Tafsir of Hud 11:96

{And We certainly sent Moses with Our signs}—which are the nine signs: the staff, the white hand, the flood, the locusts, the lice, the frogs, the blood, and the deficiency in fruits and lives. The prepositional phrase (with Our signs) is connected to an elided term that functions as a state (ḥāl) for the object of (We sent), or as an adjective for its emphatic verbal noun. That is, "We sent him while he was accompanied by Our signs," or "We sent him with a sending accompanied by them."

{And a clear authority}

This refers to the dazzling miracles, among which is the staff. It is singled out for mention to demonstrate its eminence, as it is the most dazzling of them, while "the signs" refers to the rest. It is also possible that both terms refer to the same thing, with the conjunction indicating a difference in description; meaning, We sent him with that which combines being "Our signs" and being an "authority" for him regarding his prophethood—either clear in itself, or making the prophethood clear (derived from the verb abāna, which is intransitive meaning "to be evident" and transitive meaning "to clarify").

Some have suggested that the signs and the authority are one and the same in reality, but that this involves an abstraction (tajrīd), similar to saying, "I passed by the noble man and the blessed soul." It is as if he abstracted the proof from the signs and presented it as something else, joining it to them for that reason. It is also permissible that "the signs" refers to what you have heard, and "the authority" refers to what the Prophet (peace be upon him) clarified throughout his calling when Pharaoh asked him, "Who is the Lord of you two?" and "What is the case of the former generations?"—referring to the elegant truths and fitting subtleties. Alternatively, it may mean dominance and mastery, as in His, the Exalted's, saying: {And We shall grant you both authority}. To interpret it as the Torah, or to include it within the sum of the signs, is rejected, as Abu Hayyan has stated.