Tafsir of Ta-Ha 20:17-21

Tā-Hā (20:17-21)

{وَمَا تِلْكَ بِيَمِينِكَ يَا مُوسَى} (And what is that in your right hand, O Moses?)

Know that His saying, {وَمَا تِلْكَ بِيَمِينِكَ} (And what is that in your right hand?), consists of two phrases: {وَمَا تِلْكَ} (And what is that) refers to the staff, and {بِيَمِينِكَ} (in your right hand) refers to the hand. There are several subtle points (nukāt) in this:

1. Elevation from the Mundane: When the Almighty pointed to both the staff and the hand, He made each a compelling miracle and a dazzling proof. He elevated the staff from the realm of inanimate objects to the station of miraculous honor. If a lifeless object can become an animal by a single glance, and a dense body can become luminous and subtle, then what wonder is it if the heart, upon which God looks three hundred and sixty times a day, transforms from the death of disobedience to the bliss of obedience and the light of gnosis?
2. Overcoming Sorcery: By a single glance, the inanimate object became a serpent that swallowed the sorcerers' magic. What wonder, then, if the heart, aided by the Divine gaze, becomes capable of swallowing the magic of the soul that incites to evil?
3. The Blessing of the Right Hand: The staff was in Moses's right hand, and due to the blessing of his right hand, it turned into a serpent and a proof. Since the believer's heart is between two fingers of the Most Merciful, if Moses's right hand received such honor and blessing, what wonder if the believer's heart turns from the darkness of sin to the light of servitude due to the two fingers of the Merciful?

Here follow some questions:

The First Question: His saying, {وَمَا تِلْكَ بِيَمِينِكَ يَا مُوسَى} (And what is that in your right hand, O Moses?), is a question. A question is posed to seek knowledge, which is impossible for God Almighty. So, what is the benefit of this question?

The Answer: There are several benefits:

1. Demonstrating Power through the Trivial: When someone intends to reveal something noble from a humble object, they first present it to the onlookers and ask, "What is this?" They reply with its known identity. Then, after demonstrating its supreme quality—like turning the staff into a serpent, striking the sea to split it, or striking the rock to make water gush forth—the questioner asks them to take from it. Thus, God Almighty, intending to reveal the staff's noble signs, first presented it to Moses, as if saying, "O Moses, do you know the reality of this in your hand—that it is merely a stick that neither harms nor benefits?" Then He transformed it into a mighty serpent. This method alerts the intellects to the perfection of His power and the limit of His greatness, as He manifested these great signs from the most insignificant of things in His view. This is the benefit of His saying, {وَمَا تِلْكَ بِيَمِينِكَ يَا مُوسَى}.
2. Dispelling Bewilderment: After God informed Moses of the lights ascending from the tree to the sky, made him hear the angels' glorification, and then made him hear His own speech, He mixed gentleness with might. He first showed gentleness by saying, {وَأَنَا اخْتَرْتُكَ} (And I have chosen you), then asserted might by imposing difficult obligations upon him concerning the knowledge of the origin, the middle, and the return, concluding all this with a great warning. Moses was bewildered and dazed, almost unable to distinguish his right hand from his left. Thus, he was asked, {وَمَا تِلْكَ بِيَمِينِكَ يَا مُوسَى} so that Moses would know that his right hand is the one holding the staff. Alternatively, since God first addressed him with the language of Divinity, causing Moses's bewilderment, He then addressed him in human language to remove that shock and confusion. The subtle point here is that when bewilderment overcame Moses in the Divine Presence, the Lord of Might intended to remove it by asking him about the staff, an object about which error is impossible. Similarly, when a believer dies and reaches the Presence of the Glorious, bewilderment overcomes him, and modesty prevents him from speaking. They will ask him about the matter about which he could never err in the world: Tawhid (Monotheism). When he mentions it, the bewilderment and loneliness vanish.
3. Revealing Human Deficiency: After God made Moses aware of the perfection of Divinity, He wanted to make him aware of the deficiency of humanity. He asked him about the staff's benefits, and Moses mentioned some of them. God then informed him that it possessed greater benefits than those he mentioned, serving as a reminder that human intellects are limited in comprehending the attributes of a present Prophet. Without Divine guidance and infallibility, how could they reach the knowledge of the most noble and greatest things?
4. Assurance Against Fear: The benefit of this question was to establish in his mind that it was merely a stick, so that when it turned into a serpent, he would not fear it.

