The Lord [Ali]—Exalted is His Might—smiled and said: "O Qays, open the Trunk!"

Qays said: "By Allah, there appeared from it place after place and land after land after land, cities after cities, provinces after provinces, homes after homes, and villages after villages. Creations followed creations, moving in throngs and processions. Likewise [appeared] the cities, the villages, the lands, the plains, the deserts, the wildernesses, the wild beasts, the livestock, and various types of creation in all their manifold forms and images—both those we recognize and those we had only heard of. We saw the open squares of the cities, one after another, until not a single place on earth remained that had not emerged from the Trunk (Ayba).

The onlookers watched, struck dumb, their gazes fixed in bewilderment. Some fainted and fell upon their faces; others were confounded, their minds scattered, their intellects gone, and their understanding vanished. The Lord—Glorified be His Might—said: "O brother of Himyar, would you like me to show you something beyond what you have seen—something that neither you nor anyone else in the worlds, nor all of creation combined, could endure to behold? However, I will show you, your people, and those present what they can bear."