الكافي- ط الاسلامية, volume 1, page 147

3.Ali, from his father, from Ibn Abi Umayr, from Hisham ibn Salim, from Muhammad ibn Muslim, narrated that Abu Abdillah al-Sadiq (as) said: "Allah has not sent a prophet without first taking three pledges from him: acknowledgment of servitude to Him (Allah), renouncement of rivals (associating partners with Allah), and that Allah advances what He wills and delays what He wills."

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

4. It is narrated from Muhammad ibn Yahya from Ahmad ibn Muhammad from ibn Faddal from ibn Bukayr from Zurara from humran from abu Ja‘far (a.s.) who has said the following. “I asked the Imam about the words of Allah, “It is He who has created you from clay to live for a life-time and the span of your life is only known to Him. . .” (6:2) The Imam said, “There are two appointed times. One is is a definit time and the other is the conditional one.”

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

5. It is narrated from Ahmad ibn Mahran from ‘Abdal ‘Azim ibn ‘Abdallah al-Hassani from Ali ibn Asbat from Khalaf ibn Hammad from ibn Maskan from Malik al-Juhanni who has said the following. “I asked Imam abu ‘Abdallah (a.s.) about the words of Allah “Does he not remember that We created him when he did not exist?” (19:67) The Imam (a.s.) said, “It means that he did not exist in a definit or in the form of a being.” I asked the Imam about the words of Allah, “There was certainly a time when there was no mention of the human being” (76:1) The Imam said, “ It was definit but not mentioned.”

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

6. Muhammad ibn Isma'il narrated from al-Fadl ibn Shadhan, from Hammad ibn ‘Isa, from Rib‘i ibn ‘Abdillah, from al-Fudayl ibn Yasar who said: I heard Abu Ja‘far (as) say: "Knowledge is of two types: One type of knowledge is with Allah, kept hidden, He has not disclosed it to any of His creation. And the other is knowledge which He taught to His angels and His messengers. As for what He taught His angels and His messengers, it will certainly occur; He does not contradict Himself, nor His angels, nor His messengers. And as for the knowledge that is kept with Him, He brings forward from it whatever He wills, delays from it whatever He wills, and establishes whatever He wills."

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

Through the same chain of narrators it is narrated from Hammad from Rib‘i from Fudayl who said the following: “I heard abu Ja’far, recipient of divine supreme covenant, saying, ‘Of the issues there are those that Allah has withheld. He brings forward whatever He wills and withholds whatever He wills.’”

Translation: Muhammad Sarwar·The Arabic above is the original.

7. It is narrated from a number of our people from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Isa from Ibn Abi ‘Umayr from Ja‘far ibn ‘Uthman from Suma‘a from abu Basir and Wahab ibn Hafs from abu Basir from abu ‘Abdallah (a.s.) who has said the following: “Allah has two kinds of knowledge. There is the hidden, treasured knowledge of which no one has any information except Allah. From this knowledge comes al-Bada’. There is the knowledge that Allah has given to His angels, His messengers and His prophets and we know this knowledge.”

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