The Sufficient (Vol 1) · Hadith 261 (#Ḥadīth #5)

5ـ عَلِيُّ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ مَعْبَدٍ عَنْ عَبْدِ الله بْنِ سِنَانٍ عَنْ أَبِيهِ قَالَ حَضَرْتُ أَبَا جَعْفَرٍ فَدَخَلَ عَلَيْهِ رَجُلٌ مِنَ الْخَوَارِجِ فَقَالَ لَهُ يَا أَبَا جَعْفَرٍ أَيَّ شَيْءٍ تَعْبُدُ قَالَ الله تَعَالَى قَالَ رَأَيْتَهُ قَالَ بَلْ لَمْ تَرَهُ الْعُيُونُ بِمُشَاهَدَةِ الابْصَارِ وَلَكِنْ رَأَتْهُ الْقُلُوبُ بِحَقَائِقِ الايمَانِ لا يُعْرَفُ بِالْقِيَاسِ وَلا يُدْرَكُ بِالْحَوَاسِّ وَلا يُشَبَّهُ بِالنَّاسِ مَوْصُوفٌ بِالايَاتِ مَعْرُوفٌ بِالْعَلامَاتِ لا يَجُورُ فِي حُكْمِهِ ذَلِكَ الله لا إِلَهَ إِلا هُوَ قَالَ فَخَرَجَ الرَّجُلُ وَهُوَ يَقُولُ الله أَعْلَمُ حَيْثُ يَجْعَلُ رِسالَتَهُ.

5. Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from his father from Ali ibn Ma‘bad from ‘Abdallah ibn Sinan from his father who has said the following. “I met Imam abu Ja‘far and at that time a man from the Khariji group came to see the Imam and asked, ‘O abu Ja‘far, who do you worship?’” The Imam replied, “I worship Allah, the Most High.” He then asked, “Have you seen Him?” The Imam then said, “Eyes can not see Him in an eye-witnessing process but the hearts can see Him through the reality of faith. Allah can not be known by analogy or physical senses and He is not similar to people. He is mentioned in the verses of revelation. He is known from the signs. He does not do injustice in His judgments. Thus, is Allah besides Him there is no Allah.” The narrator has said, “The man then left the Imam saying, “Allah knows best to who should He entrust His message to mankind.”

Gradings are classical jarḥ-wa-taʿdīl, name-matched to a rijāl index (not individually re-verified).