Hadith 264

‘Al Mahasin’ – My father, from the one who mentioned it, said, ‘The Jews gathered to Ra’s Al-Jalout, and they said, ‘This is a knowledgeable man’ – meaning by it Ali-asws Bin Abu Talib-asws – ‘Come with us to him-asws for us to ask him-asws’. They came to him-asws and it was said to them, ‘He-asws is in the office’. They waited until he-asws came out, and Ra’s Al-Jalout said to him-asws, ‘O Amir Al-Momineen-asws! We came to ask you-asws’. He-asws said: ‘Ask, O Jew, about whatever comes to you’. He said, ‘I ask you about our Lord-azwj, (from) when did He-azwj exist? ’
He-asws said: ‘He-azwj existence without an entity, He-azwj existed without a ‘how’, He-azwj did not cease to be without ‘how much’ and without ‘how’, He-azwj existed and there isn’t a ‘before’ for Him-azwj. He-azwj was before the ‘before’ without there being a ‘before’, nor a peak, nor an end-point of a peak, nor a peak to it. The peaks are cut-off from Him-azwj, as He-azwj is the peak of all peaks’. He (the narrator) said, ‘He-asws said: ‘Ra’s Al-Jalout said to the Jews, ‘Let us go away, this one-asws is indeed more knowledgeable than what is said regarding him-asws’’. [200]