And this is the commentary of this Scholar: That it passed from the worlds¹.

And how much has passed over the passage of eons and epochs, and eras and cycles.

And this indicates the Pre-eternity of the Creator, the Almighty, and His Oneness, and the greatness of His Kingdom, Glory be to Him above what they associate [with Him]. And among what indicates that is what Ja'far ibn Muhammad, may His might be exalted, said when Bashar al-Sha'iri, peace be upon him, asked him and said to him: O my Master! Was there an Adam before our Adam, and a world before our world?

So he said: "Yes! An Adam and an Adam until he counted twenty-one Adams."

He said: And he also asked him: If He places the people of Paradise in Paradise, and the people of the Fire in the Fire, does God create a creation other than them?

So He, may His might be exalted, said: "O Bashar, you want to void His Kingdom. Indeed, your Lord has never ceased creating without end."

And this report is better than what he also presented in the book [Realities of the Secrets of Religion].