24. And the confirmation of what I have mentioned is what said Tamim ibn `Abd Allah al-Qarashi that My father related to me on the authority of Hamdan ibn Sulayman al-Naysaburi, on the authority of `Ali ibn Muhammad ibn al-Jahm that

I was present in the gathering of al-Ma`mun and al-Rida `Ali ibn Musa was with him; hence, al-Ma`mun asked him: “O son of the Messenger of Allah! Do you not claim that the prophets are infallible?” He replied: “Of course.” Hence, he asked him about the verses of the Qur`an. Among the questions he asked was: Then, what is the meaning of the Word of Allah, the Mighty and High: And when Musa came at Our appointed time and his Lord spoke to him, he said: My Lord! Show me (Thyself), so that I may look upon Thee. He said: You cannot (bear to) see Me?”1 How is it possible that Musa son of `Imran , to whom Allah ha spoken, did not know that Allah, Exalted be His Remembrance, cannot be seen, thus leading him to ask that question? So al-Rida answered: Verily, Musa ibn `Imran , to whom Allah has spoken, knew that Allah is far above being seen by human eyes. However, when Allah, the Mighty and High spoke to him, He made him draw nigh, Musa returned to his people and informed them that Allah, the Mighty and High, spoke to him and made him draw nigh. Therefore, the people responded: “We will not believe in you until we hear His Speech like you head it.” The people were seven hundred thousand men. He chose seventy thousand from them. Then, from these, he chose seven thousand. For these, he chose seven hundred. And, finally, from these seven hundred, he chose seventy men for the appointment of his Lord. He then went out to Mount Sinai, and stood them on the mountain slope. Musa climbed the Sinai, and asked Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, to speak to him, and to make them hear His Speech. Thus, Allah, Exalted be His Remembrance, spoke to him, and they heard His Speech from above, below, right, left, behind and in front, because Allah, the Mighty and High, created it in the tree, then directed the sound to them from the tree to them until they could hear it from all sides. Then they said: “We will not believe that this is the speech of Allah until we see Allah manifestly.” When they said these insolent words, they were all puffed up with pride. As a result, Allah, the Mighty and high, seized them for their oppression and struck them with a thunderbolt, killing them all. Musa then said: “O Lord! What shall I say to the Israelites when I return to them and they say to me: `You took them with you and killed them, because you were not truthful in your claim that Allah drew night to you.” Thus, Allah raised them to life, and sent them with him. They then said: “If you had asked Allah to show Himself to you s that you could see Him, He would certainly have answered you. Then, you could have described Him for us so that we could recognize Him they way He deserves to be recognized.” Musa said: “O people! Verily, Allah cannot be seen by human eyes and He is not subject to shape. He can only be recognized by His Signs and can only known through His Attributes.” They said: “We will not believe in you until you ask Him.” Hence, Musa said: “O Lord! You certainly heard the words of the Israelites, and You are the Most Knowledgeable of their interest. So Allah, Exalted be His Glory, revealed to him: “O Musa! Ask Me what they have asked you for I will not resent you for their ignorance.” At this point Musa said: My Lord! Show me (Thyself), so that I may look upon Thee. He said: You cannot see Me but look at the mountain, if it remains firm in its place (while it is shaking), then will you see Me; but when his Lord manifested to the mountain (a sign from His Signs) He made it crumble and Musa fell down in a swoon; then when he recovered, he said: Glory be to Thee, I turn to Thee (I am turning back to my recognition of You from the ignorance of my people), and I am the first of the Believers to profess that You cannot be seen.2 Al-Ma`mun expressed: “For Allah’s sake continue, O Abu al-Hasan.” The Compiler of this book says: The tradition is detailed; we have extracted from it the required passage. I have transmitted all of it in the book `Uyun Akhbar al-Rida . If I had transmitted all the traditions which are narrated regarding the vision, surely the book would become lengthy with their mentioning, their explanation and proving their authenticity. Whoever Allah, Exalted be His Remembrance, grants success with right guidance, believe in all that is transmitted with the authentic chain of narrations from the Imam , submits to them and consults their teachings when he is in doubt. This is because their words are the Words of Allah and their orders are the Orders of Allah. They are the closest in creation to Allah, the Mighty and High, and those with the greatest knowledge of Allah, may the blessings of Allah be upon them all.