced through reasoning, and inspiration, the same way He inspired His Angels to recognize and obey Him without any compeer and quality. The Compiler of this book says: The tradition is long. We have extracted from it the required passage. I have transmitted all of it in the end of the book Al-Nubuwwah.