3. We were told by Abu Muhammed, Ja’far bin Ali bin Ahmad, the jurist, al-Qommi and thereupon al-Eelaqi, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said: We were told by Abu Sa’eed, Abdan bin Fadl, that he said: I was told by Abu’l-Hasan, Muhammed bin Ya’qub bin Muhammed bin Yusuf bin Ja’far bin Ibrahim bin Muhammed bin Ali bin Abdullah bin Ja’far bin Abi Talib – in the city of Khujand – that he said: I was told by Abu Bakr, Muhammed bin Ahmad bin Shuja’ al-Farghani, that he said: I was told by Abu Muhammed, Hasan bin Hammad al-Anbari – in Egypt – that he said: I was told by Isma’il bin Abdul-Jalil al-Barqi, from Abu’l-Bukhturi, Wahab bin Wahab al-Qurashi, from Abu Abdillah al-Sadiq, Ja’far bin Muhammed, peace be upon him, that he said: Al-Baqir said: I was told by my father, Zain-ul-Abideen, from his father, Hussain bin Ali, peace be upon him, that he said: Al-Samad is He who has no interior, and al-Samad is He at whom sovereignty ends, and al-Samad is He who does not eat nor drink, and al-Samad is He who does not sleep, and al-Samad is He who has not perished and does not perish. Al-Baqir, peace be upon him, said: Muhammed bin Hanafiya – may Allah sanctify his soul – used to say: Al-Samad is He who is Upright by Himself, the Self-Sufficient from any other.» Another have said: Al-Samad is the Elevated above creation and termination, and al-Samad is He who is not characterized by change. Al-Baqir, peace be upon him, said: Al-Samad is the obeyed Master above whom there is no commander nor prohibitor. He said: Also, Ali bin Hussain, Zain-ul-Abideen, peace be upon him, was asked about al-Samad, so he said: Al-Samad is He who has no associate, nor is tired by preserving anything, nor is anything absent from Him. Wahab bin Wahab al-Qurashi said: Zaid bin Ali, peace be upon him, said: Al-Samad is He who if He wants something, He says to it: «Be», and it is, and al-Samad is who innovated things and created them in opposites, shapes and couples, and who unequaled Himself in Oneness with no opposite, nor shape, nor equal, nor rival. Also, Wahab bin Wahab al-Qurashi said: I heard al-Sadiq, peace be upon him, say: A delegation from Palestine came to al-Baqir, peace be upon him, and they asked him about matters, to which he answered, and then they asked him about al-Samad, so he said: Its interpretation: Al-Samad is of five letters. As for the Alif [1], it is a denotation that His Essential Existence, and that is His saying, Exalted and Glorious is He: «Allah witnessed that there is no god but Him» (3:18). In that is a reminder and indication to that which is absent from being perceivable by the senses. The Laam is a denotation that His Godness, that he is the God. Furthermore, the Alif and the Laam are diphthonged, and they do not appear (separately) on the tongue, and they are not heard (separately), and they appear in writing. They are two denotations that His Godness is, with His unmerited favor, hidden and not perceived by the senses, and that it does not come on the tongue of any describer, nor the ear of any hearer, because the interpretation of the God is He who protected the creation from comprehending His Essence and Nature by sense or by imagination. No, but rather, He is the Innovator of imaginations and Creator of senses. This only appears in writing as a denotation that Allah, Glorious is He, made apparent His Lordship by innovating the creation and forming their gentle souls into their solid bodies; so, if a servant looks at himself, he will not see his own soul, in similarity to how the Laam of al-Samad does not appear nor enter any sense of his five senses. However, when he looks at the writing, it appears to him what has been hidden and softened; so, whenever a servant ponders upon the Essence and Nature of the Maker, he will be exposed (to loss) and confused in it, and his imagination will not encompass anything that is imaginable of Him, because He, Exalted and Glorious is He, is the Creator of images. So, when he looks at His creation, it is affirmed to him that He, Exalted and Glorious is He, is their Creator and Former of their souls into their bodies. As for the Ssaad, it is a denotation that He, Exalted and Glorious is He, is Truthful, and that His saying is truth, and that His words are truth, and that He called His servants to follow the truth with the truth, and He promised with the truth, the World of Truth. As for the Miim, it is a denotation of His Kingdom, and that He, Exalted and Glorious is He, is the True King, that He did not perish nor does perish, nor does His Kingdom perish. As for the Daal, it is a denotation of the continuity of His Kingdom, and that He, Exalted and Glorious is He, is Everlasting, Exalted is He above creation and termination. Rather, He, Exalted and Glorious is He, is the Creator of the creations, by whose creation, every creature exists.»
