عَلِيُّ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ عَنْ سَهْلِ بْنِ زِيَادٍ عَنْ بَعْضِ أَصْحَابِهِ أَظُنُّهُ مُحَمَّدَ بْنَ إِسْمَاعِيلَ قَالَ ذَكَرَ بَعْضُنَا اللُّحْمَانَ عِنْدَ أَبِي الْحَسَنِ الرِّضَا ( عليه السلام ) فَقَالَ مَا لَحْمٌ بِأَطْيَبَ مِنْ لَحْمِ الْمَاعِزِ قَالَ فَنَظَرَ إِلَيْهِ أَبُو الْحَسَنِ ( عليه السلام ) وَ قَالَ لَوْ خَلَقَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ مُضْغَةً هِيَ أَطْيَبُ مِنَ الضَّأْنِ لَفَدَى بِهَا إِسْمَاعِيلَ ( عليه السلام ) .
1. Ali ibn Muhammad has narrated from Sahl ibn Ziyad from certain persons of his people, I think Muhammad ibn ’Isma‘il who has said the following: “Certain ones among us mentioned two kinds of meat before abu al-Hassan, al-Rida’ (a.s.). He said, ‘No other meat is better than the meat of goat.’ Abu al-Hassan (a.s.), looked at him and said, ‘Had Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, created any chunk of meat finer than that of sheep He would have presented that instead (of the ram) as ransom for ’Isma‘il (a.s.).”’