Verses 7–14
This is the first of five stories discussed in this chapter, which are presented as evidence for the glad tidings and warnings that were mentioned at the beginning of the chapter. The first three stories emphasize glad tidings, while the last two stories emphasize warnings.
Commentary
إِذْ قالَ مُوسى لِأَهْلِهِ إِنِّي آنَسْتُ ناراً سَآتِيكُمْ مِنْها بِخَبَرٍ أَوْ آتِيكُمْ بِشِهابٍ قَبَسٍ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَصْطَلُونَ ٧
(27:7) When Moses said to his family: Surely I see (ānastu, from īnās) fire; I will bring you (sa-ātīkum, from ityān) from it some news, or I will bring to you (ātīkum) therefrom a burning firebrand (bi-shihāb qabas) so that you may warm yourselves (taṣṭalūna, from iṣṭilāʾ).
“His family” means his wife, who was the daughter of Shuʿayb (Jethro, Reuel) as God says in Sūrah al-Qaṣaṣ. Majmaʿ al-bayān says,
Using a plural pronoun [“you” in “I will bring to you” and “so that you may warm yourselves”] is because one person gives the composure and assurance of a group in the wilderness or in fear.
It is also possible that they were accompanied by others, like a servant or horseman. Majmaʿ al-bayān says,
Īnās means ibṣār (seeing). It has been said that ānastu means “I feel something” but specifically in the sense that one feels intimate with it. Mā ānasta bihi means “something that you feel comfortable about.”
Here are a few definitions for shihāb: (1) According to Majmaʿ al-bayān, it means a light that is like a column of fire. More generally, any light that extends like a column is called shihāb. Here, it means “a flame from a fire.” (2) According to al-Mufradāt, shihāb refers to a flame that flares up from a fire that is well kindled and stable, or the flames that erupt from cosmic clouds. Al-Mufradāt defines qabas as “a fire that is taken from a flame.” Iṣṭilāʾ, when used with fire, means “warming oneself with it.”
The theme and context of these verses indicate that Moses and his family were cold and had lost their way in a very dark night while traveling. This is confirmed by his story in the other chapters. Then he saw a fire from afar, so he decided to go toward it. If he found someone there, he could ask for directions, or he else he could bring a firebrand to his family so that they could make a fire and warm themselves. So he told his family, “Wait! I sense and see a fire. Stay here; I will soon come from it with news by which we can find our way, or I will come with a firebrand from it so you can make a fire and warm yourselves.”
The context of the verses also suggests that the fire was only visible to him and not others. Otherwise he would have pointed to it instead of referring to it in an indefinite form.
… I will bring to you from it some news, or I will bring to you therefrom a burning firebrand…: Here, Moses repeats “I will bring to you,” perhaps because he refers to two different types of bringing: (1) bringing information; and (2) bringing fire.
فَلَمَّا جاءَها نُودِيَ أَنْ بُورِكَ مَنْ فِي النَّارِ وَ مَنْ حَوْلَها وَ سُبْحانَ اللَّهِ رَبِّ الْعالَمِينَ٨
(27:8) So when he came to it he was called: blessed be (būrika) whoever is in the fire and whoever is about it; and glory be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.
That is: When he went to the fire and arrived there, it was called out…
The verbal noun mubārakah means “giving abundant good.” Bārakahu, bāraka ʿalayhi and bāraka fīhi mean “he bestowed abundant good upon someone and blessed him with it.” This part of the story is expressed in Sūrah Ṭā-Hā: So when he came to it, a voice uttered: O Moses! Surely I am your Lord. Therefore, take off your shoes; surely you are in the sacred valley, Ṭuwā. And I have chosen you, so listen to what is revealed (). These verses suggest that “whoever is about the fire” was Moses, or at least he was among them; and his “blessedness” refers to his being sanctified and chosen [as a messenger].
