Tafsir of Ta-Ha 20:18

(He said, "It is my staff"—He ascribed it to himself to verify the nature of its being in his right hand, and as a preparation for the actions he would subsequently attribute to himself. Its name, according to what is narrated from Muqatil, was Nab’ah. He had taken it from the house of the prophets' staffs, which was with Shu'ayb when he hired him to herd. Adam, peace be upon him, had brought it down from Paradise, and it was, as is said, from its base. Wahb said: It was made of boxthorn (‘awsaj), and its length was ten cubits, equal to his height. It is also said: twelve cubits by the cubit of Moses, peace be upon him. The reason the subject was mentioned—though it is the primary focus—was his desire for intimate conversation (munajah) and the increased delight he found therein.

Ibn Abi Ishaq and al-Jahdari read it as ‘asayya by changing the alif into a ya and merging it into the ya of the first person, according to the dialect of Hudhayl; for they change the alif preceding the first-person ya into a ya for the sake of assimilation, just as the letter before it is kasraed in the sound noun. Their poet said: "They preceded desire and inclined to their desire, then they perished; and for every side there is a place of falling." Al-Hasan read it ‘asayya with a kasra on the ya, which is also narrated from Abu Ibn Abi Ishaq and Abu ‘Amr; this kasra is to avoid the meeting of two vowelless letters, as in al-buhr. From Ibn Abi Ishaq, it is also narrated as ‘asayya with a quiescent ya, as if he considered the pause and did not mind the meeting of two vowelless letters.

The staff (‘asa) is among the nouns considered feminine by convention, and the ta does not suffix to it. The first grammatical error heard in Iraq, as al-Farra’ said, was "This is my ‘asati." It is pluralized as ‘usu (with a kasra or damma on its first letter), a‘s, and a‘sa’.

(I lean upon it)—meaning, I support myself with it while walking and standing at the head of the flock and the like.

(And I strike down with it for my sheep)—meaning, I beat the tree leaves with it, striking them so they fall for my sheep to eat. Al-Nakha‘i read, as mentioned by Abu Fadl al-Razi and Ibn ‘Atiyya, ahishu with a kasra on the ha, and its meaning is the same as that with a damma. The object in both readings is omitted, as we have indicated.

Abu al-Fadl said: It is possible that this is from the root hasha, yahushu, hashashatan, meaning to incline; i.e., I incline it over my sheep with what is beneficial for them, such as driving them or dropping leaves for them to eat, and the like. It is said: hasha the leaves, fodder, and plants, if they dry out and become soft to break. On this interpretation, there is no omission.

Al-Hasan read it as ahissu with a damma on the ha and an unpointed sin, from al-hass, which is driving the sheep. Its transitivity with ‘ala is to include the meaning of leaning; it is said, "He leaned against him with the staff," meaning he raised it over him, implying a blow; i.e., I drive them while leaning over them with it. In the book al-Sin wa al-Shin by the author of the Qamus, it is said: hassa al-shay’ and hashahu means he crumbled and broke it, so they are the same in meaning. Ibn Khalawayh reported from al-Nakha‘i that he read uhishshu as a quadriliteral verb.

The author of al-Lawami‘ mentioned from ‘Ikrimah and Mujahid uhishu with a damma on the ha and a light, unpointed shin, then he said: I do not know its basis, unless it be in the sense of uhishu with gemination, but he fled from that because the shin has tafashi (dispersion of sound), so he found it heavy to combine gemination and tafashi, making it like the lightening of zulta and its likes. This is extremely far-fetched.

A group read ghanamay with a quiescent nun, and another read ‘ala ghanami where ‘ala is a preposition and ghanamiy is the direct object of the previous verb. I have not come across the manner of reading that verb for that group, and on the reading of the majority, its transitivity to ghanam is not apparent, nor is it on the reading of others, except with a form of affectation. Ghanam (sheep) is a feminine noun denoting the gender, applying to both male and female, and to all of them together; it has no singular from its own root, but its singular is shah. When you make it diminutive, you say ghunaymah with a ta. It is pluralized as agham, ghunum, and aghanim. They said ghunman for the dual, intending two flocks.

He, peace be upon him, prioritized the mention of his own benefit in his saying "I lean upon it" and followed it with the benefit of his flock in his saying, "And I strike down with it for my sheep." Perhaps this is because he, peace be upon him, was nearer in time to leaning upon it, so it was closer to his mind, followed by the striking for his sheep. It has been narrated by Imam Ahmad that after his Lord, glory be to Him, called him, and he realized that it was He, the Majestic, who was calling, He said to him: "Draw near to Me." So he clasped his hands onto the staff, then leaned until he stood upright, and his joints trembled until his legs shook and swayed, his tongue was severed, and his heart was broken, and there remained in him no bone that could carry him; he was as one dead, save that the spirit of life flowed within him. Then he crawled, terrified, until he stood near the tree from which he had been called. The Lord, blessed and exalted be He, said to him: "What is that in your right hand, O Moses?" And he said what the Qur'an, the Most Exalted, narrated. It is also said: Perhaps the precedence of leaning was because it is more consistent with the question "What is that in your right hand?"

