He said: Al-Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Alawi told me, he said: Ali ibn Muhammad al-Aqiqi told me from his father Ahmad ibn Ibrahim from Muhammad ibn Abd Allah ibn Mihran, he said: I asked my Master Ja'far al-Sadiq, may His might be exalted: How much of the world has passed?

He said: "Four hundred thousand cycles have passed of the world, and every cycle is four hundred thousand eras, and every era is four hundred thousand epochs¹, and every epoch is four hundred thousand years. And in every epoch are seven Adams², and in every Adam: Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad."

And this is evidence for what we mentioned, regarding what Abu Muhammad ibn Shu'bah, peace be upon him, mentioned in the book [Realities of the Secrets of Religion] from the saying of the Scholar, may His might be exalted, the Book of [Al-Haft], and it is the narration of Al-Mufaddal, peace be upon him.

The Natures of Man: [Bile, Blood, Wind, and Phlegm].