3-59 Ali ibn Ahmad ibn Abdullah al-Barqy - may God have Mercy upon him - narrated that his father quoted his grandfather, on the authority of Ahmad ibn Aba Abdullah, on the authority of Amr ibn Uthman, on the authority of Abi Jamileh al-Mufaz’zal ibn Salih, on the authority of Sa’ed ibn Sa’ed ibn Tarif, on the authority of Al-Asbaq ibn al-Nobatat that Ali ibn Abi Talib (MGB) said, “Gabriel descended upon Adam (MGB) and said, ‘O Adam! I have been ordered to let you choose one of three things. Choose one and let go of the other two.’ Adam (MGB) asked, ‘O Gabriel! What are they?’ Gabriel said, ‘The intellect, shyness and religion.’ Adam said, ‘I choose the intellect.’ Gabriel told shyness and religion to return. They replied, ‘O Gabriel! We are ordered to be wherever the intellect is.’ Gabriel said, ‘Do as you please.’ And then Gabriel returned.”