Furthermore, he, peace be upon him, summarized its attributes in his saying:

(And I have in it other needs)—meaning other requirements. Its singular, ma’rabah, has a triple-voweled ra. In the description, it was treated as singular, so he did not say ukhar; this is permissible in non-pausal positions, and in it—as it is here—it is more permissible and better.

Al-Ahwazi reported in al-Iqna‘ from al-Zuhri and Shaybah that they read ma’arib without a hamza. It seems he means without a realized hamza, and the essence is that they softened the hamza between-between. Imam Ahmad and others narrated from Wahb regarding the specification of these needs that it had two prongs and a receptacle beneath them. When a branch grew long, he would bend it with the receptacle, and when he wanted to break it, he would twist it with the two prongs. When he wished, he would throw it over his shoulder and hang his bow, quiver, provisions-bag, and clothes upon it. And they added that when he grazed in the wilderness where there was no shade, he would plant it, then spread the two sticks—the upper and the lower—on its prongs, throw his garment over it, and shade himself while grazing. When he came to water that was too shallow for his bucket, he would reach it with the staff, and he would fight off wild beasts from his sheep with it. Some mentioned that he, peace be upon him, would draw water with it, and it would lengthen to the length of the well, its two prongs becoming a bucket and two ropes. When an enemy appeared, it fought for him; when he desired fruit, he planted it, and it would sprout leaves and bear fruit. He would carry his provisions and water-skin on it, and it would walk with him; he would plant it, and water would gush forth; when he lifted it, it would throb. It protected him from vermin, and it would talk to him and keep him company. Al-Tabarsi reported much of what was mentioned from Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both.

It appears that this is what occurred later. Some struggled to argue that it was what occurred before. It is possible that a report is authentic regarding this, but I do not see anything authentic in it. The intent of the question from the Almighty to him, peace be upon him, was that he enumerate the many utilities he hung upon the staff, to multiply them and magnify them, then the Almighty would show him, after that, the great miracle. It is as if He, the Majestic, says: Where are you in relation to this great benefit and primary need, beside which every other benefit or need you count and pay attention to is forgotten?

Ma is for description, or he estimates the benefit after it. Choosing the demonstrative pronoun that indicates distance is to signify magnification, and likewise in the address, it is an allusion to it; the enumeration in the response is for that reason. And "other needs" is a completion of the magnification, implying they are too many to count. Mentioning the staff in the response allows for the laudatory attributes to be applied to it, and in that is a glorification of its status that is not present if its mention were omitted. By this, the objection is repelled that on this interpretation, "It is my staff" would be redundant, as it has no role in the enumeration of benefits.

It is also possible that the intent was for him, peace be upon him, to display its insignificance so that He, the Exalted, could show him the greatness of what He would create from the dry piece of wood, which would indicate the dazzling nature of His power, glory be to Him—as is the habit of one who wishes to display something great from a trivial object; he presents it to those present and says, "What is this?" and they say, "It is such-and-such object," describing it in a way that is distant from what he wishes to reveal from it, then he reveals that. Ma is for the genus, and tilka is for belittlement; the enumeration in the response is for that reason. And "other needs" is also a completion of that, meaning that what is left unsaid is of the same genus as what is spoken. It is as if he, peace be upon him, said: It is a dry stick, of no use except for the uses of other sticks. Therefore, he mentioned the staff and applied to it what he applied.

It is said that when he, peace be upon him, saw the signs of his Lord that he saw, astonishment and awe overwhelmed him. So He, the Almighty, asked him and spoke with him to remove that awe and astonishment. Ma is either for description or for the genus. The repetition of the address is to increase the comfort. Perhaps choosing the demonstrative for distance is to place the staff in the position of something distant due to his, peace be upon him, distraction from it by what overwhelmed him of that state. The summary in his saying "And I have in it other needs" allows for the hope that the Almighty would ask him about those needs, so he would hear His speech, the Almighty, once more, and the conversation would prolong, and the delight for which he spoke at length at first would increase. How sweet is the conversation of the Beloved! Hence it was said: "And I dictated a story that is savored, would that I had prolonged the sins so that his reproach might be prolonged."

It is possible that it is because the astonishment returned to him, peace be upon him. Some claimed that He, the Almighty, asked him, peace be upon him, to confirm to him that it was a stick, so that when He turned it into a snake, he would not fear it; but this is nothing. On all these opinions, the question is one and the answer is one, as is apparent. It is said: "I lean upon it," etc., is an answer to another question, which is: when he said "It is my staff," He, the Almighty, said to him: "And what do you do with it?" So he said, "I lean upon it," etc. It is also said that He, the Almighty, asked him about two things: about the staff by His saying "And what is that," and about what he possesses of it by His saying "in your right hand." So he, peace be upon him, answered the first with his saying "It is my staff," and the second with his saying "I lean upon it," etc. It is clear that both these opinions should not be relied upon, especially the latter.

This, and the verse is used as evidence for the recommendation of leaning on a staff, even if the person is not in a condition where it would be the string for his bow, and for the recommendation of moderation in grazing by the hash, which is striking the trees to drop the leaves rather than uprooting them, so that they may grow back and others may benefit from them. The Imam has mentioned in it benefits, some of which we will mention in the chapter of allusion, as that is more consistent with it.