Tafsir of Surah Al-A'raf - Verse 107

ثُعْبَانٌ مُّبِينٌ

(a Thu`ban serpent, manifest), refers to "The male snake." As-Suddi and Ad-Dahhak said similarly. A report from Ibn `Abbas said,

فَأَلْقَى عَصَاهُ

"(Then (Musa) threw his staff), and it turned into a huge snake that opened its mouth and rushed towards Fir`awn. When Fir`awn saw the snake rushing towards him, he jumped from his throne and cried to Musa for help, so that Musa would remove the snake from his way. Musa did that." As-Suddi commented,

فَإِذَا هِىَ ثُعْبَانٌ مُّبِينٌ

(and behold! It was a Thu`ban serpent, manifest!) "This Thu`ban refers to male snakes. The snake opened its mouth and headed towards Fir`awn to swallow him, placing its lower jaw on the ground and its upper jaw reaching the (top of the) wall of the palace. When Fir`awn saw the snake, he was frightened, so he jumped and wet himself and he never wet himself before this incident. He cried, `O Musa! Take it away and I will believe in you and release the Children of Israel to you.' So Musa, peace be on him, took it, and it became a staff again. "

وَنَزَعَ يَدَهُ فَإِذَا هِىَ بَيْضَآءُ لِلنَّـظِرِينَ

(And he drew out his hand, and behold! it was white (with radiance) for the beholders.) Musa took his hand out of his cloak after he inserted his hand in it and it was shining, not because of leprosy or sickness. Allah said in another Ayah,

وَأَدْخِلْ يَدَكَ فِى جَيْبِكَ تَخْرُجْ بَيْضَآءَ مِنْ غَيْرِ سُوءٍ

(And put your hand into your bosom, it will come forth white without hurt.) 27:12 Ibn `Abbas said, "without hurt', means, `not because of leprosy'. Musa inserted his hand again in his sleeve and it returned back to its normal color." Mujahid and several others said similarly.

The prophet Musa (علیہ السلام) in response to his demand, threw down his staff on the earth, instantly it turned into a serpent: فَإِذَا هِيَ ثُعْبَانٌ مُّبِينٌ. The word 'thu` ban' in Arabic signifies a huge serpent. The use of the word 'mubin' as an adjective which means 'clear or prominent' is quite descriptive of the fact that this miraculous event took place manifestly before the eyes of the people of the Pharaoh, and it was not performed secretly in a hidden or secluded place as is usually done by magicians. In some historical traditions it has been cited on the authority of the Companion Ibn ` Abbas ؓ that as the serpent moved towards Pharaoh, he jumped from his throne and sought shelter near the prophet Musa (علیہ السلام) and many of his courtiers died of extreme fear. (Tafsir Kabir)

Transformation of the staff into a real serpent is not, in fact, totally impossible as it apparently seems. It is, however, surprising due to being unusual. The miracle has to be an unusual act, beyond the power of a common individual. Allah shows the miracles through His prophets to make people understand that they possess some divine powers and are true prophets of Allah.

A prophet’s discourse is initially addressed to the leaders of the day; to those who enjoy leadership of thought in their environment. Such people, thanks to their superior intellect, are in a better position to understand the message of Truth in all its profundity. But, history shows that they have invariably always been antagonistic to the prophet’s call, i.e. they utilize their mental talents to assign a wrong meaning to the message of Truth. For example, they declare a sign which had appeared on the strength of God’s intervention to have appeared by the force of magic, or, in order to disparage the prophetic movement, give it a political colour and say that such preachers are simply seeking power. As the general public are unable to analyse matters, such talk leads them into becoming suspicious of the Truth. But to raise such frivolous points against the messenger of Truth is a great crime. In this way, the leading lights of the day may be able to preserve their leadership, but it will be at the cost of the Hereafter. God is the Truth. So it is not proper for one who comes forward in the name of God to speak of anything other than truth and justice. If he does otherwise, he will lose the right to represent God and will be liable to be punished rather than rewarded by God. Moses was sent (by God) to both the Children of Israel and to the Pharaoh and his Copt community. At that time the Children of Israel suffered from many weaknesses. However, they basically supported Moses. Unlike them, Pharaoh and his community, (with the exception of a few) rejected him. Finally, after 40 years of attempting to propagate God’s command, Moses was commanded to migrate from Egypt along with the Children of Israel. He asked Pharaoh to allow the Children of Israel to leave the country, so that they might be able to pray to the one and only God in the open atmosphere of the desert (Exodus-16). Moses was the representative of Truth, but Pharaoh considered him to be merely practising magic and decided to overcome him through his own magicians.