ʿUyūn akhbār al-Riḍā

11-6 (The author of the book narrated) my father - may God be pleased with him - narrated that Sa’d ibn Abdullah quoted on the authority of Muhammad ibn Al-Hussein Abil Khattab, on the authority of Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Nasr, “Some people from across the river came to see Abil Hassan Al-Ridha (s) and said, ‘We have come to ask you three questions. If you give us the answer to all three questions, then we will know that you are a scientist.’ The Imam (s) said, ‘Go ahead and ask.’ They said, ‘Let us know where the Sublime God is? How is He? What does He rely on?’ The Imam (s) replied, ‘The Sublime God has created the quality of how to be Himself. Therefore, He Himself has no quality of being, and this question does not apply to Him. He has created positions. Thus He is not in need of a place to be. He relies on His Might.’ They said, ‘We testify that you are a scientist.’”The author of this book (Sheikh Sadooq) said, “When the Imam (s) said that God relies on His Might, he (s) meant that God relies on Himself since Might is amongst the essential attributes of Allah, the High.”