Tafsir of Surah Ta-Ha - Verse 23

The Hand of Musa turning White without any Disease

This is the second sign of Musa. That is Allah has commanded him to place his hand into the opening of his garment, as is clearly stated in another Ayah. It mentioned here merely as a passing reference, saying:

وَاضْمُمْ يَدَكَ إِلَى جَنَاحِكَ

(And press your hand to your side:) Allah said in another Ayah,

وَاضْمُمْ إِلَيْكَ جَنَاحَكَ مِنَ الرَّهْبِ فَذَانِكَ بُرْهَانَـنِ مِن رَّبِّكَ إِلَى فِرْعَوْنَ وَمَلَئِهِ

(And draw your hand close to your side to be free from fear. These are two signs from your Lord to Fir`awn and his chiefs.) 28:32 Mujahid said,

وَاضْمُمْ يَدَكَ إِلَى جَنَاحِكَ

(And press your hand to your side:) "This means put your palm under your upper arm." When Musa put his hand into the opening of his garment and brought it out, it came out shining as if it were a half moon. Concerning His statement,

تَخْرُجْ بَيْضَآءَ مِنْ غَيْرِ سُوءٍ

(it will come forth white, without any disease) This means without any leprosy, ailment, or disfigurement. This was stated by Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, `Ikrimah, Qatadah, Ad-Dahhak, As-Suddi and others. Al-Hasan Al-Basri said, "He brought it out, and by Allah, it was as if it were a lamp. From this Musa knew that he had surely met his Lord, the Mighty and Sublime." This is why Allah says,

لِنُرِيَكَ مِنْ ءَايَـتِنَا الْكُبْرَى

(That We may show you (some) of Our greater signs.)

Allah commanded Musa to go to Fir`awn to convey the Message Allah said,

Allah commanded Musa to go to Fir`awn to convey the Message Allah said,

اذْهَبْ إِلَى فِرْعَوْنَ إِنَّهُ طَغَى

(Go to Fir`awn! Verily, he has transgressed.) This means, "Go to Fir`awn, the king of Egypt, whom you left Egypt fleeing from, and invite him to the worship of Allah alone, Who has no partners. Command him to treat the Children of Israel well and to not torment them. For verily, he has transgressed, oppressed, preferred the worldly life and forgotten the Most High Lord."

The Supplication of Musa

قَالَ رَبِّ اشْرَحْ لِى صَدْرِى - وَيَسِّرْ لِى أَمْرِى

((Musa) said: "O my Lord! Open for me my chest, and ease my task for me.") Musa requsted his Lord to expand his chest for his mission. For verily, He was commanding him with a great task and a weighty affair. He was sending him to the mightiest king on the face of the earth at that time. He was the most arrogant and severe of all people in his disbelief, and He had the largest army and the most powerful kingdom. He was the most tyrannical and the most obstinate of rulers. His case was such that he claimed not to know Allah at all, and that he knew of no god for his subjects other than himself. Along with this, Musa lived in his home for a period of time as a child. He stayed in Fir`awn's own room and slept on his bed. Then, after this, he killed one of their people and feared that they would retaliate by killing him in return. Thus, he fled from them and remained an outlaw during this entire time. Then, after all of this, His Lord sent him to them as a warner calling them to worship Allah alone, without associating partners with Him. This is why he said,

قَالَ رَبِّ اشْرَحْ لِى صَدْرِى - وَيَسِّرْ لِى أَمْرِى

(O my Lord! Open for me my chest, and ease my task for me.) This means, "I cannot perform this task if You do not help me, aid me and support me."

