And what is that in your right hand, O Musa? As His saying, 'And this is my lord, an old man,' in the context of indicating. It is permissible that 'that' is a relative pronoun, its connection being 'in your right hand.' He only asked him to show him the greatness of what He, exalted and mighty, creates from the dry stick, turning it into a lively serpent. The phrase 'lively serpent' means that its tongue moves in its mouth. This was mentioned in the Sahih. And to establish in his mind the vast difference between what is turned away from and what is turned to, and to alert him to His astonishing power. An example of this is when a blacksmith shows you a piece of iron and asks you, 'What is it?' You say, 'It is a piece of iron.' Then after a few days, he shows you a finely crafted garment and says, 'This is that piece of iron, transformed into what you see of remarkable craftsmanship and elegant tailoring.' Ibn Abi Ishaq read 'a stick' in the dialect of Hudhail.

Similarly, O good news, they intended to break what precedes the 'ya' of the speaker, but they could not do so, so they turned the 'alif' into the sister of the kasrah. Al-Hasan read 'my stick' with a kasrah on the 'ya' due to the meeting of the two silent letters, which is similar to Hamzah's reading 'with my helpers.' And from Ibn Abi Ishaq: the silence of the 'ya' means 'I lean on it,' meaning I rely on it when I am exhausted or when I stand at the head of the flock and at the leap. 'He shakes the leaves' means he strikes it, meaning: he strikes it on the heads of my sheep to eat it. And from Luqman ibn 'Ad: I ate the right and the son of a she-camel and a young goat. 'And he shook' means he pushed, and praise be to Allah without being full; I heard it from more than one of the Arabs. 'And Nakhb' is a valley near Ta'if, abundant in sidr. And in the reading of Al-Nakha'i: 'I shake,' and both are from 'to shake bread,' meaning it breaks due to its fragility. And from 'Ikrimah: 'I shake' with a 'sin,' meaning: I scold it. 'To scold' means to reprimand the sheep. He mentioned in detail and in summary the benefits related to the stick, as if he sensed what great matter would follow this question from Allah, so he said: 'It is only a stick that benefits only the benefits of its kind, just as sticks benefit.' So that his answer would correspond to the purpose he understood from the essence of his Lord's words. It is possible that the Exalted and Mighty intends to enumerate the many uses he has attached to the stick and to magnify them, then show him after that the great sign, as if He is saying to him: 'Where are you from this great benefit and the greatest purpose forgotten in comparison to every benefit and purpose you used to count and celebrate?' And they said: 'He only asked him to lessen his awe.' And they said: 'Musa was vague to ask him about those purposes to increase his honor.' And they said: 'His tongue was cut off by awe, so he was vague.' And they said: 'The name of the stick is Nab'ah.' And it was said regarding the purposes: it had two branches and a hook, so when the branch grew long, he would bend it with the hook, and when he needed to break it, he would twist it with the two branches. And when he walked, he would place it on his shoulder and hang his tools from it, such as the bow, quiver, and milking container, among others. And when he was in the wilderness, he would plant it and display the two sticks on its branches and throw a cloak over it to shade himself. And if his strap was short, he would connect it with it, and he would fight off wild animals from his sheep with it. And it was said: 'Among its miracles was that he would draw water with it, and it would lengthen with the depth of the well and its two branches would become a bucket, and they would be two torches at night. And if an enemy appeared, it would fight for him, and if he desired fruit, he would plant it, and it would sprout and bear fruit. And he would carry his provisions and water on it, and it would keep pace with him, and when he planted it, water would spring forth, and when he lifted it, it would dry up, and it would protect him from pests.