Abu Muhammad Ja'far ibn Ali ibn Ahmad al-Faqih al-Qummi then al-Ilaqi - qu'Allah soit satisfait de lui - a rapporté: Abu Sa'id Abdan ibn al-Fadl a dit: Abu al-Hasan Muhammad ibn Ya'qub ibn Muhammad ibn Yunus ibn Ja'far ibn Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Abdullah ibn Ja'far ibn Abi Talib à Khajandah a dit: Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Ibn Shuja' al-Farghani a dit: Abu Muhammad al-Hasan ibn Hammad al-Ambari en Egypte a dit: Isma'il ibn Abd al-Jalil al-Barqi, d'après Abu al-Bakhtari Wahb ibn Wahb al-Qurashi, d'après Abu Abdullah al-Sadiq Ja'far ibn Muhammad - que la paix soit sur eux - a dit: Al-Baqir a dit: Mon père Zain al-Abidin m'a rapporté de son père Hussein ibn Ali - que la paix soit sur eux - qu'il a dit: Al-Samad qui n'a besoin de rien, et Al-Samad en qui se termine toute chose, et Al-Samad qui ne mange ni ne boit, et Al-Samad qui ne dort pas, et Al-Samad qui n'a jamais cessé d'être. Al-Baqir a dit: Muhammad ibn al-Hanifah - que sa noble âme soit sanctifiée - disait: Al-Samad, Celui qui se suffit à Lui-même sans besoin des autres. Et d'autres disent: Al-Samad, Celui qui est au-dessus de la création et de la corruption, et Al-Samad qui ne peut être décrit par des contrastes. Al-Baqir a dit: Al-Samad, le Maître obéi, au-dessus de qui il n'y a ni ordre ni interdiction. On a demandé à Ali ibn al-Hussein Zain al-Abidin - que la paix soit sur eux - au sujet d'Al-Samad, et il a dit: Al-Samad, Celui qui n'a pas d'associé, rien ne Le préoccupe et rien ne Lui échappe. Wahb ibn Wahb al-Qurashi a dit: J'ai entendu Al-Sadiq - que la paix soit sur lui - dire: Une délégation de Palestine est venue voir Al-Baqir - que la paix soit sur lui - et lui a posé des questions, puis ils lui ont demandé au sujet d'Al-Samad, et il a dit: Son explication est en lui, Al-Samad comporte cinq lettres, et l'Alif est un signe de Son unicité, et c'est Sa parole exaltée: "Allah atteste qu'il n'y a de divinité que Lui". Et en cela il y a une indication et un signe vers l'Invisible, et le Lam est une preuve de Sa divinité, qu'Il est Allah, et l'Alif et le Lam sont joints, ils ne se prononcent pas et n'entrent pas dans l'ouïe, mais apparaissent dans l'écriture, preuve que Sa divinité est cachée par Sa douceur, non perceptible par les sens ni exprimée par une langue descriptive ni entendue par une oreille, car l'interprétation de la divinité est ce qui a éloigné les créatures de comprendre Sa nature et Sa manière d'être par une perception ou une illusion, mais Il est le Créateur des illusions et le Créateur des sens, et cela apparaît lors de l'écriture, preuve qu'Allah a manifesté Sa Seigneurie en créant les êtres et en composant leurs âmes délicates dans leurs corps denses, donc quand un serviteur réfléchit sur la nature du Créateur et Sa manière d'être, il s'égare et ne peut saisir par une conception ce qui est concevable pour Lui, car Il est exalté et a créé les formes, donc quand il regarde Sa création, il est convaincu qu'Il est leur Créateur et le Compositeur de leurs âmes dans leurs corps. Quant au Sad, c'est une preuve qu'Il est véridique, et Sa parole est