The Second Question: His saying, {وَمَا تِلْكَ بِيَمِينِكَ يَا مُوسَى}, is a direct address from God to Moses without an intermediary. This did not happen to Muhammad (peace be upon him), which necessitates that Moses is superior to Muhammad.

The Answer: This is addressed from two perspectives:

1. The Unveiled vs. The Concealed: Just as God addressed Moses, He addressed Muhammad (peace be upon him) in {فَأَوْحَى إِلَى عَبْدِهِ مَا أَوْحَى} (Then He revealed to His Servant what He revealed) (An-Najm: 10). The difference is that what was mentioned concerning Moses, God revealed to creation. What was mentioned concerning Muhammad (peace be upon him) was a secret that no one among creation was worthy of knowing.
2. The Community's Connection: If Moses was spoken to directly, then the community of Muhammad (peace be upon him) addresses God multiple times daily, as the Prophet (PBUH) said, "The worshipper is in private conversation with his Lord." Furthermore, the Lord speaks to individuals of Muhammad's community on the Day of Resurrection with salutations, honor, and direct address, as in {سَلَامٌ قَوْلًا مِنْ رَبٍّ رَحِيمٍ} (A word of peace: "Peace," from a Merciful Lord) (Yā-Sīn: 58).

The Third Question: What is the grammatical parsing of {وَمَا تِلْكَ بِيَمِينِكَ يَا مُوسَى}?

The Answer: The author of Al-Kashshāf said: {تِلْكَ بِيَمِينِكَ} (that in your right hand) is like {وَهَذَا بَعْلٌ شَيْخٌ} (And this is an old husband) (Hūd: 72), where the circumstantial accusative (Hāl) is used for indication. Alternatively, tilka could be a relative pronoun whose relative clause is {بِيَمِينِكَ}. Al-Zajjāj said its meaning is: "And what is that which is in your right hand?" Al-Farrā’ said: "What is this that is in your right hand?"

Know that when the Almighty asked Moses, Moses replied with four things: three in detail and one in summary.

1. {هِيَ عَصَايَ} (It is my staff). Ibn Abi Isḥāq recited it as (hiya ‘aṣāy), and Al-Ḥasan recited it as (hiya ‘aṣā) with a quiescent yā’. There are three subtle points here:
   • He mentioned the staff. How can one whose heart is preoccupied with the staff and its benefits be fully immersed in the sea of knowledge of the Truth? Muhammad (PBUH), however, was offered Paradise and Hellfire, yet he did not turn aside: {مَا زَاغَ الْبَصَرُ وَمَا طَغَى} (His sight did not swerve, nor did it transgress) (An-Najm: 17). When told to praise God, he said, "I cannot enumerate Your praise," then forgot himself and his praise, saying, "You are as You have praised Yourself."
   • When he said, {عَصَايَ} (my staff), God commanded, {أَلْقِهَا} (Cast it down). When he cast it down, {فَإِذَا هِيَ حَيَّةٌ تَسْعَى} (and behold, it became a serpent, moving swiftly). This teaches that anything other than God is a distraction, like a destructive serpent. This is why Abraham (peace be upon him) said, {فَإِنَّهُمْ عَدُوٌّ لِّي إِلَّا رَبَّ الْعَالَمِينَ} (For they are enemies to me, save the Lord of the Worlds). A Hadith states that the owner of wealth who did not pay its zakāh will have that wealth brought on the Day of Resurrection in the form of a fearsome, venomous serpent.
   • He said, "It is my staff," completing the answer. However, he mentioned the other aspects because he loved conversing with his Lord and used this as a means to achieve that goal.

