301 – ʿAbd Allah narrated to us; he said: Muhammad ibn Abi Rajāʾ al-Qurashī narrated to us; he said: Abū Dāwūd al-Ṭayālisī narrated to us; he said: Hishām ibn Abī ʿAbd Allah, from al-Qāsim ibn Abī Bazzah, reported:

“Pharaoh gathered seventy thousand staffs, seventy thousand sorcerers, and seventy thousand ropes. Moses—peace be upon him—then arrived, and it was made to appear to him, by their magic, that they were crawling about: ‘it was made to seem to him, by their sorcery, that they were moving’ (Ta-Ha 66). Allah revealed to him, ‘Cast down your staff.’ He threw it, and it turned into a huge serpent, its mouth gaping wide, swallowing up their staffs and their ropes. At that they fell down prostrate, and they did not lift their heads until they had seen Paradise and Hell and the recompense awaiting the people of each. They then said, ‘We will never prefer you over the clear proofs that have come to us’ (Ta-Ha 72).

Pharaoh’s wife kept asking, ‘Who has prevailed?’ They answered, ‘Moses and Aaron.’ ⦗195⦘ She said, ‘I believe in the Lord of Moses and Aaron.’ When this reached Pharaoh he said, ‘Find the largest boulder you can.’ They did so, and he ordered, ‘Take it to her and let her choose: if she chooses them, drop the stone upon her; but if she chooses me, she remains my wife.’ They went to her and informed her, and she said, ‘I believe in the Lord of Moses and Aaron.’ She then raised her head and looked at her abode in Paradise; her soul was taken, and the stone was cast upon a body from which life had already departed.”