In the beginning it was quite brittle and would have broken...

In the beginning it was quite brittle and would have broken into pieces in your hand like a piece of glass." Asked Abu Shakir: "Was it in a liquid condition before?" "Yes, it was", replied Imam Ja'far Sadiq (p.b.u.h.) Abu Shakir burst into a peal of laughter. One of the students of Imam Ja'far Sadiq (p.b.u.h.) got angry and was about to say something when he was stopped by his teacher.

Abu Shakir said: "I am laughing because you say that the stones are made of water." Imam Ja'far Sadiq (p.b.u.h.) replied: "I did not say that the stones are made of water. What I had said was that in the beginning they were in a liquid state." Abu Shakir said: "What difference does it make. The liquid and water are the same things." Imam Ja'far Sadiq (p.b.u.h.) replied: "There are many liquids which are not water.

Milk and vinegar are liquids, but they are not water, although they have water content in them. In the beginning the stones were liquid like water and they flowed like water. Gradually they cooled down and became hard so that you could cut them and make them into idols. The same hard stones will turn into liquid, if they are heated." Said Abu Shakir: "When I go home I will check the truth of your statement.

I will put the stone in the fireplace and see if it turns into liquid or not." Said the Imam: "You can not liquefy stone in your fireplace. Can you liquefy a piece of iron at home? A very high temperature is required to turn solid stone into liquid." "Do you realize how you could make the idols out of stones? It was Allah, who made the stones. It was He Who created you and gave you the hands with the unique fingers, which enabled you to handle tools and chisel out the idols from the stones.

Again it was He who gave you power and intelligence, which you used in making the idols." "Abu Shakir, do you think that the mountains are only heaps of stones? The Great Allah has created them to serve some very useful purpose. They were not created so that you may take stones and turn them into idols. Wherever there is a mountain there is flowing water. Rain and snow which fall on the mountain tops produce streams of fresh water.

These streams combine together to form big rivers, which irrigate farms and fields. The people who live in the valleys, through which the rivers flow, are assured of constant supply of water.