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Staff of Moses (a)

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The Staff of Moses (a) is one of the trusts of Imamate through which some of the miracles of Prophet Moses (a) occurred. This staff, which is considered to have come from the trees of Paradise, was passed from Prophet Adam (a) to Prophet Shuaib (a) and then to Prophet Moses (a). According to hadiths, this staff was with the Imams (a) and will be in the hands of Imam al-Mahdi (a) at the time of his reappearance.

Among the miracles that Prophet Moses (a) performed with his staff are: transforming the staff into a serpent, parting the sea for the safe passage of the Israelites, and striking a rock with his staff to bring forth twelve springs of water.

Miracles of Prophet Moses (a) with the Staff

Prophet Moses (a) performed several miracles with his staff which the Qur'an has mentioned:

  • The miracle of the staff turning into a serpent is mentioned in five suras and eight verses of the Qur'an.[1] According to Quranic verses, the staff of Moses (a) turned into a serpent in three events:
    1. At Mount Sinai: Based on what is mentioned in Sura al-Qasas, Sura al-Naml, and Sura Taha,[2] the staff of Prophet Moses (a) turned into a serpent after he threw it on the ground.[3]
    2. In the presence of Pharaoh: According to the Qur'an,[4] when Moses (a) went to Pharaoh to invite him to the path of truth, Pharaoh asked for a sign to prove his truthfulness. Moses, in response, cast his staff and it became a giant serpent.[5]
    3. Against the sorcerers: According to Qur'an 26, Qur'an 17, and Qur'an 20, after Moses (a) turned his staff into a giant serpent in the presence of Pharaoh,[6] he accepted Pharaoh's challenge to compete with the sorcerers. After he cast his staff again, it turned into a serpent that swallowed all the ropes of the sorcerers.[7] This event led to the sorcerers' acceptance of faith[8] while Pharaoh persisted in his denial.[9]
  • Splitting the sea and the passage of the Israelites: Based on Qur'an 26:63, God instructed Moses (a) to strike the sea with his staff so that a path would open. Upon doing so, the sea split and Moses (a) and his companions passed through safely. However, Pharaoh and his army who were pursuing them drowned.[10]
  • The striking of the rock and water gushing from it: According to Qur'an 2:60, Moses (a) requested water from God in the dry desert where the Israelites were suffering. God instructed Moses (a) to strike a specific rock with his staff from which twelve springs gushed forth from the rock.[11]

The Staff of Moses (a) with the Shi'a Imams

The staff of Moses (a) is considered one of the Trusts of Imamate. In a hadith from Imam al-Baqir (a), it is narrated: "The staff of Moses (a) was a trust passed down from Prophet Adam (a) to Prophet Shuayb (a) eventually reaching Prophet Moses (a), and it is now with us. The staff is preserved for the Qa'im of the Progeny of Muhammad (a) and with it, he will perform what Moses (a) did."[12] Imam al-Sadiq (a) also said: "The staff of Moses (a) is with us."[13]

Description of the Staff

Information regarding the name, material, characteristics, and use of the staff of Moses (a) has been narrated in the books of Fariqayn (Sunni and Shi'a).[14] It is narrated from Imam al-Baqir (a) that Prophet Adam (a) brought the staff of Moses (a) from Paradise to earth, and it was from the heavenly (awsaj) tree.[15] In another hadith, Imam al-Ṣadiq (a) said: "The staff of Moses (a) was made from the wood of the heavenly myrtle (murd) tree (similar to a pomegranate tree)."[16] In a narration from Imam al-Baqir (a), describing the staff after observing it, he said that the staff was green like the day it was cut from the tree. When you speak to it, it talks.[17]

According to some reports, Prophet Shuaib (a) asked Prophet Moses (a) to choose one staff from among many staffs placed before him. When Moses (a) wanted to choose a staff, three times the staff of Noah (a) (that had reached Abraham (a)) miraculously moved and placed itself in Moses' (a) hand. After that, Shuʿayb (a) asked Moses (a) to take that same one as God had made it exclusive for him.[18]

