Now the views of the Yezidis regarding the birth of Christ and the explanation of the name of the Apostle Peter, are found in one of their stories, which runs thus: “Verily Mary the Virgin mother of Jesus, begat Jesus in a manner unlike the rest of women. She begat him from her right side,[60] between her clothes and her body. At that time the Jews had a custom that, if a woman gave birth, all her relatives and neighbors would bring her presents. The women would call, carrying in their right hand a plate of fruits which were to be found in that season, and in the left hand they would carry a stone. This custom was a very ancient one. Therefore when Mary the Virgin gave birth to Jesus, the wife of Jonah, who is the mother of Peter, came to her; and, according to the custom, carried a plate of fruit in her right hand and a stone in her left. As she entered and gave Mary the plate, behold, the stone which was in her left hand begat a male. She called his name Simon Cifa, that is, son of the stone. Christians do not know these things as we do.” They have a story explaining the word heretic. It is this: When the great God created the heavens, he put all the keys of the treasuries and the mansions there in the hands of Melek Ṭâ´ûs, and commanded him not to open a certain mansion. But he, without the knowledge of God, opened the house and found a piece of paper on which was written, “Thou shalt worship thy God alone, and him alone shalt thou serve.” He kept the paper with him and allowed no one else to know about it. Then God created an iron ring and hung it in the air between the heaven and the earth. Afterward he created Adam the first. Melek Ṭâ´ûs refused to worship Adam when God commanded him to do so. He showed the written paper which he took from the mansion and said, “See what is written here.” Then the great God said, “It may be that you have opened the mansion which I forbade you to open.” He answered, “Yes.” Then God said to him, “You are a heretic, because you have disobeyed me and transgressed my commandment.” From this we know that God speaks in the Kurdish language, that is from the meaning of this saying, “Go into the iron ring which I, thy God, have made for whosoever does contrary to my commandment and disobeys me.”