Here are a few other suggested interpretations by the exegetes:
“Whoever is in the fire” refers to God, as the One Who has manifested His authority and power in the fire. The voice came from the tree—as per the verses in Sūrah al-Qaṣaṣ—which the fire circled. The meaning would be: “Blessed is the One Who has manifested to you by His speech through the fire and has blessed you.” Based on this interpretation, the last part of the verse then—“glory be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds”—is meant to clarify that God is free from physical properties such as having a body, being located in space, or being affected by phenomena. Unlike what some exegetes have said, this last sentence is not meant to raise the astonishment and admiration of Moses.
“Whoever is in the fire” refers to the angels who were present there, and “whoever is about it” refers to Moses.
Some have said the exact opposite: in the fire was Moses, and around it were the angels.
The verse involves an elided clause which has been omitted [for the sake of rhetoric]. The implied meaning is: “Blessed be he who is in the place where the fire is.” The “blessed spot” (al-buqʿat al-mubārakah) would be where the tree was located, as mentioned in Sūrah al-Qaṣaṣ. The person there was Moses; the area around it was the Holy Land (that is, the Levant); and the ones there were the prophets living there who were descendants of Abraham and Jacob.
“Whoever is in the fire” refers to God’s light, and “whoever is about it” refers to Moses.
“Whoever is in the fire” refers to the tree, because that is what was encompassed by the fire, and “whoever is about it” refers to the angels who were glorifying God.
However, most of these interpretations are not exempt from the imposition of personal opinions.
يا مُوسى إِنَّهُ أَنَا اللَّهُ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ ٩
(27:9) O Moses! Surely I am Allah, the Mighty, the Wise.
Here, God introduces Himself to Moses so that Moses would know that he is talking directly to His Almighty Lord. This verse matches the following verses in Sūrah Ṭā-Hā: It was called: O Moses! Surely I am your Lord, therefore put off your shoes… (). The reader should refer to Chapter 20 and contemplate those verses.
وَ أَلْقِ عَصاكَ فَلَمَّا رَآها تَهْتَزُّ كَأَنَّها جَانٌّ وَلَّى مُدْبِراً وَ لَمْ يُعَقِّبْ يا مُوسى لا تَخَفْ إِنِّي لا يَخافُ لَدَيَّ الْمُرْسَلُونَ ١٠
(27:10) And cast down your staff. So when (fa-lammā) he saw it moving (tahtazzu, from ihtizāz) as if it were a serpent (jānn), he turned back retreating (mudbiran, from idbār) and did not return (lam yuʿaqqib, from taʿqīb): O Moses! Fear not; surely the messengers shall not fear in My presence
Ihtizāz means “rapid, violent motion.” Jānn means “a small, fast-moving snake.” Idbār (turning one’s back to someone, going away) is the opposite of iqbāl (coming forth, approaching). Taʿqīb is to return after escaping; for instance, when a soldier returns [to the battlefield] after fleeing, it is said: ʿaqqaba al-muqātil.
The letter fāʾ (so, then) in fa-lammā (so when) is called al-fāʾ al-faṣīḥah (the revealing fāʾ). It indicates an implied omission in the verse. The implied clause is: “And cast down your staff. When he cast it down, it became a serpent moving. So when he saw it in motion….”
The analogy used in this verse is that of a jānn (small, fast snake), while the analogy used in Chapters 7 (al-Aʿrāf) and 26 (al-Shuʿarāʾ) is that of a thuʿbān (an enormous snake). These two do not contradict, because they refer to two different aspects and qualities of the snake. In this verse, the staff is likened to a jānn on the account of its swiftness. Putting the two analogies together, we can say that the staff became a gigantic, scary serpent that slithered quickly like a small, fast snake (jānn). Neither analogy encompasses the entire staff. In other words, the staff is not compared to a thuʿbān or jānn in all aspects.
