Most of the acts of the Lord Mûsa were extraordinary and wonderful, and the miracles of most other prophets have also been classified long after they had taken place, except such as continued to operate for a long time [and therefore obtained a very prominent place]. The miracles of Mûsa thus classified amount to the number of twenty-eight, as follows:—1. The staff, which was instrumental in several prodigies, as has already been narrated above. 2. The bright hand. 3. The famine of the Fara’ûnites, and the loss of their crops. 4. The inundation [or storm]. 5. The locusts. 6. The lice. 7. The frogs. 8. The transmutation of water into blood. 9. The changing of jewels and coins into stones. 10. The death of the virgins. 11. The division of the water of the sea into twelve parts. 12. The reticulation of the walls of the sea, and the drying of its bottom. 13. The speaking of the infant of the tire-woman of Fara’ûn’s daughter. 14. The destruction of A’vuj the son of A’naq by Mûsa’s hand. 15. The resuscitation of the chieftains of Esrâil, after having been killed by lightning. 16. The appearance of golden dots on the tongues of the worshippers of the calf. 17. The properties of the ashes of the calf which were of much use in alchemy; these properties have been described by Jâber in the work Rusûm Sena’t. 18. The forty Miqât [attendance on mount Sinai]. 19. The forty intercessions when he was prostrated in adoration during forty days and nights. 20. The forty supplications when he was standing during that time in one place. 21. Story of the cow. 22. Destruction of Qarûn. 23. Descent of manna and quails. 24. The gushing forth of water from the rock. 25. The renewal of the garments of the children of Esrâil, which did not wear out during their wanderings, but became daily more and more fresh by the blessings of his noble efforts. 26. The resuscitation of Harûn by his prayers. 27. The dark cloud which shaded the children of Esrâil from the effects of the sun. 28. The descent of the Tables of the Mosaic Law.
Another of the miracles of Mûsa was ‘the sudden judgment,’ which remained among the children of Esrâil for a hundred years. This was a golden rod, upon which Mûsa had wound wool and linen, had inserted into their texture precious gems, and had written three lines thereon, each in a different colour, consisting of the names of Ebrahim, Esahâq and Ya’qûb, with those of the twelve tribes painted on it, and on account of these names it contained all the letters of the alphabet.* When any important event took place among the children of Esrâil, and no one knew how to act, they assembled and stood in front of the Harûnian high-priest, until he donned his official dress and suspended ‘the sudden judgment’ on his breast above the garments. Then he explained the difficulty, and at that very moment he heard a reply from ‘the sudden judgment’; but if the said answer happened to be lengthy, it manifested itself upon the single letters in such a way, that by connecting them the explanation of the matter could be read. It is said that in Yoshua’s time an individual had stolen some valuable property, but that no clue whatever could be found of the theft; wherefore Yoshua’ had recourse to that belt,* which revealed the thief, after whose confession immediate punishment ensued. The robber’s name was A’aher, son of Karmy, son of Randi, son of Zarâj, son of Yahuda, and the articles stolen were a garment inlaid with precious stones, a turbân of golden texture encrusted with rubies, and a necklace adorned with wonderful figures. This event made such an impression upon the wicked portion of the children of Esrâil, that after that time no one attempted to commit any crimes of the above-mentioned kind.
Another of the prodigies of Mûsa was, that he constructed a tank full of water, the locks and keys whereof he entrusted to the keeping of Harûn. Whenever a husband entertained suspicions about his wife, he poured some of the water of the tank into an earthen vessel, and threw a little mud with the tips of his fingers into it; then he breathed a prayer upon it, mentioning the circumstances and the name of the woman. After that he gave the water to his spouse to drink, who immediately turned black and expired if she had committed adultery; but remained unhurt if she was innocent, and gave birth to a child by her husband during the same year. She became pregnant though she may have been barren previously, and was henceforth a child-bearing woman. This miracle likewise remained in operation among the children of Esrâil during one thousand years. It is related that in those times there were two sisters among the people, who resembled each other so much that they could not easily be distinguished. The husband of one of them suspected her of adultery, and informed the Harûnian priests of the case. They despatched a person to produce the woman; the adulteress, however, cunningly sent her sister, who underwent the trial, and having been found innocent, returned. When she arrived at home, her guilty sister embraced her, but the breath of the pious woman, who had drank of the water, ascended into the brains of the adulteress, who immediately became black, and died on the spot, for an example to the inhabitants of the world. One of the strange circumstances of Mûsa’s life was, that he expired at the same hour of [the day] in which he was born.