2. {أَتَوَكَّأُ عَلَيْهَا} (I lean upon it). Leaning (tawakkī) and relying (ittikā’) are synonymous with tawaqqī and ittiqā’. It means relying on it when exhausted, when standing at the head of the flock, or when leaping. Moses made himself one who relies on the staff. God told Muhammad (PBUH), "Lean upon My Mercy," through His saying: {يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ حَسْبُكَ اللَّهُ وَمَنِ اتَّبَعَكَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ} (O Prophet, sufficient for you is Allah and whoever follows you of the believers) (Al-Anfāl: 64), and {وَاللَّهُ يَعْصِمُكَ مِنَ النَّاسِ} (But Allah will protect you from the people) (Al-Mā’idah: 67). If it is asked: Does {وَمَنِ اتَّبَعَكَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ} imply that Muhammad relies on the believers? We reply that {وَمَنِ اتَّبَعَكَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ} is coordinated with the kāf in {حَسْبُكَ اللَّهُ} (Allah is sufficient for you), meaning Allah is sufficient for you and for those who follow you of the believers.

3. {وَأَهُشُّ بِهَا عَلَى غَنَمِي} (And I strike with it the branches of trees for my sheep to eat their leaves). Linguists say: Ahashshu (with a ḍammah on the hā’) in the future tense for striking the branches for sheep. Hashashu (with a fatḥah) means striking a person. Hashashu (with a kasrah) means breaking bread. Al-ʿIkrima recited it as (wa ahsu) with an sīn without dots. Hashsh also means driving the sheep. Know that his sheep were his flock/people. He began with his own needs in {قَالَ هِيَ عَصَايَ}, then with the needs of his flock in {وَأَهُشُّ بِهَا عَلَى غَنَمِي}. Similarly, on the Day of Resurrection, he will begin with himself, saying, "Myself, myself!" Muhammad (PBUH), however, was occupied in the world only with reforming the affairs of the community: {وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَأَنتَ فِيهِمْ} (And Allah would not punish them while you were among them) (Al-Anfāl: 33), and {اللَّهُمَّ اهْدِ قَوْمِي فَإِنَّهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ} (O Allah, guide my people, for they do not know). Consequently, on the Day of Resurrection, he will begin with his community, saying, "My community, my community!"

4. {وَلِي فِيهَا مَآرِبُ أُخْرَى} (And I have other uses for it). Ma’ārib means needs and benefits; the singular is ma’raba (with fatḥah or ḍammah on the rā’). Ibn al-Aʿrābī and Quṭrub narrated it with a kasrah on the rā’ as well. Arab (with fatḥah on the rā’) and irba (with kasrah on the alif and quiescent rā’) also mean need. He said ukhrā (other) because ma’ārib implies a group, as if he meant "a group of other needs." If he had said ukhar (plural of ukhrā), it would have been correct, as in {فَعِدَّةٌ مِنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ} (then a number of other days) (Al-Baqarah: 184).

Here are some subtle points regarding this last statement:

• When he heard God's saying, {وَمَا تِلْكَ بِيَمِينِكَ}, he knew that God had great secrets concerning it. He mentioned what he knew and alluded to the rest—what he did not know—in summary, not in detail, by saying, {وَلِي فِيهَا مَآرِبُ أُخْرَى}.
• Moses sensed that the Almighty asked him about the staff because of its great benefits. Moses replied, "My God, this staff is like any other, but since You asked about it, I know I have other uses for it, including that You spoke to me because of it, and I found this great, noble matter because of it."
• Moses summarized, hoping that his Lord would ask him about those uses so he could hear the word of God again and prolong the conversation.
• Due to the gentleness shown, his tongue was loosened, but then bewilderment overcame him, stopping his tongue and confusing his thought, so he summarized again. Wahb said it had two prongs like a hook (miḥjan). If a branch grew long, he would bend it with the hook. If he tried to break it, he would twist it with the two prongs. When traveling, he would place it on his shoulder and hang his equipment—bow, quiver, and clothes—on it. When in the wilderness, he would plant it and lay his cloak over it to create shade. It is also said that it had miracles: he would draw water with it, and it would lengthen to the depth of the well, its two prongs becoming a bucket, and it would become two lights on dark nights. If an enemy appeared, it would fight for him. If he desired fruit, he would plant it, and it would sprout and bear fruit. He carried his provisions and water on it, it would walk with him, and when planted, water would spring forth, stopping when he lifted it. It also protected him from vermin.

