and nothing of what they had boasted—namely, that they would win the materialists over to guidance and to religion—ever came about. On the contrary, they only made those people more infatuated with their doctrines, for the materialists saw such apologists trying to force the religious texts, the prophets’ miracles, and the matters of the unseen into the mold of those limited sciences that rely solely on experiment and sensory perception. What a tremendous calamity, and what a grave yet cosmetically adorned crime! But weak insight, coupled with admiration for the dahrī zindiqs, led them to submit to their claims. There is no might and no power except with Allah.

• Among the lessons: one of the greatest punishments that can befall a servant is for him to become a leader in evil and a caller to it; conversely, one of Allah’s greatest favors is to make a person an exemplar in goodness, guiding and being guided. Allah, Exalted is He, said about Pharaoh and his chiefs: “We made them leaders who invite to the Fire” (al-Qasas 41). And He said: “We made them leaders who guide by Our command” (al-Anbiyāʾ 73).

• Another benefit: this story is itself a proof of the messengership of Muhammad ﷺ. He recounted it and many others in a detailed and accurate manner, confirming the earlier messengers and supporting the manifest truth, even though he had never been present in any of those places, had never studied anything that could acquaint him with such particulars, and had never sat with or learned from any scholar. It is nothing but the message of the All-Merciful, a revelation sent down to him by the Generous Bestower so that he might warn all people. Hence Allah says at the end of this account: “You were not on the side of the Mount” (al-Qasas 46), “You were not on the western side when We decreed the command to Moses” (al-Qasas 44), and “You were not a resident among the people of Midian” (al-Qasas 45). This is one category of the proofs of his prophethood.

• Yet another point: many scholars have inferred from the Almighty’s words about Moses’s reply when his Lord asked him about the staff—“What is that in your right hand, O Moses?” He said, “It is my staff; I lean on it and with it I beat down foliage for my sheep” (Ṭāhā 17–18)—that it is recommended to carry a staff, because of the benefits it offers—