RECORD OF MÛSA’S FLIGHT FROM EGYPT, HIS JOINING SHOA’IB, AND THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THAT ELECTED ONE OF THE UNDOUBTED LORD.

It is related in the ‘Bedâyet wa Nahâyet’* that Mûsa— to whom be greeting—felt, during the time of his prosperity under the protection of Fara’ûn, by reason of his consan­guinity, always much sympathy for the tribes of Esrâil, and was greatly vexed at the labours and hardships where­with the Qabats troubled them, but as he was, on account of his dread of Fara’ûn, unable to help them, he diverted himself for the purpose of dispelling the waves of melan­choly which assailed him, and of relieving his mind, by occasionally walking about alone in the city and in the bazârs. He happened one day to be strolling on the road when he perceived a Qabat, Qalân by name, who was one of Fara’ûn’s taskmasters, wrestling with one of the sons of Esrâil. As he had a sensitive mind, and was unable to bear the sight, he stepped between the antagonists, and advised the Qabat to let go the man and to allow him to go about his own business; the Qabat, however, paid no attention to his words, and Mûsa, who could not patiently bear to see the Esrâilite injured, became angry, struck the Qabat with his hand, and sent that accursed one, by beckoning with his blessed finger, to be strung on the same cable with the denizens of hell.* After he had left that place the flames of his anger became appeased, and he repented of his act, because he had not yet been promoted to the dignity of a prophet, and the divine revelation to fight the infidels had not yet been promulged to him. Therefore he said to himself: ‘This is one of the works of Satan,’ and returned to his home. The next day, when he was again walking on the same road for the purpose of ascertaining whether any people had taken notice, and were making inquiries about what had happened, he met the same Esrâilite quarrelling with another Qabat, and said to him: ‘What a base wretch thou must be to quarrel every day with some­one!’ He, nevertheless, approached the antagonists for the purpose of releasing the Esrâilite from the grasp of the Qabat, but as the latter had the day before witnessed the bravery of Mûsa, he angrily queried: ‘Wilt thou to-day kill me as thou didst kill another man yesterday?’* When the Qabat had uttered these words he let go his hold of the Esrâilite, and as he had heard that Fara’ûn was desirous of discovering the murderer of the Qabat for the purpose of retaliating upon him, he immediately hastened to Fara’ûn with his information. At this news the chain of Fara’ûn’s intention to destroy Mûsa, which had long been uppermost in his mind, was set in motion. In order to avoid the importunities of Asia, which she set on foot to intercede for Mûsa, he caused her to connive in the judg­ment, and commanded Mûsa to be brought forward so that he might, after hearing testimonies and witnesses, uproot the tree of his existence. It is said that the carpenter who had made the box for Mûsa came to inform him of what was in store for him. Mûsa accordingly fled from the city without any preparations or stores, turned his face towards the desert, travelled seven days and nights, supported him­self on grass and greens, and, uncertain where he was going, he arrived near the well of Madian, which was deep, like the meditations of sages, and penetrating, like the thoughts of the intelligent. Near the well there was a tree, lifting its head to the cupola of Orion. The top of the said well was covered by a stone, to remove which the strength of forty men was required. When his lordship the speaker [with Allah] had remained for some time in that locality, he saw a crowd of herdsmen arriving with innumerable sheep and uncounted cattle from all parts of the desert, and hustling each other near the well, except two females, who halted at a distance with some sheep. The shepherds watered their flocks, and having replaced the stone on the top of the well, cared not for those maidens and their sheep, but went away. Mûsa pitied the females, and on interrogating them, these two daughters of Shoa’ib explained their circumstances to him, and said: ‘It is our custom to use every day the remnant of the water left by the flocks of those men, to quench the thirst of our sheep, and then to go home; to-day, however, there is no surplus left.’ Mûsa was touched by this recital, lifted the stone from the well and threw it to a distance, drew up a bucket from the well which forty men were unable to pull up, and which had been left therein; after watering the sheep he replaced it, took up his position under the above-mentioned tree, and occupied himself with addressing his prayers to the omnipotent Granter of requests.

The author of the ‘A’in-ullâkhbâr’ states that when the daughters of Shoa’ib returned to their domicile, they reported to their father what had taken place, and also mentioned the athletic strength of Mûsa. Shoa’ib desired to make his acquaintance, and sent his eldest daughter in search of him. Mûsa complied, and turned his face towards the habitation of Shoa’ib. When he had entered the house of the latter, Shoa’ib considered the arrival of Mûsa as a favour, made various inquiries of him, and, after being informed of his circumstances and descent, he congratulated him on having been delivered from the tyranny and grasp of his oppressors, and discharged towards him all the duties of hospitality, so that Mûsa—u. w. b., etc.—was delivered from the misery and trouble of hunger and distress. After Shoa’ib had comforted Mûsa, he prognosticated great happi­ness from connection with him; therefore he invited him to marry his handsomest daughter, on condition that he would serve for her during seven years. Mûsa assented with great pleasure, because he knew that the shepherd of Vâdi Aimen would attain his desire by complying with the wish of Shoa’ib.

Some historians have related—after Ebn A’bbâs, u. w. b., etc.—that Shoa’ib kept in his house staffs of the prophets which amounted to seventy in number. Among these staffs there was one with a head of myrtle-wood; it was ten cubits long, and had been brought from paradise by Adam the pure, u. w. b., etc.; and Shoa’ib knew that it would belong to a prophet of the sons of Esrâil, with whom the Lord and Omnipotent Nourisher was going to converse. Ka’b-ullâkhbâr states that the staff of Mûsa was made of a kind of bramble, which is, according to his opinion, a kind of tree that had grown before any other trees on the banks of rivers.* In short, as Mûsa had agreed to pasture the sheep, Shoa’ib recommended him to take one of those staffs, and to use it when guarding them. When Mûsa was about to start for the pasture, he intended to take a staff, and the above-mentioned one having [spontaneously] approached him, his lordship the speaker [with Allah] took it and departed. Shoa’ib, whose eyes had become weak, felt that staff with his blessed hand, saying: ‘O Mûsa, leave this staff, and take another.’ Mûsa returned seven times to the house, but was, despite all his efforts, unable to lay hand on another, except on that same staff. By this strange event Shoa’ib was apprised that Mûsa would put on the robe of prophecy, and would be exalted to the favour of speaking with God. After that he recommended Mûsa not to neglect his staff, because he would see it perform a wonderful thing. Many of the principal historians have explained the falling of the staff into Mûsa’s hands when he returned in another manner, which will be narrated below.