1. Muhammad ibn al-Hasan Ahmad ibn al-Walid (may Allah have mercy o him) said: Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Saffar said, on the authority of Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn `Isa, on the authority of al-Husayn ibn Sa`id that `Ali ibn Mansur related to me that I heard Hisham ibn al-Hakam that Abu Shakir al-Daysani entered the presence of Abu `Abd Allah al-Sadiq and said to him, Verily, you are one of the shining stars, while your forefathers were brilliant full-moons, and your foremothers were the wisest of women. Your origin is the most honorable origins. When the learned are mentioned then you are at the top of the list. Inform me, O Ocean (of Knowledge)! How can one prove the emergence of the universe?” Abu `Abd Allah answered, “Through reason and by comparing it to the things which are closest to us.” He asked, “What would that be?” The reporter says: Abu `Abd Allah asked for an egg and placed it on his palm and said: “This is a container. Inside its shell are the albumin, and the egg-yolk. With time, colorful peacock feathers will burst out of it. Has anything entered it?” He replied, “No.” The Imam said: “Then this is a proof of the emergence of the universe.” He responded, “Your answer is both nice an concise. I now understand that we cannot accept anything unless we see it with our eyes, here it with our ears, smell it with our noses, taste it with our tongues, touch it with our hands, or feel it in our hearts with certainty.” Abu `Abd Allah said: “You have mentioned the five senses. However, they are not useful without proof, in the same way that darkness cannot be prevented but by light.”