That city had an overbearing tyrant. One day, the man came home anxious and sorrowful. Mary was with his wife, and Mary said to her, “What is the matter with your husband? I see him distressed.” She replied, “Do not ask me.” Mary said, “Tell me; perhaps Allah will relieve his distress.”

She said, “We have a king who assigns each one of us a day on which he must feed him and his troops and provide them with wine; if he does not, the king punishes him. Today is our turn, and we do not have the means for it.” Mary said, “Tell him not to worry, for I shall ask my son to pray for him, and that will suffice.”

Mary spoke to Jesus, peace be upon him, about this, and Jesus said, “If I do this, evil will result.” She said, “Do not concern yourself with that. He has treated us well and honored us.” Jesus, peace be upon him, said, “Tell him that, when the time draws near, he should fill his cooking pots and storage jars with water, then inform me.” He did so, and Jesus, peace be upon him, prayed to Allah Most High. The water in the pots became broth and meat, while the water in the jars became wine the like of which people had never seen.

When the king came, he ate; and when he drank the wine, he said, “Where is this wine from?” The man replied, “From such-and-such a land.” The king said (1), “My wine is from that land, yet it is not like this.” He replied, “It is from another land.” When he had confused the king and the king pressed him hard, he said, “I will tell you: I have a young servant who asks Allah for nothing without being granted it. He prayed to Allah, and He turned water into wine.”

The king had a son whom he intended to appoint as his successor, but the son had died a few days earlier. He was the most beloved of all people to him. The king said, “A man whose prayer to Allah turned water into wine will surely have his prayer answered (2) if he brings my son back to life.” The king summoned Jesus and spoke to him about it. Jesus said, “Do not do so, for if he lives, evil will result.” The king said, “I do not care; will I not see him?” Jesus said, “If I bring him back to life, you must let my mother and me go wherever we wish.” He said, “Yes.”

So Jesus prayed to Allah, and the young man came back to life. When the people of his realm saw that he had been restored to life, they rushed to take up weapons and said, “This man has devoured us, and now, when his death has drawn near, he wants to appoint his son as our ruler, so that he may devour us just as his father has.” They fought one another, and Jesus and his mother departed.

Jesus then passed by the disciples while they were fishing. He said, “What are you doing?” They said, “We are fishing.” He said, “Will you not come along, so that we may catch people?” They asked, “Who are you?” He said, “I am Jesus, son of Mary, the servant of Allah and His Messenger. Who will be my helpers in the cause of Allah?” So they believed in him and went with him.

His words, Exalted is He: “Who will be my helpers in the cause of Allah?” Al-Suddi and Ibn Jurayj said: It means, with Allah Most High. The Arabs say, “One small herd added to another is camels”—that is, one herd together with another. Likewise, Allah Most High says, “Do not consume their wealth along with your own wealth” (al-Nisa 4:2), meaning, together with your own wealth.

Al-Hasan and Abu Ubaydah said that “to” here means “in”: that is, “Who are my helpers in Allah?”—meaning, in the cause of Allah and His path. It was also said that it retains its usual sense: “Who will join his support for me to the support of Allah?”

They differed concerning the disciples. Mujahid and al-Suddi said that they were fishermen who caught fish, and they were called disciples because of the whiteness of their garments. It was also said that they were sailors. Al-Hasan said that they were fullers, and were so called because they whitened garments.

Ata said: Mary entrusted Jesus, peace be upon him, to various occupations. The last people to whom she entrusted him were the disciples, who were fullers and dyers. She entrusted him to their chief so that he might learn the craft from him. Garments accumulated with him, and he needed to travel. So he said to Jesus, “You have learned this craft, and I am leaving on a journey and will not