A Jew went to Ali and asked him, "When did God exist." Ali said that God is above consideration of time and space. Creation was not, and He was. He was while there was no being. He existed without cause. He has no beginning and no end. He is subject to no limitations. He is infinite. He is the end of all soul.
The Jew next asked, "What is fate." Ali said. "It is a gloomy road; treat it not." The Jew repeated the question for the third time and Ali said, "It is a mystery of God which is hidden from you; do not probe into it. "The Jew insisted on a reply, and Ali asked him, "Has God created you for what he has willed, or what you have willed?" Thereupon Ali said, "Then He will do with you as He thinks fit, and that is fate." This impressed the Jew and he was converted to Islam at the hand of Ali.
