[11] وَ حَضَرَ ع يَوْماً مَجْلِسَ الْمَأْمُونِ وَ ذُو...

[11] وَ حَضَرَ ع يَوْماً مَجْلِسَ الْمَأْمُونِ وَ ذُو الرِّئَاسَتَيْنِ حَاضِرٌ فَتَذَاكَرُوا اللَّيْلَ وَ النَّهَارَ وَ أَيُّهُمَا خُلِقَ قَبْلَ صَاحِبِهِ فَسَأَلَ ذُو الرِّئَاسَتَيْنِ الرِّضَا ع عَنْ ذَلِكَ And one day he -asws attended a gathering of (the caliph) Al-Mamoun and Zul Riyasateyn (his minister) was present. They discussed the night and the day, which of the two had been Created before its counterpart. Zul Riyasateyn asked Al-Reza -asws about that.

فَقَالَ ع لَهُ تُحِبُّ أَنْ أُعْطِيَكَ الْجَوَابَ مِنْ كِتَابِ اللَّهِ أَمْ حِسَابِكَ He -asws said to him: ‘Would you like me -asws to give you the answer from the Book of Allah -azwj or your (astrological) calculation?’ فَقَالَ أُرِيدُهُ أَوَّلًا مِنَ الْحِسَابِ He said, ‘I want it first from the (astrological) calculation’.

فَقَالَ ع أَ لَيْسَ تَقُولُونَ إِنَّ طَالِعَ الدُّنْيَا السَّرَطَانُ وَ إِنَّ الْكَوَاكِبَ كَانَتْ فِي أَشْرَافِهَا He -asws said: ‘Aren’t you saying that the ascendant of the world is the Cancer, and that the star happen to be in its rising?’ قَالَ نَعَمْ He said, ‘Yes’.

قَالَ فَزُحَلُ فِي الْمِيزَانِ وَ الْمُشْتَرِي فِي السَّرَطَانِ وَ الْمِرِّيخُ فِي الْجَدْيِ وَ الزُّهَرَةُ فِي الْحُوتِ وَ الْقَمَرُ فِي الثَّوْرِ وَ الشَّمْسُ فِي وَسَطِ السَّمَاءِ فِي الْحَمَلِ وَ هَذَا لَا يَكُونُ إِلَّا نَهَاراً He -asws said: ‘Saturn in the Libra, and Jupiter in the Cancer, and the Mars in the Capricorn, and the Venus in the Pisces, and the Moon in the Taurus, and the Sun is in the middle of the sky in Aries, and (all) this cannot happen except at day time’.

قَالَ نَعَمْ He said, ‘Yes’. قَالَ فَمِنْ كِتَابِ اللَّهِ He said, ‘So, from the Book of Allah -azwj ?’ قَالَ ع قَوْلُهُ‏ لَا الشَّمْسُ يَنْبَغِي لَها أَنْ تُدْرِكَ الْقَمَرَ وَ لَا اللَّيْلُ سابِقُ النَّهارِ أَيْ إِنَّ النَّهَارَ سَبَقَهُ‏ He -asws said: ‘His -azwj Words: The sun, it is not befitting for it that it should overtake the moon, nor for the night to precede the day, and all are floating in an orbit [36:40] – i.e., the day preceded it’’.