(219) From our lord Jabir ibn Yazid al-Ju'fi—peace be upon him—who said: I asked our Master al-Sadiq—exalted be his glory—regarding Oneness? He replied: "His manifestation is His existence; His existence is His observation; His observation is His Oneness; His Oneness is the negation of attributes from Him; the negation of attributes from Him is His distinction from His creation; and His distinction from His creation is the testimony that the Attribute is other than the Described. The Attribute is the Name, and the Described is the Gate; they both bear witness for the Meaning that He is their Lord, their Originator, and their Creator, and that they are both servants to Him."

(220) By the chain of transmission, Jabir al-Ju'fi—peace be upon him—said: I said to our Master al-Sadiq—exalted be his glory: "O my lord, inform me of pure Oneness from the Quran?" He replied: "Read, O Jabir: {Creator of the heavens and the earth. He has made for you from yourselves mates, and among the cattle mates; He multiplies you thereby. There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing.}"¹

(221) It is related from Hisham ibn al-Hakam—peace be upon him—who said: I met Abu Hashim the Zindiq, and he said to me: "O Hisham, I have been seeking you for days." I replied: "Here I am." He said: "Is the Lord able to create the like of Himself? If you say yes, you have assigned Him a peer; if you say no, you have attributed incapacity to the Lord." I came to my Master al-Sadiq—exalted be his glory—and informed him. My Master said: "O Hisham, if the Lord created the like of Himself, would the created be like the Creator? The originated like the Originator? The ancient like the temporal? The maker like the made? Or the Lord like the servant? Exalted is He whom nothing among His creatures resembles."