Tafseer of Taa-Haa · Taa-Haa · 20:17
And what is that in your right hand, O Moses?"
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.
The explanation of the word of Allah, the Exalted: وَمَا تِلْكَ بِيَمِينِكَ يَا مُوسَى (And what is that in your right hand, O Moses?) (17)
Allah, exalted be His praise, says: What is this that is in your right hand, O Moses? The bāʾ in His word بِيَمِينِكَ is connected to تِلْكَ as an extension; the Arabs connect تِلْكَ and هَذِهِ in the same way as they connect الَّذِي . An example of this is given by the verse of Yazīd ibn Mifragh:
'ʿAdas! What power does ʿAbbād have over you? You are free, and this that you carry is discharged.'
As if he said: and the one whom you carry is discharged.
Perhaps someone will ask: how could Allah have asked Moses about what was in his hand? Did He not know that what was in his hand was a staff? The answer is: the matter is not as you suppose. He, exalted be His mention, said this to him because He wished to make him transform the staff into a serpent that moves, while it was a piece of wood. Thus He drew his attention to it and confirmed for him that it was a piece of wood upon which he leaned and with which he made the leaves fall for his sheep — in order to make clear to him His power over everything that He wills, and the greatness of His sovereignty and the effecting of His command over what He wishes, by changing it into a serpent that moves when He wished — so that this would become for Moses a sign alongside his other signs to Pharaoh and his people.
