"And when he saw it writhing as if it were a jann (small snake), he turned his back"—out of fear—"and did not return," meaning: he did not come back.

Muhammad said: He said here, 'as if it were a jann,' and the jann is the small kind of snake. And he said in another place, 'Then suddenly it was a clear thuban (serpent),' and the thuban is the large kind of snake. It is said: The meaning—and Allah knows best—is that its creation was the creation of a great serpent.