Tafsir of Surah Ta-Ha - Verse 28

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.

The third prayer وَاحْلُلْ عُقْدَةً مِّن لِّسَانِي يَفْقَهُوا قَوْلِي (And remove the knot from my tongue, that they may understand my speech - 20:27, 28). The story behind this "knot" is that as an infant Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) lived with his own mother who used to suckle him and was paid for her services by the Pharaoh. When he was weaned, the Pharaoh and his wife 'Asiya ؓ adopted him, and took him away from his mother. One day Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) caught hold of the Pharaoh's beard and slapped him on the face. Another version has it that he was playing with a stick and with it he struck the Pharaoh on his head. The Pharaoh was enraged and made up his mind to put him to death. His wife 'Asiya ؓ tried to pacify him and said, "0 King! Why do you take this matter so seriously? After all he is merely a child who does not understand things. You can test him if you like and you will find that he cannot distinguish between good things and bad things".

Thereupon, the Pharaoh ordered two trays to be brought. One was filled with live coal and the other with jewellery. It was expected that the child would be attracted by the brightness of the burning coal and reach for it because children are not normally drawn towards jewellery which is not as bright. This would have convinced the Pharaoh that what Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) did was nothing more than the act of an innocent child. But Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) was no ordinary child. Allah Ta'ala had chosen him to be a prophet whose instincts were unusual from the very moment of his birth. He put forth his hand to reach out for the jewellery instead of the coal, but Jibra'il (علیہ السلام) turned his hand away and placed it in the tray containing coal. He picked up a piece of burning coal and put it in his mouth and so burned his tongue. The Pharaoh was thus fully satisfied that the action of Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) was not due to mischief but the result of a child's inability to distinguish between good and bad for himself. This incident caused an impediment in his speech which has been called عُقْدَةً (knot) in the Qur'an, and Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) prayed to Allah Ta'ala to make loose this knot. (Mazharl and Qurtubi)

The first two prayers are of a general nature and sought Allah Ta` ala's help in all matters. The third prayer is for the removal of a disability because eloquence and fluency of expression are essential elements in the successful conduct of prophetic mission. In a subsequent verse Allah Ta'ala informed Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) that all his prayers had been granted which would suggest that he was cured of his disability.

However, Sayyidna Musa علیہ السلام in his prayer to make Sayyidna Harun (علیہ السلام) his partner in the prophethood also said ھُوَاَفصَحُ مِنِّی لِساناً (He is more fluent in his tongue than me - 28:34) which would indicate that his speech's impediment was not fully cured and that the stammer persisted, though in a milder form. One of the defects which the Pharaoh found in Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) was that وَلَا یَکَادُ یُبِینُ (he cannot express himself clearly - 43:52). Some people have argued that in his prayer Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) had prayed to Allah Ta’ ala to loose the knot of his tongue only to the extent that others could understand his words. To that extent his stammer was cured but a trace of it still remained, which is not inconsistent with the grant of his prayer.

After attaining prophethood, Moses might well have developed a sense of pride. But, at that time, the nature of his request to God reveals that he did not take prophethood as a matter of pride but as a matter of responsibility. At that time, the words he uttered were those of one who is fully conscious of the delicate and exacting responsibility attached to the work of a mission. The opening of the heart for a man of the mission means that, according to the different occasions that may arise, appropriate guidance may enter it unhindered. The easing of the situation means that opponents should never succeed in impeding the work of the divine mission. Loosening the knot of the tongue means acquiring the capability to address large gatherings without hesitation in order to give the divine call. Almighty God granted all this to Moses to enable him to effectively discharge the responsibility of prophethood. Along with this, at his request, He made his (Moses’) brother, Aaron, a powerful assistant to him. This special assistance given to a prophet may also be given to a dayee, who is not a prophet, provided that he devotes himself fully to the work of the mission as the prophet had done. Remembrance of God is the real purpose of religion. But, remembrance does not mean the mere oral repetition of certain words. It indicates rather that state which is quite naturally engendered by the discovery of Truth. At that time, a man experiences the perfection of God’s attributes to the point of being quite swept away by them. He becomes so overwhelmed with godly feeling that he dedicates himself unstintingly to the divine cause.