وَاحْلُلْ عُقْدَةً مِّن لِّسَانِى - يَفْقَهُواْ قَوْلِي

(And loosen the knot from my tongue, that they understand my speech.) This is referring to the lisp that he had. This lisp was a result of an incident when he was presented a date and a hot coal stone and he placed the coal on his tongue instead of the date. A detailed explanation of this story is forthcoming in the following chapters. However, he did not ask Allah to remove this affliction all together. Rather, he asked for removal of his stammering so the people would understand what he intended in his speech. He was only asking for what was necessary to deliver his message. If he had asked for the removal of his affliction in its entirety, it would have been cured for him. However, the Prophets do not ask for any more than what is required. Therefore, he was left with the remnants of this accident that took place with his tongue. Allah informed of what Fir`awn said concerning him,

أَمْ أَنَآ خَيْرٌ مِّنْ هَـذَا الَّذِى هُوَ مَهِينٌ وَلاَ يَكَادُ يُبِينُ

(Am I not better than this one who is despicable and can scarcely express himself clearly)43:52 This means that he is not eloquent in speech. Concerning Allah's statement,

وَاجْعَل لِّى وَزِيراً مِّنْ أَهْلِى - هَـرُونَ أَخِى

(And appoint for me a helper from my family, Harun, my brother.) This was also a request from Musa concerning something not pertaining to himself. That was his request for the assistance of his brother, Harun. Ath-Thawri reported from Abu Sa`id, from `Ikrimah, who said that Ibn `Abbas said, "Harun was made a Prophet at the same moment that Musa was made a Prophet." Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that `A'ishah went out intending to perform `Umrah and stopped to camp among some bedouins. While she was among them she heard a man say, "Which brother in this life was the most beneficial to his brother" The people said, "We do not know." The man said, "By Allah, I know." `A'ishah said, "I said to myself about his swearing, that he should not swear such an oath, singling himself out as knowing what person was of most benefit to his brother." The man said, "It is Musa, when he asked for prophethood to be bestowed upon his brother." Then `A'ishah said, "By Allah, he has spoken truthfully." This is why Allah commended Musa by saying,

وَكَانَ عِندَ اللَّهِ وَجِيهاً

(And he was honorable before Allah.)33:69 Concerning Musa's statement,

اشْدُدْ بِهِ أَزْرِى

(Increase my strength with him.) Mujahid said, "This means to make my back strong."

وَأَشْرِكْهُ فِى أَمْرِى

(And let him share my task.) make him my consultant in this matter.

كَىْ نُسَبِّحَكَ كَثِيراً - وَنَذْكُرَكَ كَثِيراً

(That we may glorify You much, and remember You much.) Mujahid said, "A servant of Allah is not considered of those who remember Allah much until he remembers Allah while standing, sitting and lying down." Concerning his statement,

إِنَّكَ كُنتَ بِنَا بَصِيراً

(Verily, You are ever seeing us.) This means in Your choosing us, giving us the prophethood and sending us to Your enemy, Fir`awn. So unto You is all praise for this.

وَاضْمُمْ يَدَكَ إِلَىٰ جَنَاحِكَ (And put your hand under your arm - 20:22). The word جَنَاحِ means fore-limb of an animal or wing of a bird. Here Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) was commanded to press his hand under his armpit so that when he brings it out it will shine as brilliantly as the sun, and this will be the second miracle granted to him. This is the meaning given to the words by Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ (Mazhari).

Incidents in the lives of prophets of the past are mentioned in the Bible as well as in the Quran. But, at many places, there are meaningful differences in the versions respectively of the Quran and the Bible. For instance, in this case, the Bible says: Moses kept his hand on his chest and covered it, and when he brought it out and saw it, it was white like ice, due to leprosy (Exodus 4:7). The Bible attributes the whiteness of Moses’s hand to ‘leprosy’. In this context, the Quran’s describing of the miracle of the white hand and the adding of the words ‘without any blemish’ clearly indicate that the Qur’an is not derived from the Bible, but is directly from God, who is All-knowing. As such, it corrects the biblical version. Moses was given two special miracles. The miracle of the snake was the sign of power, and the miracle of the bright white hand was a symbol of his standing for a luminous Truth. Pharaoh transgressed all limits when, having attained power, he considered himself to be god. The literal meaning of ‘Pharaoh’ is the child of the sun. The ancient Egyptians used to regard the sun as the greatest god–the Mighty Lord. So Pharaoh had declared himself the representative of the sun god on earth. He had statues of himself made and installed in all the cities of Egypt and these statues were worshipped. Power is a blessing conferred by God; when a man receives this blessing, he should be overwhelmed with gratitude. But if he is vain and arrogant, he not only feels no gratitude, but he also sets himself up as God’s equal.