Tafseer of Taa-Haa · Taa-Haa · 20:18
He said, "It is my staff; I lean upon it, and I bring down leaves for my sheep and I have therein other uses."
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The statement concerning the explanation of the word of Allah the Exalted: قَالَ هِيَ عَصَايَ أَتَوَكَّأُ عَلَيْهَا وَأَهُشُّ بِهَا عَلَى غَنَمِي وَلِيَ فِيهَا مَآرِبُ أُخْرَى (18)
Allah the Exalted says, while reporting concerning Mūsā: Mūsā said, answering his Lord: (it is my staff, I lean upon it, and with it I beat down leaves of trees for my sheep) — that is to say: I strike the dry tree with it so that its leaves fall off and my sheep graze upon them. One says for this: hashsha fulānun al-shajara yahushsha hashshan — when someone beats the leaves off branches so that their leaves fall off — as the orator has said:
I beat down leaves with the staff for my sheep, from the soft arāk and the bashām.
The exegetes said something that corresponds to what we have said here.
We mention who said that:
Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning his word (and with it I beat down leaves for my sheep): he said: I knock with it upon the tree.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning (and with it I beat down leaves for my sheep): he said: I knock.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning (and with it I beat down leaves for my sheep): he said: the prophet of Allah Mūsā ﷺ used to beat down leaves of trees for his sheep.
Mūsā related to me, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, concerning (and with it I beat down leaves for my sheep): he says: I strike the tree with it for the sheep, and the leaves fall off.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning his word (it is my staff, I lean upon it, and with it I beat down leaves for my sheep): he said: he leans upon it when he walks with the sheep, and he beats down leaves — he shakes the tree until the leaves, the ripe clusters and other things fall off.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Wāḍiḥ related to us, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, on the authority of ʿIkrima, concerning (and with it I beat down leaves for my sheep): he said: I strike the tree with it and the leaves fall upon me.
ʿAbd Allāh ibn Aḥmad ibn Shabawayh related to me, saying: ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Ḥusayn related to us, who said: I heard ʿIkrima saying concerning (and with it I beat down leaves for my sheep): he said: I strike the tree with it, and the leaves fall upon my sheep.
It was related to us concerning al-Ḥusayn, who said: I heard Abā Muʿādh saying: ʿUbayd related to us, who said: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk saying concerning his word (and with it I beat down leaves for my sheep): he says: I strike the tree with it until there falls from it that which my sheep eat.
And his word (and I have other needs therein): that is to say: and I have in this staff other requirements; and it is the plural of maʾruba; and the Arabs have three dialectal forms for it: maʾruba with ḍamma of the rāʾ, maʾraba with fatḥa, and maʾriba with kasra — and it is a mafʿala-form from their saying: lā araba lī fī hādhā l-amri — I have no need of this matter. And "other" (ukhrā) is said in the singular, while maʾārib is a plural — not "others" (ukhar) — as it is said: for Him are the most beautiful names — and I have already expounded the reason for that mode elsewhere.
The exegetes said something that corresponds to what we have said concerning the meaning of maʾārib.
We mention who said that:
Aḥmad ibn ʿAbda al-Ḍabbī related to us, saying: Ḥafṣ ibn Jamīʿ related to us, saying: Simāk ibn Ḥarb related to us, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning his word: (and I have other needs therein): he said: other requirements that I know.
ʿAlī related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning his word (and I have other needs therein): he says: other need.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning (and I have other needs therein): he said: needs.
Al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us, all together on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, concerning (and I have other needs therein): he said: needs and benefits.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning (and I have other needs therein): he said: needs.
Mūsā related to me, saying: ʿAmr ibn Ḥammād related to me, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, concerning (and I have other needs therein): he says: other requirements — I carry upon it the travel-bag and the water-skin.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning (and I have other needs therein): he said: other requirements.
Al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning his word (and I have other needs therein): he said: other needs and benefits.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, on the authority of Wahb ibn Munabbih, concerning (and I have other needs therein): that is to say: other benefits.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning his word (and I have other needs therein): he said: other requirements, beyond that.
It was related to us concerning al-Ḥusayn, who said: I heard Abā Muʿādh saying: ʿUbayd related to us, who said: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk saying concerning his word (other needs): he said: other requirements.
