ʿUyūn akhbār al-Riḍā 1, record 239 of the digital edition

Translation

28-31 (The author of the book narrated) my father - may God be pleased with him - narrated that Ali ibn Ibrahim ibn Hashem quoted on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Nasr al-Bezanti, “I asked Abul Hassan Al-Ridha (s) about the ‘Al-Haram (Mosque) and why some of the signs marking its boundary are closer to each other, while others are farther away from each other. The Imam (s) said, ‘When the Honorable the Exalted God threw Adam (s) out of Paradise and sent him down to Mount Abi Qobays, Adam (s) complained to his Lord - the Honorable the Exalted - about being frightened and not hearing the sounds that he (s) used to hear in Paradise. Then the Honorable the Exalted God sent down a red hyacinth which Adam (s) placed at the site of the House (the Kaaba). Adam (s) used to circumambulate around it and its light reached the limits of the ‘Al-Haram. The signs marking the limits of the ‘Al-Haram were thus marked based on the light from that hyacinth. Thus God established that area as the ‘Al-Haram Mosque.”The same account was narrated by Muhammad ibn Al-Hassan ibn Ahmad ibn al-Waleed - may God be pleased with him - on the authority of Muhammad ibn Al-Hassan al-Saffar, on the authority of Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Isa, on the authority of Abi Himam Isma’il ibn Himam, on the authority of Abil Hassan Al-Ridha (s).Muhammad ibn Al-Hassan ibn Ahmad ibn al-Waleed - may God be pleased with him - narrated that Al-Abbas ibn Ma’ruf quoted on the authority of Safwan ibn Yahya, “I asked Abul Hassan (s) about the ‘Al-Haram (Mosque) and its signs. He told me something similar to the above.”

Translation: Dr. Ali Peiravi — published with the edition, reproduced verbatim.