49. Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad from Ali ibn al-Hakam from Sayf ibn ‘Amirah from Ibrahim ibn Maymun from Muhammad ibn Muslim who has said the following:

“This is concerning my question before abu ‘Abd Allah , about the words of Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, ‘. . . He gave everything its creation and then gave it guidance.’ (20:52) He (the Imam) said, ‘There is no creature of Allah but that He knows its shape and that it is a male or a female.’ I then asked, ‘What is the meaning of, ‘then He gave it guidance’?’ He (the Imam) said, ‘He guided it to marriage or out of wedlock according to its shape and form.’”