Maʿānī al-ʾAkhbār 1, record 284 of the digital edition

Translation

1. We were told by Ahmad bin Muhammed bin Yahya al-‘Attar, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said: We were told by my father, from Muhammed bin Ahmad bin Yahya bin Imran al-Ash’ari, that he said: I was told by Abu Abdillah al-Razi – and his name is Abdullah bin Ahmad – from Sajjada – and his name is Hasan bin Ali bin Abi Uthman, and the name of Abu Uthman is Habib – from Muhammed bin Abi Hamza, from Muhammed bin Wahb, from Abu Abdillah al-Sadiq, Ja’far bin Muhammed, peace be upon them both, that he said: A wise man followed another wise man for seven hundred farsakhs [1] in seven words, and when he reached him, he said to him: O you, what is higher than the sky, wider than the earth, richer than the ocean, harder than stone, of more intense heat than fire, of more intense coldness than severe frost and heavier than immovable mountains? So he said to him: O you, indeed, the truth is higher than the sky; justice is wider than the earth; the soul’s sufficiency is richer than the ocean; the heart of the disbeliever is harder than stone; the desirous, the greedy, is of more intense heat than fire; the despair from the mercy of Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He, is of more intense coldness than severe frost; and slander against the innocent is heavier than immovable mountains.

Translation: Basel Kadem — published with the edition, reproduced verbatim.