His reliance is upon His own Power

Hawzah News Agency- A group of our people narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Khalid, from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Abu Nasr who has said the following:

جَاءَ رَجُلٌ إِلَى أَبِي الْحَسَنِ الرِّضَا (عَلَيْهِ السَّلام) مِنْ وَرَاءِ نَهَرِ بَلْخَ

فَقَالَ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ عَنْ مَسْأَلَةٍ فَإِنْ أَجَبْتَنِي فِيهَا بِمَا عِنْدِي قُلْتُ بِإِمَامَتِكَ

- فَقَالَ أَبُو الْحَسَنِ (عَلَيْهِ السَّلام) سَلْ عَمَّا شِئْتَ

فَقَالَ أَخْبِرْنِي عَنْ رَبِّكَ مَتَى كَانَ وَكَيْفَ كَانَ وَعَلَى أَيِّ شَيْ‏ءٍ كَانَ اعْتِمَادُهُ

- فَقَالَ أَبُو الْحَسَنِ (عَلَيْهِ السَّلام) إِنَّ الله تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى أَيَّنَ الايْنَ بِلا أَيْنٍ وَكَيَّفَ الْكَيْفَ بِلا كَيْفٍ وَكَانَ اعْتِمَادُهُ عَلَى قُدْرَتِهِ

فَقَامَ إِلَيْهِ الرَّجُلُ فَقَبَّلَ رَأْسَهُ وَقَالَ أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لا إِلَهَ إِلا الله وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّداً رَسُولُ الله وَأَنَّ عَلِيّاً وَصِيُّ رَسُولِ الله (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِه) وَالْقَيِّمُ بَعْدَهُ بِمَا قَامَ بِهِ رَسُولُ الله (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِه) وَأَنَّكُمُ الائِمَّةُ الصَّادِقُونَ وَأَنَّكَ الْخَلَفُ مِنْ بَعْدِهِمْ.

A man came to Imam Reza (pbuh) from behind the Balkh river

And said: “I will ask you about a matter, If you answer me according to how I know, I will admit your Imamate.’”

- Imam Reza (pbuh) said: “Ask about whatever you wish.”

He said: “Tell me about your Lord, when He was, how He was, and on what He relied.”

- Imam Reza (pbuh) said: “Indeed, Allah—Blessed and Exalted—assigned ‘place’ to place without Himself being confined by place, and determined ‘quality’ without Himself being limited by any quality; and His reliance is upon His own Power.”

So the man stood up and leaned towards him, kissed Imams head, and said, “I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and that Ali is the successor of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh), and [Ali is] the one who took charge after him (the Holy Prophet) of what the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) did, and that you are the truthful Imams, and that you [Imam Reza] are the successor after them.

Al-Kāfi,Volume 1,Book 3,Chapter 6