See Also

Notes

  1. ↑ Rahnamā and Pārchah-bāf, "Taʾammulī dar taʿrīf-i kalāmī-yi muʿjiza...", p. 5.
  2. ↑ Rahnamā and Pārchah-bāf, "Taʾammulī dar taʿrīf-i kalāmī-yi muʿjiza...", pp. 8-9.
  3. ↑ Gurūh-i Farhang wa Adab, Farhangnāma-yi Qurʾānī, 1372 Sh, vol. 2, p. 602.
  4. ↑ Quran, 26:32.
  5. ↑ Ṭurayḥī, Majmaʿ al-baḥrayn, 1375 Sh, vol. 2, pp. 17-18.
  6. ↑ Quran, 26:32.
  7. ↑ Quran, 7:117.
  8. ↑ Quran, 7:120, 121; Quran, 20:70; Quran, 26:46-48.
  9. ↑ Quran, 7:123; Quran, 20:71; Quran, 26:49.
  10. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāyī, al-Mīzān, 1390 AH, vol. 15, pp. 277-278; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 13, p. 257.
  11. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 1, pp. 271-272.
  12. ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, 1381 Sh, vol. 1, p. 231; Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, 1403 AH, vol. 52, p. 318.
  13. ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, 1381 Sh, vol. 1, p. 231.
  14. ↑ For example, see: Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, 1390 AH, vol. 13, p. 60; Thaʿālibī, Qiṣaṣ al-anbiyāʾ, 2007, p. 176.
  15. ↑ Majlisī, Tārīkh-i payāmbarān, 1388 Sh, vol. 1, p. 609.
  16. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, 1379 AH, vol. 4, p. 250.
  17. ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, 1381 Sh, vol. 1, p. 231; Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, 1403 AH, vol. 52, p. 318.
  18. ↑ Majlisī, Tārīkh-i payāmbarān, 1388 Sh, vol. 1, p. 603; Rāwandī, Qiṣaṣ al-anbiyāʾ, 1409 AH, p. 152.

References

  • Gurūh-i Farhang wa Adab. Farhangnāma-yi Qurʾānī. Mashhad, Bunyād-i Pazhūhish-hā-yi Islāmī, 1372 Sh.
  • Kulaynī, Muḥammad b. Yaʿqūb al-. al-Kāfī. Tehran, Maktabat al-Ṣadūq, 1381 Sh.
  • Majlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir al-. Biḥār al-anwār. Tehran, Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 1390 AH.
  • Majlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir al-. Tārīkh-i payāmbarān-i ʿalayhim al-salām; Ḥayāt al-qulūb. Tehran, Ādīna-yi Sabz, 1388 Sh.
  • Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir. Tafsīr-i nimūna. Tehran, Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 1374 Sh.
  • Rāhnama, Riḍā, and Muḥammad Pārchah-bāf. "Taʾammulī dar taʿrīf-i kalāmī-yi muʿjiza bar asās-i guzārish-i Qurʾān az muʿjiza-yi ʿaṣā-yi ḥaḍrat-i Mūsā (ʿa)". Pazhūhish-hā-yi Qurʾānī. No. 89, Winter 1397 Sh.
  • Rāwandī, Quṭb al-Dīn al-. Qiṣaṣ al-anbiyāʾ. Mashhad, Āstān-i Quds-i Raḍawī, 1409 AH.
  • Ṭabāṭabāyī, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn al-. al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Beirut, Muʾassasat al-Aʿlamī, 1390 AH.
  • Ṭabrisī, Faḍl b. Ḥasan al-. Majmaʿ al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Beirut, Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1379 AH.
  • Thaʿālibī, Abū Isḥāq Aḥmad al-Nayshābūrī al-. Qiṣaṣ al-anbiyāʾ (ʿArāʾis al-majālis). Beirut, Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 2007.
  • Ṭurayḥī, Fakhr al-Dīn b. Muḥammad al-. Majmaʿ al-baḥrayn. Tehran, Murtaḍawī, 1375 Sh.
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