Tafseer of The Night Journey · Al-Israa · 17:101
And We had certainly given Moses nine evident signs, so ask the Children of Israel [about] when he came to them and Pharaoh said to him, "Indeed I think, O Moses, that you are affected by magic."
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
He, exalted is His mention, says: And indeed, We gave to Mūsā ibn ʿImrān nine clear signs, which demonstrated to whoever saw them that they were proofs for Mūsā, testifying to his sincerity and to the truthfulness of his prophethood.
The exegetes (ahl al-taʾwīl) have differed over what they were and which ones they were.
Some said concerning that what Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word wa-laqad ātaynā Mūsā tisʿa āyātin bayyinātin ("and indeed, We gave to Mūsā nine clear signs"), he said: the nine clear signs are: his hand, his staff, his tongue, the sea, the flood, the locusts, the lice, the frogs, and the blood — separate signs.
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, he said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd informed us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His word wa-laqad ātaynā Mūsā tisʿa āyātin bayyinātin ("and indeed, We gave to Mūsā nine clear signs"): the casting of the staff twice in the presence of Pharaoh, the drawing out of his hand, the knot that was upon his tongue, and five signs in [Sūrat] al-Aʿrāf: the flood, the locusts, the lice, the frogs, and the blood.
Others said something similar to this statement, except that they made two of them: one the obliteration (al-ṭamsa) and the other the stone (al-ḥajar).
* Mention of who said that:
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, on the authority of Burayda ibn Sufyān, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Kaʿb al-Quraẓī, who said: ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz asked me about His word wa-laqad ātaynā Mūsā tisʿa āyātin bayyinātin ("and indeed, We gave to Mūsā nine clear signs"), and I said to him: they are the flood, the locusts, the lice, the frogs, the blood, the sea, his staff, the obliteration (al-ṭamsa), and the stone (al-ḥajar). He said: and what is the obliteration? I said: Mūsā supplicated and Hārūn said "amen," whereupon He said: the supplication of you both is answered. And ʿUmar said: how could understanding (fiqh) be other than thus? Then ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz had a purse brought which had belonged to ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Marwān and which had been obtained in Egypt, and in it were the walnut, the egg, and the lentil, none other than that they had been turned into stone — they were possessions of Pharaoh that had been obtained in Egypt.
Others said something similar to that, except that they made two of them: one the [years of famine] (al-sinīn), and the other the deficiency of fruits (al-naqṣ min al-thamarāt).
* Mention of who said that:
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Wāḍiḥ related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn ibn Wāqid related to us, on the authority of Yazīd al-Naḥwī, on the authority of ʿIkrima and Maṭar al-Warrāq, concerning His word tisʿa āyātin ("nine signs"), they both said: the flood, the locusts, the lice, the frogs, the blood, the staff, the hand, the years of famine, and the deficiency of fruits.
Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, on the authority of Mughīra, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī, concerning His word tisʿa āyātin bayyinātin ("nine clear signs"), he said: the flood, the locusts, the lice, the frogs, the blood, the years of famine, the deficiency of fruits, his staff, and his hand.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, he said: ʿAṭāʾ ibn Abī Rabāḥ was asked about His word wa-laqad ātaynā Mūsā tisʿa āyātin bayyinātin ("and indeed, We gave to Mūsā nine clear signs"): what are they? He said: the flood, the locusts, the lice, the frogs, the blood, the staff of Mūsā, and his hand.
Ibn Jurayj said: and Mujāhid said something similar to the statement of ʿAṭāʾ, and added akhadhnā āla Firʿawna bi-l-sinīna wa-naqṣin min al-thamarāt ("We seized the people of Pharaoh with years of famine and a deficiency of fruits"). He said: those are the last two of the nine. And they say: the last two are the years of famine and the disappearance of the impediment from Mūsā's tongue.
Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word tisʿa āyātin bayyinātin ("nine clear signs") — and they were consecutive, and they are in Sūrat al-Aʿrāf wa-laqad akhadhnā āla Firʿawna bi-l-sinīna wa-naqṣin min al-thamarāt ("and indeed, We seized the people of Pharaoh with years of famine and a deficiency of fruits"). He said: the years of famine afflicted the people of the desert, and the deficiency of fruits the people of the villages, which are two signs; and the flood, the locusts, the lice, the frogs, and the blood, which are five; and the hand of Mūsā when he brought it forth white to the onlookers, without ailment — namely leprosy; and his staff when he cast it and it became a manifest serpent.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word wa-laqad ātaynā Mūsā tisʿa āyātin bayyinātin ("and indeed, We gave to Mūsā nine clear signs"), he said: the hand of Mūsā, his staff, the flood, the locusts, the lice, the frogs, the blood, the years of famine, and the deficiency of fruits.
Others said something similar to that, except that they made the years of famine and the deficiency of fruits a single sign, and made the ninth: the devouring by the staff of what they had fabricated.
* Mention of who said that:
Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, saying: al-Ḥasan said concerning His word tisʿa āyātin bayyinātin ("nine clear signs") and wa-laqad akhadhnā āla Firʿawna bi-l-sinīna wa-naqṣin min al-thamarāt ("and indeed, We seized the people of Pharaoh with years of famine and a deficiency of fruits"): this is one sign; and the flood, the locusts, the lice, the frogs, the blood, the hand of Mūsā, and his staff when he cast it and it became a manifest serpent, and when he cast it and it devoured what they had fabricated.
