When ʿUmar b. al-Khaṭṭāb was in authority over the people, a group of Jews came to him and said, 'You are in authority over this affair after your Prophet. We have come to you to ask you about some things, and if you can answer us on them, we will believe, accept, and follow you.' 'Ask about whatever you wish,' ʿUmar said to them in response. They asked him, 'Inform us about the locks of the Seven Heavens and their keys? Inform us about a grave which set forth with its occupant? Inform us who warned their nation, who was neither Jinn nor human? Inform us in which place the sun rose to which it never returned? Inform us about five that God did not create in their mothers' wombs? Inform us about one, two, three, four, five, six, and seven? And about eight, nine, ten, eleven, and twelve?'" Ṭāwūs said, "ʿUmar closed his eyes for an hour, then he opened them and said, 'You have asked ʿUmar b. al-Khaṭṭāb something about which he does not know. However, the cousin of the Messenger of God (ṣ) will inform you about what you asked me.' He then sent for Imam ʿAlī (ʿas) and called on him. When he arrived, ʿUmar said to him, 'O' Abū al-Ḥasan, an assembly of Jews has asked me about things, and I could not answer them at all. They placed a burden upon me, however, by stipulating that if I informed them, they would believe in the Prophet (ṣ).' 'O' assembly of Jews,' ʿAlī (ʿas) addressed them with, 'present me with your questions.' So they asked him as they asked ʿUmar. Imam ʿAlī asked them, 'Do you wish to ask about anything else in addition to this?' 'No,' they answered, 'o' Father of Shabbar and Shabīr.' 'As for the locks of the Heavens,' ʿAlī (ʿas) said in answer to them, 'they are associating partners with God, and their keys are saying, "There is no god but God." As for the grave which set forth with its occupant, it was the fish that set forth through the seven seas with Jonah (ʿas) in its belly. As for the one who warned their nation, who was neither Jinn nor human, that was the ant of Solomon, son of David (ʿas). As for the place in which the sun rose to which it never returned again, that is the sea which God - Mighty and Exalted - delivered Moses (ʿas) from and in which he drowned Pharaoh and his companions. As for the five who were not created in their mothers' wombs, they are Adam (ʿas), Eve (ʿas), the staff of Moses (ʿas), the she-camel of Ṣāliḥ (ʿas), and the ram of Abraham (ʿas). As for one, God is One and without partner. As for two, Adam (ʿas) and Eve (ʿas) were two. As for three, Gabriel, Michael, and Seraphiel are three. As for four, the Torah, Gospel, Psalms, and the Criterion are four. As for five, there are five mandatory prayers for the Prophet (ṣ). As for six, it is the saying of God - Mighty and Exalted -, "Certainly We created the heavens and the earth, and whatever is between them, in six days." (Qurʾān 50:38) As for seven, it is the saying of God - Exalted and Mighty -, "and we built above you the seven mighty heavens." (Qurʾān 78:12) As for eight, it is the saying of God - Mighty and Exalted -, 'and the Throne of your Lord will be borne that day by eight angels.' (Qurʾān 69:17) As for nine, they are the signs revealed to Moses (ʿas). As for ten, it is the saying of God - Mighty and Exalted -, "And We made an appointment with Moses for thirty nights, and completed them with ten more." (Qurʾān 7:142) As for eleven, it is when Joseph (ʿas) said to his father, "I saw eleven planets." (Qurʾān 11:4) And as for twelve, it is when God - Mighty and Exalted - said to Moses (ʿas), '[We said,] "Strike the rock with your staff." Thereat twelve fountains gushed forth from it.' (Qurʾān 2:60)'" Ṭāwūs adds, "The Jews said to this, 'We bear witness that there is no god but God, that Muḥammad (ṣ) is the Messenger of God, and that you are the cousin of the Messenger of God (ṣ).' Then they came to ʿUmar and said to him, 'We bear witness that this is the brother of the Messenger of God (ṣ), and that he has a greater right to your position than you do.'" Ṭāwūs concluded that everyone who was with them converted to Islam, and their Islam was pure.