Al-Asa
Definition
Al-asa — the staff or rod — is Musa's shepherd's stick that became, by divine power, a miraculous instrument used across the entire course of his prophetic mission. It transformed into a serpent before Pharaoh, devouring the illusory serpents of the court magicians. It struck the sea to part it. It struck the rock to produce twelve springs for the twelve tribes of Israel. Ibn Kathir notes the deliberate ordinariness of the staff's origin — a shepherd's tool, nothing special — and the extraordinary transformation it underwent as a vehicle of divine power. The staff represents the principle that divine power can manifest through the most humble instruments when those instruments are placed in the service of a genuine prophetic mission.
As understood in the classical tradition of Ibn Kathir and the scholars of his school.
How the scholars use Al-Asa.
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"He adds, come to the best of deeds after the call to prayer, and, after the last takbir, Muhammad and Ali are the best of people, whoever opposes them is an infidel. From there we traveled to the city of Hajar, now known as Al-Asa. It is referenced in a proverb as in like bringing dates to Hajar, and has more palm trees than any other city with which they feed their animals."
— Ibn Battuta, Volume One: From Tangier to the Lands of the East
Appears in
1 book in the library
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