سورة مريم

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): At that very moment, by Allah's permission, Isa (peace be upon him) began to speak and said: إِنِّی عَبْدُ اللهِ آتانِیَ الْکِتابَ وَ جَعَلَنِی نَبِیًّا [Surely I am a servant of Allah; He has given me the Book and made me a prophet].

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): When seventy free women disrespected Maryam (peace be upon her) and accused her of fornication, saying: لَقَدْ جِئْتِ شَیْئاً فَرِیًّا [Indeed you have brought a strange thing], Allah caused Isa (peace be upon him) to speak, and he said: 'Woe to you for slandering my mother! I am a servant of Allah, to whom the Book has been given, and by Allah, I shall inflict the hadd punishment on every one of you for the slander you cast against my mother.'

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): آتانِیَ الْکِتابَ وَ جَعَلَنِی نَبِیًّا [He has given me the Book and made me a prophet]; it has been said: on the day he was born.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): It is narrated from Abu Amr and Abu Sa'id al-Khudri that the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said concerning the birth of Imam Ali (peace be upon him): "Did Allah the Mighty and Majestic not say the same about Isa ibn Maryam (peace be upon him): فَناداها مِنْ تَحْتِها أَلاَّ تَحْزَنی قَدْ جَعَلَ رَبُّکِ تَحْتَکِ سَرِیًّا؛ وَ هُزِّی إِلَیْکِ بِجِذْعِ النَّخْلَةِ تُساقِطْ عَلَیْکِ رُطَباً جَنِیًّا؛ فَکُلی وَ اشْرَبی وَ قَرِّی عَیْناً فَإِمَّا تَرَیِنَّ مِنَ الْبَشَرِ أَحَداً فَقُولی إِنِّی نَذَرْتُ لِلرَّحْمنِ صَوْماً فَلَنْ أُکَلِّمَ الْیَوْمَ إِنْسِیًّا [So he called out to her from beneath her: Do not grieve; indeed your Lord has placed a stream beneath you. And shake toward you the trunk of the palm tree; it will drop upon you ripe fresh dates. So eat and drink and be comforted. And if you see any human being, say: Indeed I have vowed to the Most Merciful a fast, so I will not speak today to any human]; and did Isa (peace be upon him) not speak at the time of his birth when his mother pointed to him, and the Qur'an says regarding this: قالُوا کَیْفَ نُکَلِّمُ مَنْ کانَ فِی الْمَهْدِ صَبِیًّا [They said: How shall we speak to one who is a child in the cradle]? ... Isa (peace be upon him) said: إِنِّی عَبْدُ اللهِ آتانِیَ الْکِتابَ وَ جَعَلَنِی نَبِیًّا [Indeed I am the servant of Allah; He has given me the Book and made me a prophet]. Therefore you see that Isa (peace be upon him) spoke at the time of his birth."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Yazid al-Kunasi said: "I asked Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Was Isa ibn Maryam (peace be upon him), when he spoke in the cradle, the proof of Allah upon the people of his time?" He said: "At that time he was a prophet and a proof of Allah, but not a messenger (at that time he was not commissioned to convey and invite). Do you not hear his own words, when he said: إِنِّی عَبْدُ اللهِ آتانِیَ الْکِتابَ وَ جَعَلَنِی نَبِیًّا؛ وَ جَعَلَنِی مُبارَکاً أَیْنَ ما کُنْتُ وَ أَوْصانِی بِالصَّلاةِ وَ الزَّکاةِ ما دُمْتُ حَیًّا [Indeed I am the servant of Allah; He has given me the Book and made me a prophet; and He has made me blessed wherever I may be, and He has enjoined upon me prayer and zakat as long as I live]." I said: "At that time and in the very state that he was in the cradle, was he the proof of Allah over Zakariyya (peace be upon him)?" He said: "Isa (peace be upon him) in that state was a sign for the people, and for Maryam (peace be upon her), when he spoke and defended her, he was a mercy from Allah, and he was a prophet and a proof over everyone who heard his speech in that state. Then he fell silent and did not speak until two years had passed, and the proof of Allah the Mighty and Majestic over the people after the silence of Isa (peace be upon him) for two years was Zakariyya (peace be upon him). Then Zakariyya (peace be upon him) passed away, and his son Yahya (peace be upon him) inherited the Book and wisdom from him, while he was a small child. Do you not hear the words of Allah the Mighty and Majestic: یا یَحْیی خُذِ الْکِتابَ بِقُوَّةٍ وَ آتَیْناهُ الْحُکْمَ صَبِیًّا [O Yahya! Hold the Book with strength — and We gave him wisdom while yet a child]; meaning, We who give you the authority of prophethood in childhood also grant you the strength and capacity for it. When Isa (peace be upon him) reached seven years of age and Allah the Exalted sent revelation to him, he spoke of his prophethood and messengership, and became a proof over Yahya (peace be upon him) and over all people. O Aba Khalid! From the day Allah created Adam (peace be upon him) and settled him on the earth, the earth is not left for a single day without a proof of Allah over the people."