Know that after Moses mentioned these answers, God commanded him to cast down the staff: {أَلْقِهَا يَا مُوسَى} (Cast it down, O Moses). This contains subtle points:

1. When Moses said, {وَلِي فِيهَا مَآرِبُ أُخْرَى} (And I have other uses for it), God wanted to inform him that it had another use he was unaware of, one greater than all his other uses, so He said, {أَلْقِهَا يَا مُوسَى} (Cast it down, O Moses), and he cast it down, {فَإِذَا هِيَ حَيَّةٌ تَسْعَى} (and behold, it became a serpent, moving swiftly).
2. He had something on his foot (the sandals) and something in his hand (the staff). The foot is the instrument of flight, and the hand is the instrument of seeking/acquisition. First, he was told, {فَاخْلَعْ نَعْلَيْكَ} (Take off your sandals) (Tā-Hā: 12), indicating the abandonment of flight. Then he was told to cast down the staff, indicating the abandonment of seeking. It is as if the Almighty said: As long as you were in the state of fleeing and seeking, you were occupied with yourself and seeking your own portion, thus not being purely for My knowledge. Therefore, abandon fleeing and seeking so you may be pure for Me.
3. Despite Moses's high station and perfect virtue, when he reached the Presence, having only his sandals and staff, he was commanded to cast them away so that he could reach the Presence. How can you reach the Divine threshold when burdened with a thousand and more sins?
4. Muhammad (PBUH) was stripped of everything; his gaze did not waver, so he found everything (i.e., complete acceptance). As for Moses, since he retained the staff, he was commanded to cast it down.

The scholar Al-Kaʿbī used this as evidence that ability (istiṭāʿah) precedes the act. The power to cast down the staff either comes while it is in his hand or after it has left his hand. If the power comes while it is in his hand, that aligns with our saying, {وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ لَيْسَ بِظَلَّامٍ لِّلْعَبِيدِ} (And that Allah is never unjust to His servants) (Āl ʿImrān: 182). If the power comes when it is not in his hand, he could only have the ability to cast down what is not in his hand, which is impossible.

As for {فَأَلْقَاهَا فَإِذَا هِيَ حَيَّةٌ تَسْعَى} (So he cast it down, and behold, it became a serpent, moving swiftly), there are questions:

The First Question: What is the wisdom in turning the staff into a serpent at that moment?

The Answer: There are several views:

1. God turned it into a serpent to be a miracle for Moses, through which he would know his own prophethood. Up to that point, Moses had only heard the call, and while a call is contrary to custom, it is not necessarily a miracle, as it could be attributed to the customs of angels or jinn. Thus, God turned the staff into a serpent to serve as an overwhelming proof. Remarkably, Moses asked if he could lean on it, and God confirmed this by making it his support and a miracle for him.
2. The call was an honor to him, and turning the staff into a serpent was an increase in honor, so that the succession of divestment and honors would remove the apprehension from his heart.
3. It was shown to him so that he would witness it first, and when he saw it before Pharaoh, he would not fear it.
4. He was a poor shepherd, and then he was appointed to a great office. Perhaps he still harbored some astonishment regarding this. Turning the staff into a serpent was a reminder: Since I was capable of that, how can you think it difficult for Me to support you in manifesting the religion?
5. When he said, {قَالَ هِيَ عَصَايَ أَتَوَكَّأُ عَلَيْهَا}... up to {وَلِي فِيهَا مَآرِبُ أُخْرَى}, he was told, {أَلْقِهَا} (Cast it down). When he cast it down and it became a serpent, Moses fled from it. It is as if he was told: You claimed it was your staff and that you had other uses for it, yet you fled from it—a reminder of the secret behind {فَفِرُّوا إِلَى اللَّهِ} (So flee to Allah) (Adh-Dhāriyāt: 50) and {قُلِ اللَّهُ ثُمَّ ذَرْهُمْ} (Say: "Allah!" then leave them) (Al-Anʿām: 91).

The Second Question: Here it is called a ḥayyah (serpent), while in another place it is called a thuʿbān (great serpent) and jānn (slender serpent). Ḥayyah is a general term for male, female, small, or large. Thuʿbān and jānn are somewhat contradictory, as thuʿbān is a large serpent, and jānn is slender. There are two interpretations:

1. At the moment of transformation, it was a small, slender serpent, which then swelled and increased in mass until it became a thuʿbān. Thus, jānn refers to its initial state, and thuʿbān to its final state.
2. It possessed the form of a thuʿbān but the swift movement of a jānn. The evidence for this is God's saying: {فَلَمَّا رَآهَا تَهْتَزُّ كَأَنَّهَا جَانٌّ} (But when he saw it stirring as if it were a snake) (An-Naml: 10).

