Tafseer of Taa-Haa · Taa-Haa · 20:22
And draw in your hand to your side; it will come out white without disease - another sign,
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: وَاضْمُمْ يَدَكَ إِلَى جَنَاحِكَ تَخْرُجْ بَيْضَاءَ مِنْ غَيْرِ سُوءٍ آيَةً أُخْرَى ("And press your hand to your side — it will come forth radiantly white, without ailment — as another sign") (20:22)
Allah, exalted be His remembrance, says: O Mūsā, press your hand, and place it beneath your upper arm. The two sides (janāḥān) are the two hands; thus the report is transmitted on the authority of Abū Hurayra and Kaʿb al-Aḥbār. But the Arabic linguists say: the two janāḥān are the two flanks of the body, and some of them cite as proof the following verse of the rajaz poet: "I press him against the breast and the side (janāḥ)."
With what we have said concerning the explanation of this, the exegetes are also in agreement.
Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to us, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid — concerning His word إِلَى جَنَاحِكَ: he said: "Your hand — beneath your upper arm."
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid — the same.
As for His word تَخْرُجْ بَيْضَاءَ مِنْ غَيْرِ سُوءٍ ("it will come forth radiantly white, without ailment"): it is transmitted that Mūsā, peace be upon him, was a dark-skinned man; he thrust his hand into the opening of his garment and then drew it out, radiantly white without ailment — without leprosy — like snow; then he drew it back, and it came forth as it was, in his own skin color.
This was related to us by Ibn Ḥumayd, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, on the authority of Wahb ibn Munabbih.
Ismāʿīl ibn Mūsā al-Fazārī related to us, saying: Sharīk related to us, on the authority of Yazīd ibn Abī Ziyād, on the authority of Miqsam, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās — concerning His word تَخْرُجْ بَيْضَاءَ مِنْ غَيْرِ سُوءٍ: he said: "Without leprosy."
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to us, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid — concerning مِنْ غَيْرِ سُوءٍ: he said: "Without leprosy."
Al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda — concerning His word بَيْضَاءَ مِنْ غَيْرِ سُوءٍ: he said: "Without leprosy."
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid — the same.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda — concerning مِنْ غَيْرِ سُوءٍ: he said: "Without leprosy."
Mūsā related to us, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī — concerning تَخْرُجْ بَيْضَاءَ مِنْ غَيْرِ سُوءٍ: he said: "Without leprosy."
I was told by al-Ḥusayn ibn al-Faraj, who said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd informed us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His word مِنْ غَيْرِ سُوءٍ: he said: "Without leprosy."
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Ḥammād ibn Masʿada related to us, saying: Qurra related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan — concerning the word of Allah بَيْضَاءَ مِنْ غَيْرِ سُوءٍ: he said: "Allah made it come forth without ailment, without leprosy, and Mūsā knew that he had met his Lord."
As for His word آيَةً أُخْرَى ("another sign"): this means: this is another sign and proof, other than the sign which We showed you earlier — namely the transformation of the staff into a gliding serpent — as proof of the truth of the mission with which We have charged you to those to whom We have sent you. "Āyatan" is in the accusative case because it is connected to the verb, given the absence of any element that would place it in the nominative — or else it is placed thus as such.
