in the very substance of speech you possess marvels
that bring forth pearls into the hand that gathers them.
So why have you left off praising the son of Mūsā
for the virtues that have all converged within him?
I replied: “I do not know how to laud an Imām
whose father was served by Gabriel.” (1)

I say: Such a statement may not be uttered without explicit revelation; rather, Gabriel was the teacher of our Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

Aḥmad ibn Khālid al-Dhuhlī, the emir, said: “I prayed behind ʿAlī al-Riḍā in Naysābūr, and he recited Bismillāh ar-Raḥmān ar-Raḥīm (‘In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful’) aloud at the beginning of every surah.”

Al-Ḥākim said: “Isḥāq ibn Muḥammad al-Hāshimī in Kūfah narrated to us; al-Qāsim ibn Aḥmad al-ʿAlawī narrated to us; Abū ’l-Ṣalt al-Harawī narrated to us; ʿAlī ibn Mūsā al-Riḍā narrated to me, saying: ‘Whoever says that the Qur’an is created is a disbeliever.’ ”

It is also reported from ʿAlī al-Riḍā, on the authority of his forefathers: “Everything is by destiny, even incapacity and cleverness.”

Abū ’l-Ṣalt related: “I heard ʿAlī ibn Mūsā at the Standing-place (ʿArafah) supplicating: ‘O Allah, just as You have concealed from others what I know about myself, forgive me for what You know of me; and as Your knowledge encompasses me, let Your pardon encompass me; and as You have honoured me with knowledge of You, crown that knowledge with Your forgiveness, O Possessor of Majesty and Bounty.’ ”

He died in 203 AH, at the age of mature manhood.

Ibn Ḥibbān (2) said: “ʿAlī ibn Mūsā relates astonishing matters from his father; he transmitted….”