The Third Question: What was the description of the serpent?

The Answer: It had a crest like a horse's crest, and the distance between its jaws was forty cubits. It swallowed everything it passed, rocks and trees, until Moses heard the grinding of stone in its mouth and belly.

As for {قَالَ خُذْهَا وَلَا تَخَفْ سَنُعِيدُهَا سِيرَتَهَا الْأُولَى} (He said: "Take hold of it and fear not. We shall return it to its former state"), there are questions:

The First Question: Moses was called and singled out for these great honors, and he knew he was sent by God to creation. Why did he fear?

The Answer: There are several views:

1. That fear was due to natural aversion (nifra), as he had never witnessed such a thing. Moreover, these things are known by rational proofs, and in extreme fright, a person may become oblivious to them. Shaykh Abū al-Qāsim al-Anṣārī (may God have mercy on him) said that this fear is one of the strongest proofs of his truthfulness in prophethood, because a sorcerer knows that what he performs is illusion and thus does not fear it at all.
2. Some said he feared it because he knew what Adam suffered from it.
3. The mere command {لَا تَخَفْ} (Fear not) does not imply the existence of fear, just as {وَلَا تُطِعِ الْكَافِرِينَ} (And do not obey the disbelievers) (Al-Aḥzāb: 1) does not imply that such obedience existed. However, {فَلَمَّا رَآهَا تَهْتَزُّ كَأَنَّهَا جَانٌّ وَلَّى مُدْبِرًا} (But when he saw it stirring as if it were a snake, he turned his back fleeing) (An-Naml: 10) indicates it. However, this fear appeared only to show the difference between him and Muhammad (PBUH). Muhammad (PBUH) did not show attachment to Paradise nor aversion to Hellfire, whereas Moses showed attachment to the staff and aversion to the serpent.

The Second Question: When did he take it—after it turned back into a staff or before?

The Answer: It is narrated that he put his hand between its teeth, and it turned back into a stick. The Qur'an also indicates this by saying {سَنُعِيدُهَا سِيرَتَهَا الْأُولَى} (We shall return it to its former state), which refers to the future. Furthermore, this is closer to a miracle, because just as the staff turning into a serpent was a miracle, putting his hand into its mouth without harm was a miracle, and its turning back into a stick was another miracle. Thus, the succession of miracles would be stronger in proof.

The Third Question: How did he take it—with fear or without?

The Answer: It is narrated that it was with fear, but this is unlikely, as after a succession of proofs, fear becomes remote. Once Moses knew that God would return it to its first state upon taking it, how could his fear persist, having confirmed the truth of this statement? Some said that when his Lord said, {لَا تَخَفْ}, his fear vanished to the extent that his soul was reassured, and he put his hand into its mouth and grasped its jaws.

The Fourth Question: What is the meaning of sīratuhā al-ūlā (its former state)?

The Answer: The author of Al-Kashshāf said: As-sīrah is derived from as-sayr (walking/journeying), like ar-rukbah (riding) from ar-rukūb (to ride). One says, "So-and-so had a good sīrah (conduct)." Then it was extended to mean disposition or path.

The Fifth Question: Why is sīratahā in the accusative case?

The Answer: There are two views:

1. By dropping the preposition (i.e., ilā sīratihā—to its state).
2. That {سَنُعِيدُهَا} (We shall return it) stands independently, not related to sīratihā. Meaning: It was first a staff, then it became a serpent, so We shall make it a staff as it was. Thus, sīratahā is accusative due to an implied verb, meaning: "We shall make it walk its former walk," i.e., "We shall return it to the state where you leaned upon it and had those uses you knew."

{وَاضْمُمْ يَدَكَ إِلَى جَنَاحِكَ تَخْرُجْ بَيْضَاءَ مِنْ غَيْرِ سُوءٍ آيَةً أُخْرَى * لِنُرِيَكَ مِنْ آيَاتِنَا الْكُبْرَى * اذْهَبْ إِلَى فِرْعَوْنَ إِنَّهُ طَغَى} (And press your hand to your side; it will come out white without disease, another sign, so that We may show you some of Our greatest signs. Go to Pharaoh; indeed, he has transgressed.)