Hadith record

3. Muhammad ibn al-Hassan has narrated from Sahl ibn Ziyad from Muhammad ibn Isma‘il ibn Bazi‘ from Muhammad ibn Zayd who has said the following. “I went to Imam al-Rida (a.s.) to ask about the Oneness of Allah (God). The Imam dictated to me thus, ‘All praise belongs to Allah, Who is the originator of all things. He is the inventor of all things, an invention that came from His power and wisdom but not from a thing so it would invalidate the invention and not from a cause so it would invalidate the novelty. He created whatever He wanted and howsoever He liked. He alone did all this to manifest His Wisdom and the truth of His Providence. Intelligence cannot comprehend Him, (Awham) imagination cannot reach Him, eyes cannot see Him and measurements cannot confine Him. The power of expression is unable to express Him in words. All sights are exhausted from reaching Him and the power of describing and defining have gone astray in its description and definition of His-self. He is hidden without any veil and is concealed without any covering. He is known without being seen; described without any form, and praised without any body. There is no god, except Allah, the Great, the Most High.’”

Translation: Muhammad Sarwar — attributed by Thaqalayn·The Arabic above is the original.