and on the owner of the house, who was completely perplexed. When Jesus, peace be upon him, witnessed this, he went to a blind man and to another who was crippled—both of whom had attached themselves to him—and said to the blind man, “Carry this crippled man and stand up with him.” The blind man replied, “I cannot.” Jesus said, “Yes you can, just as you and he did when the two of you took that money through the opening in the wall.” When he said this, they acknowledged the truth of his words and brought back the money, whereupon Jesus, though still very young, became highly esteemed in people’s eyes (1).

Another of his signs was as follows: the son of a local dehqān held a banquet for the people to celebrate the circumcision of his children. After the guests had gathered and he had fed them, he wished to give them something to drink—namely wine, as was customary in those days—but found that his jars were empty. This distressed him. When Jesus saw this, he arose and passed by the jars, running his hand over their mouths; he did not do so to a single jar without it filling with wine, the choicest of drink. The people were amazed and revered him. They offered him and his mother a large sum of money, but they refused it and instead departed, heading for the land of Jerusalem (2)(3). Allah knows best.

Ishāq ibn Bishr said: ʿUthmān ibn Sāj (4) and others narrated to us from Mūsā ibn Wardān, from Abū Naḍrah, from Abū Saʿīd, and from Makḥūl, from Abū Hurayrah, who said:

“When Allah first loosed the tongue of Jesus son of Mary (5) after the words he had uttered while still an infant, he glorified Allah with a praise the like of which no ear had ever heard. He left neither sun nor moon, mountain nor river, nor spring without mentioning it in his glorification, and he said:

‘O Allah, You are the Near One in Your exaltedness, the Most High in Your nearness, raised above all of Your creation. You are the One who created seven heavens in the air by Your words, arrayed one above the other. They responded while still smoke, in awe of You, and came forth obedient to Your command. In them are Your angels who celebrate Your holiness as they glorify You.

You placed in them light amid the darkness and brightness from the sun’s radiance by day. You set within them thunder that glorifies You with praise; by Your might the brilliance of Your light dispels the darkness. You fixed in them lamps by which the bewildered find guidance in the night.

Blessed are You, O Allah, for the heavens You have fashioned and the earth You have spread out. You spread it upon the water and raised it over the surge of the engulfing waves, subduing it with the subjugation of mastery. Its ruggedness was humbled in obedience to You, its affairs subdued before Your command, and its waves bowed to Your majesty.

Thereafter You caused beneath the seas the rivers to gush forth, then after the rivers the small streams, and after the streams the gushing springs. Then You brought forth from it rivers, trees, and fruits. Next You set upon its surface the mountains and pegged them as stakes upon the face of the water, and they obeyed…’”