Others said concerning that what Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to me, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of ʿAmr ibn Murra, he said: I heard ʿAbd Allāh ibn Salama relating on the authority of Ṣafwān ibn ʿAssāl, who said: a Jew said to his companion: let us go to the Prophet ﷺ to ask him about this ayah wa-laqad ātaynā Mūsā tisʿa āyātin bayyinātin ("and indeed, We gave to Mūsā nine clear signs"). He said: do not call him "prophet," for if he hears you, he will get four eyes from it. He said: then they asked, and the Prophet ﷺ said: "Associate no partners with Allah, do not steal, do not commit fornication (zinā), do not kill the soul that Allah has forbidden except by right, do not practice sorcery, do not consume usury (ribā), do not bring an innocent person to a ruler so that he may kill him, and do not falsely accuse a chaste woman (qadhf)" — or he said: "do not flee from the battlefield" — Shuʿba is the one who doubts — "and upon you, O Jews, in particular: that you do not transgress the Sabbath." Then they both kissed his hand and his foot and said: we bear witness that you are a prophet. He said: what then prevents you from becoming Muslim? They said: indeed, Dāwūd prayed that there would never cease to be a prophet from his progeny, and we fear that the Jews will kill us.
Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Sahl ibn Yūsuf and Abū Dāwūd and ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Mahdī related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd, on the authority of ʿAmr, he said: I heard ʿAbd Allāh ibn Salama relating on the authority of Ṣafwān ibn ʿAssāl al-Murādī, on the authority of the Prophet ﷺ, something similar, except that Ibn Mahdī said: "do not bring anyone to a ruler," and Ibn Mahdī said: I think he said: "an innocent person."
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Idrīs and Abū Usāma related to us, something similar, on the authority of Shuʿba ibn al-Ḥajjāj, on the authority of ʿAmr ibn Murra, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Salama, on the authority of Ṣafwān ibn ʿAssāl, who said: a Jew said to his companion: let us go to this prophet. His companion said: do not call him "prophet," for if he hears you, he will get four eyes. He said: then they both came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and asked him about nine clear signs, and he said: "They are: associate no partners with Allah, do not steal, do not commit fornication (zinā), do not kill the soul that Allah has forbidden except by right, do not bring an innocent person to a ruler so that he may kill him, do not practice sorcery, do not consume usury (ribā), do not falsely accuse a chaste woman (qadhf), and do not turn away on the day of the battlefield; and upon you, O Jews, in particular: that you do not transgress the Sabbath." He said: then they kissed his hands and his feet and said: we bear witness that you are a prophet. He said: what then prevents you from following me? They said: indeed, Dāwūd prayed that there would never cease to be a prophet from his progeny, and we fear that, if we follow you, the Jews will kill us.
Mujāhid ibn Mūsā related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Shuʿba ibn al-Ḥajjāj related to us, on the authority of ʿAmr ibn Murra, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Salama, on the authority of Ṣafwān ibn ʿAssāl, on the authority of the Prophet ﷺ, something similar.
As for His word fa-sʾal Banī Isrāʾīla idh jāʾahum ("so ask the Children of Israel when he came to them"): most of the readers of Islam read it according to the imperative mood, with the meaning: ask, O Muḥammad, the Children of Israel when Mūsā came to them.
And there is related from al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī concerning its interpretation what al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to us, on the authority of Hārūn, on the authority of Ismāʿīl, on the authority of al-Ḥasan fa-sʾal Banī Isrāʾīl ("ask the Children of Israel"), he said: your asking them is your contemplation of the Qurʾān.
And there is related from Ibn ʿAbbās that he read this as "fa-saʾala" ("then he asked"), with the meaning: then Mūsā asked Pharaoh [for] the Children of Israel [to be released], that he should send them with him — by way of statement.
* Mention of who said that:
Aḥmad ibn Yūsuf related to us, saying: al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to us, on the authority of Hārūn, on the authority of Ḥanẓala al-Sadūsī, on the authority of Shahr ibn Ḥawshab, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, that he read: "fa-saʾala Banī Isrāʾīla idh jāʾahum" ("then he asked [for] the Children of Israel when he came to them"), by which is meant that Mūsā asked Pharaoh [for] the Children of Israel, that he should send them with him.
And the reading which I do not permit anyone to read otherwise is the reading which the readers of the [great] cities maintain, on account of the consensus of the authoritative readers upon its correctness and their rejection of what deviates from it.
And His word fa-qāla lahu Firʿawnu innī la-aẓunnuka yā Mūsā masḥūran ("whereupon Pharaoh said to him: indeed, I think, O Mūsā, that you are bewitched"), that is to say: Pharaoh said to Mūsā: indeed, I think, O Mūsā, that you occupy yourself with the knowledge of sorcery, and that these wonders which you perform proceed from your sorcery. And it is possible that what is meant is: indeed, I think, O Mūsā, that you are a sorcerer, so that the passive participle (masḥūr) has been put in place of the active participle (sāḥir), as it is said: "indeed, you bring us misfortune (mashʾūm) and good fortune (maymūn)," whereas it is properly shāʾim and yāmin. And some have interpreted ḥijāban mastūran ("a veiled curtain") in the sense of "a veiling curtain (sātir)," for the Arabs frequently bring out the active participle in the form of the passive participle.
