and other such uses.

It is narrated from Ibn Abbas that Moses would carry his provisions and waterskin upon it. It would walk alongside him and speak to him. He would strike the ground with it, and whatever food he needed for that day would come forth. When he planted it in the ground, water would emerge; and when he lifted it, the water would disappear. If he desired a fruit, he would plant it, whereupon it would put forth branches like those of a tree, leaf out, and bear fruit. When he wished to draw water from a well, he would lower it into it, and it would extend to the depth of the well, while its two prongs became like a bucket, enabling him to draw water. At night, it would shine like a lamp; and whenever an enemy appeared before him, it would fight and defend him. (1)

“He said, ‘Cast it down, O Moses.’ So he cast it down, and there it was—a snake, moving swiftly (19–20).”

Allah Most High said: “Cast it down, O Moses”—that is, throw it down. Wahb said: Moses thought that He was saying, “Cast it away.” So he cast it down as one casts something away, (2) then happened to look at it, and there it was: a yellow snake, among the largest of snakes, moving swiftly—that is, moving rapidly upon its belly.

Elsewhere, He says: “As though it were a swift snake” (al-Naml 10). The jānn is a small snake with a slender body. In another place, He calls it a thuʿbān, a term denoting one of the largest kinds of snakes.

As for the term hayyah, it encompasses both the small and the large, the male and the female. It was also said that jānn describes its initial state: it was first a snake of the size of the staff, then it began to swell and grow until it became a thuʿbān. Thus, thuʿbān describes its final state.

It was also said that it possessed the size of a thuʿbān and the swiftness of a jānn.

Muhammad ibn Ishaq said: Moses looked, and the staff had become a snake, among the largest of snakes. Its two prongs had become its two jaws, and its hooked end had become its neck and mane. It writhed like spears, and its eyes blazed like fire. It would pass by an enormous rock, like a pregnant she-camel among camels, swallow it whole, and shatter a great tree with its fangs. A tremendous grinding sound could be heard from its teeth. When Moses beheld this, he turned and fled. Then he remembered his Lord and stopped, out of modesty before Him. Then he was called: “O Moses, come forward and return to where you were.” So he returned, overcome with fear. (3)