عِدَّةٌ مِنْ أَصْحَابِنَا عَنْ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ عَنْ بَكْرِ بْنِ صَالِحٍ عَنْ سُلَيْمَانَ الْجَعْفَرِيِّ عَنْ أَبِي الْحَسَنِ الرِّضَا ( عليه السلام ) قَالَ الطَّاوُسُ مَسْخٌ كَانَ رَجُلًا جَمِيلًا فَكَابَرَ امْرَأَةَ رَجُلٍ مُؤْمِنٍ تُحِبُّهُ فَوَقَعَ بِهَا ثُمَّ رَاسَلَتْهُ بَعْدُ فَمَسَخَهُمَا اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ طَاوُسَيْنِ أُنْثَى وَ ذَكَراً وَ لَا يُؤْكَلُ لَحْمُهُ وَ لَا بَيْضُهُ .
16. A number of our people have narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad from Bakr ibn Salih from Sulayman al-Ja‘fariy who has said the following: “Abu al-Hassan, al-Rida’ , has said, ‘The Peacock is metamorphosed. He was a beautiful man. He treated with disregard the woman of a believing man. The woman loved him and he fell on her, then continued and was metamorphosed by Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, in the form of male and female. It is not edible, in the form of flesh or its eggs.’” 