٩ - وبهذا الإسناد عن علي بن عبد الله، قال: حدثنا صفوان بن يحيى، عن عبد الله ابن مسكان، قال: سألت أبا عبد الله عليه السلام عن الله تبارك وتعالى أكان يعلم المكان قبل أن يخلق المكان. أم علمه عندما خلقه وبعد ما خلقه؟ فقال: تعالى الله، بل لم يزل عالما بالمكان قبل تكوينه كعلمه به بعد ما كونه، وكذلك علمه بجميع الأشياء كعلمه بالمكان. قال مصنف هذا الكتاب رضي الله عنه: من الدليل على أن الله تبارك وتعالى عالم أن الأفعال المختلفة التقدير، المتضادة التدبير، المتفاوتة الصنعة لا تقع على ما ينبغي أن يكون عليه من الحكمة ممن لا يعلمها، ولا يستمر على منهاج منتظم ممن يجهلها، ألا ترى أنه لا يصوغ قرطا يحكم صنعته ويضع كلا من دقيقه وجليله موضعه من لا يعرف الصياغة، ولا أن ينتظم كتابة يتبع كل حرف منها ما قبله من لا يعلم الكتابة، والعالم ألطف صنعة وأبدع تقريرا مما وصفناه، فوقوعه من غير عالم بكيفيته قبل وجوده أبعد وأشد استحالة. وتصديق ذلك: 
9. An the same chain of narrators that on the authority of `Ali ibn `Abd Allah that Safwan ibn Yahya, on the authority of `Abd Allah ibn Muskan that I asked Abu `Abd Allah al-Sadiq  about Allah, Blessed and Exalted be He: “Did He have knowledge of location before He created location? Or did He come to know if it when He was creating it or after He had created it?” So he  replied: “Exalted is Allah! Verily, he knew about space before He created space in the same fashion that He knew about if after He brought it into being. His Knowledge of space is the same as His Knowledge of all things.” The Compiler of this book, may Allah be pleased with him, says: Another proof that Allah, Blessed and Exalted be He, is Omniscient, is that action, planning, and work, can only be orchestrated by intelligence and not from ignorance, since it most surely requires wisdom. Not only can action, planning, and work not originate from ignorance, they cannot continue to operate without intelligence. Do you not see that one who does not know the art of goldsmithing cannot make an earring, even while placing every tiny essential piece in its position? Neither it is possible for someone who does not know how to write to write a book in which every word is in accordance with the previous. The All-Knowing is More Magnificent in work, and more amazing in establishment, than what we have described. Hence, it is certainly impossible for creation to have originated from a non-knower. The confirmation of this is (to be found in the following tradition):