1. We were told by Muhammed bin Ibrahim bin Ishaq, may Allah grant him mercy, that he said: We were told by Ahmad bin Muhammed al-Hamdani, the servant of the sons of Hashim, that he said: We were told by Ja’far bin Abdullah bin Ja’far bin Abdullah bin Ja’far bin Muhammed bin Ali ibn Abi Talib. He said: We were told by Katheer bin ‘Ayyash al-Qattan, from Abu’l-Jaroud, Ziyad bin Mundhir, from Abu Ja’far, Muhammed bin Ali al-Baqir, peace be upon them both, that he said:

When Isa ibn Maryam [1], peace be upon him, was born, he was as a child of one day seeming as child of two months, and when he was a child of seven months, his mother took by his hand and brought him to the writers and made him sit between the hands of the teacher. Then the teacher said: Say: In the Name of Allah, the Merciful with all the creation, the Merciful to the believers in particular. Then Isa, peace be upon him, said: In the Name of Allah, the Merciful with all the creation, the Merciful to the believers in particular. Then the teacher said to him: Recite the alphabet. Then Isa, peace be upon him, raised his head and said: Do you know what I should recite of the alphabet? Then he raised the whip to hit him, so he said: O teacher, do not hit me if you were to know. Otherwise, ask me that I might interpret to you. He said: Interpret to me. Isa, peace be upon him, said: The «Alif» is the Bounties of Allah, the «Baa’» is the Delight of Allah, the «Jeem» is the Beauty of Allah, the «Daal» is the Religion of Allah, the «Huz» - «Haa’» - is the dread [2] of Hell, the «Waw» refers to the woe to the people of the Fire, the «Zaay» is the sigh [3] of Hell, «Hhatti» is the falling [4] of intentional mistakes from (the account of) the seekers of forgiveness, «Kalman» is the Speech [5] of Allah, whose Speech none will replace, «Saa’fass» refers to a Ssaa’ [6] for a Ssaa’, the reward is based upon requital, and «Qarasht» refers to that He assembled them in Hell and gathered them. Then the teacher said: O woman, take by the hand of your son, for he has known, and there is no need to him for a teacher.