Tafsir of Surah Ta-Ha - Verse 18

The Stick of Musa turned into a Snake

This was a proof from Allah for Musa and a great miracle. This was something that broke through the boundaries of what is considered normal, thus, it was a brilliant evidence that none but Allah could do. It was also a proof that no one could come with the likes of this (from mankind) except a Prophet who was sent (by Allah). Concerning Allah's statement,

وَمَا تِلْكَ بِيَمِينِكَ يمُوسَى

(And what is that in your right hand, O Musa) Some of the scholars of Tafsir have said, "He (Allah) only said this to him in order to draw his attention to it." It has also been said, "He only said this to him in order to affirm for him what was in his hand. In other words, that which is in your right hand is a stick that you are familiar with. You will see what We are about to do to it now."

وَمَا تِلْكَ بِيَمِينِكَ يمُوسَى

(And what is that in your right hand, O Musa) This is an interrogative phrase for the purpose of affirmation.

قَالَ هِىَ عَصَاىَ أَتَوَكَّؤُا عَلَيْهَا

(He said: "This is my stick, whereon I lean...") I lean on it while I am walking.

وَأَهُشُّ بِهَا عَلَى غَنَمِى

(and wherewith I beat down branches for my sheep,) This means, `I use it to shake the branches of trees so that the leaves will fall for my sheep to eat them. ' `Abdur-Rahman bin Al-Qasim reported from Imam Malik that he said, "It is when a man places his staff into a branch and shakes it so that its leaves and fruit will fall without breaking the stick. It is not the same as striking or beating." Maymun bin Mahran also said the same. Concerning his statement,

وَلِىَ فِيهَا مَأَرِبُ أُخْرَى

(and wherein I find other uses.) This means other benefits, services and needs besides this. Some of the scholars took upon themselves the burden of mentioning many of these obscure uses. Concerning Allah's statement,

قَالَ أَلْقِهَا يمُوسَى

((Allah) said: "Cast it down, O Musa!") "Throw down this stick that is in your right hand, O Musa."

فَأَلْقَـهَا فَإِذَا هِىَ حَيَّةٌ تَسْعَى

(He cast it down, and behold! It was a snake, moving quickly.) This means that the stick changed into a huge snake, like a long python, and it moved with rapid movements. It moved as if it were the fastest type of small snake. Yet, it was in the form of the largest snake, while still having the fastest of movements.

تَسْعَى

(moving quickly.) moving restlessly. Concerning Allah's statement,

سَنُعِيدُهَا سِيَرتَهَا الاٍّولَى

(We shall return it to its former state. ) the form that it was in, as you recognized it before.

قَالَ هِيَ عَصَايَ (He said, “ It is my staff” – 20:18. The simple question which was put to Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) i.e. "What is in your hand?" called for an equally brief answer, such as, "It is a staff'. But he volunteered additional information which was outside the scope of the question put to him. First, he said that the staff belonged to him; second, that it served him many purposes, namely that he often reclined on it, and also beat down leaves from trees for his goats; third, that he put it to many other uses. This long and detailed reply is a perfect combination of extreme love and adoration on the one hand and profound reverence on the other. It is a natural human instinct that when a person finds the object of his adoration to be kind and attentive, he wishes to prolong the conversation in order to get the best advantage. At the same time the dictates of extreme respect require that the conversation should remain within proper limits and not become too lengthy. For this reason he ended his reply with a brief statement وَلِيَ فِيهَا مَآرِ‌بُ أُخْرَ‌ىٰ i.e. "And for me it has many other uses", but he did not give any detail of those "other uses". (Ruh and Mazhari)

From this verse Qurtubi has deduced in his Tafsir that when needed, it is permissible, while answering a question, to include matters which are not specifically covered in the question.

Rule

This verse also shows that carrying a staff is a practice followed by the prophets. The Holy Prophet ﷺ also used to carry a staff in his hand and this practice has numerous religious as well as mundane advantages.

The question ‘What do you have in your right hand?’ was meant to awaken Moses’s awareness. Its purpose was to impress afresh on his mind that his stick was but a stick, so that the next moment when, due to a miracle of God, it changed into a snake, he should be fully aware of its significance. Moses’ stick being changed into a snake was a miracle of transformation. But it must be borne in mind that all the things we see on earth are actually in a process of transformation. An acorn planted in soil and watered will one day grow into a mighty oak tree. Vapour condenses and turns into water, and water, when boiled, will turn into steam. Some of these processes are rapid and others are slow. Some are so slow—like the growth of a tree—that they are imperceptible to the human eye. The slower the process, the less strange it seems, because its slowness gives us time to familiarise ourselves with the phenomenon. When Moses’ stick took the shape of a snake, it happened in an instant, and so seemed very strange and startling. The fact is that whatever there is in this world, or whatever the events, all are ‘miracles’ of God, be it the emerging of a sapling from the earth or a stick becoming a snake. ‘Extraordinary’ miracles are shown through prophets to make man take notice of the everyday miracles wrought by God.