246 – ʿAbd Allah narrated to us; he said: ʿUbayd Allah ibn Saʿd al-Qurashi narrated to us; he said: my uncle narrated to us; he said: my father narrated to us, from Muhammad ibn Ishaq; he said: Muhammad ibn Kaʿb al-Qurazi narrated to me, from ʿAbd Allah ibn Shaddad ibn al-Had al-Laythi, who said:

“It has reached me that Pharaoh set out in pursuit of Moses, peace be upon him, with seventy thousand jet-black horses, apart from the other equine mounts that filled his army. Ibn Ishaq said: Moses marched out with the Children of Israel, and when he came up against the sea with no way around it, Pharaoh appeared with his troops behind them. ‘And when the two companies saw one another, the companions of Moses said, “We will surely be overtaken.” He said, “No indeed! My Lord is with me; He will guide me.”’ (al-Shuʿarāʾ 26:62)—to deliverance; He has promised me that, and His promise is never broken.

Allah—exalted is He—then revealed, as I have been informed, to the sea: ‘When Moses strikes you with the staff, split apart.’ So the sea spent the night thrashing against itself out of awe of Allah, exalted is He, waiting for the command it had received. ⦗166⦘ And Allah, exalted is He, revealed to Moses: ‘Strike the sea with your staff’ (al-Shuʿarāʾ 26:63). He struck it, bearing the authority of Allah that had been granted to him, and ‘it split, each part rising like a mighty mountain’ (al-Shuʿarāʾ 26:63), while the ground beneath was dry.

Allah—exalted is He—said to Moses: ‘And strike for them a path through the sea, dry; you will not fear being overtaken, nor shall you dread’ (Ṭā Hā 20:77). When the sea opened for him a roadway whose bed was dry, Moses led the Children of Israel through it, and Pharaoh and his troops followed them.”