3. 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 sail said: `Abd Allah ibn `Asim said: `Abd alRahman ibn Qays said, on the authority of Abu Hashim al-Rummani, on the authority of Zadhan that Salman al-Farisi related a long tradition concerning the coming of the Catholicos to Medina with a hundred Christians after the death of the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم and asking Abu Bakr some questions, which he could not reply. Then they were directed to the Commander of the Faithful `Ali ibn Abu Talib عليه السلام, so they asked him (those questions), and he answered them.
Among the queries he was asked: “Inform me about the Lord. Where is He, and where was He?” `Ali عليه السلام replied, ” The Lord, Exalted be His Glory, is not subject to space. He is how He was, and He was as He is now. He is not in any place, nor has He declined from one place to another. He is not encompassed in one place; rather, He has always been without boundary and without quality.”
The Catholicos said: “You have spoken the truth. Now tell me about the Lord. Is He in this world or is He is the Hereafter?” `Ali عليه السلام replied, ”Our Lord existed before this world existed, and He will exist forever. He is the Planner of this World, and the All-Knowing of the Hereafter. It is not possible for Him to be encompassed by this world or the Hereafter. However, He knows all that is in this world, and all that is in the Hereafter.” He said: “You have spoken the truth. May Allah have mercy on you!”
He then asked, “Tell me about our Lord. Does He carry or is He carried?” `Ali عليه السلام, thus, replied, “Verily, our Lord, Exalted be His Glory, carries and is not carried.” The Christian asked, “How is that? In the Bible we find that The Empyrean of your Lord is carried about them on the day by eight angels.” `Ali عليه السلام answered, ”Verily, the angels carry the Empyrean. However, the Empyrean is not shaped like a bed as you image. Rather, it is something bounder, crated, and planned, which is subjected to the Lord. It is not as if He is on it like something being carried by another. He has ordered angels to carry it, and they do so with the power that he has granted them.” The Christian said: “You have spoke the truth, May Allah have mercy on you!.”
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-Nabuwwat.