It has been said that the staff miraculously transformed differently on different occasions. It first appeared as a jānn, as it says in Sūrah Ṭā-Hā: So he cast it down, and lo! It was a serpent running (). Later, when he cast it before Pharaoh, it appeared as an obvious thuʿbān, as mentioned in Sūrah al-Aʿrāf and Sūrah al-Shuʿarāʾ.
Although this view agrees with the context of the verses, it suffers from the following problem: Either the staff did not turn into a ḥayyah (serpent, snake), or the Qur’an has compared something to itself. The resolution to this problem is best found in our suggested interpretation.
… O Moses! Fear not; surely the messengers shall not fear in My presence: This sentence is a narration of God’s address to Moses. It means, “God said: ‘O Moses, fear not…’”
“Fear not” is a command which implies that he is secure from any evil that could cause fear. Such absolute security is enjoyed when a person is at the threshold of divine proximity and in direct conversation with God. It is not limited to a specific form of fear, such as fear of the staff. The reason for why he should have no fear is explained as follows: Surely the messengers shall not fear in My presence (). This statement of total security is qualified by “in My presence,” which shows that the station of divine proximity and presence is necessarily accompanied by security, and can never be mixed with any evil that may be feared. This interpretation is confirmed by an alternative expression that is mentioned instead of this in the same story in Sūrah al-Qaṣaṣ: Surely you are of those who are secure (). Overall, the meaning is: Do not fear anything because you are a messenger, and the messengers—that is, those who are in My presence—are secure. There is no fear at that station of divine proximity.”
Moses fled the staff when it took on that scary form and started moving rapidly like a swift snake. This is a natural reaction by the instinct which God has created in humans; we naturally flee when we confront a danger where our only means of protection is to escape. His only weapon was his staff, which was the very cause of his fear. Furthermore, God had neither commanded him to stay, nor forbidden him from fleeing. He had only said, “And cast down your staff” (), which he obeyed. Fleeing from great dangers—when there is no other way of protection—does not make one blameworthy of timidity.
… Fear not; surely the messengers shall not fear in My presence. Based on this sentence, the prophets and messengers do not fear anything, because they are ever in the presence of their Lord. However, they do not attain this honor by their own virtue. Rather, it is through God’s training and discipline. In case of Moses, that night in Ṭūr was the first time that God brought him near Himself, chose him for His conversation, and blessed him with His grace and messengership. Hence, we should interpret these words of God—“Fear not; surely you are of those who are secure” () and “Fear not; surely the messengers shall not fear in My presence” ()—as ways in which Moses received divine teaching and training.
It should now be clear that there is no element of blame or rebuke in “Fear not; surely the messengers shall not fear in My presence” (), but rather it is God’s way of training and nurturing Moses.
إِلاَّ مَنْ ظَلَمَ ثُمَّ بَدَّلَ حُسْناً بَعْدَ سُوءٍ فَإِنِّي غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ ١١
(27:11) Nor (illā) shall he who has been unjust (ẓalama, from ẓulm), then does good instead after evil, for surely I am the Forgiving, the Merciful
Since the previous verse said that the messengers are secure and have no fear, it implicitly suggests that others—who have committed injustice and iniquity—are not secure and should fear. So this verse makes an exception for unjust people who repent. It says that because they repent and forsake injustice—which is evil—and embrace good, they will be forgiven and shown mercy. Thus, they also have no fear. This is the most plausible interpretation for the verse; and God knows best.
Based on this interpretation, the word illā (lit. “except, but”) shows an unconnected exception (al-istithnāʾ al-munqaṭiʿ). Likewise, ẓulm (lit. “injustice, oppression, wrong, iniquity”) means any sin, and “good after evil” means repentance after sinning, and doing good deeds after one has committed evil deeds. The implied meaning is: If someone is unjust due to sinning, but then changes for the better, does good instead of evil, and repents after disobeying, then I am surely Forgiving and Merciful. I will forgive his injustice, and will have mercy on him. Thus that person shall have no fear after that.
وَ أَدْخِلْ يَدَكَ فِي جَيْبِكَ تَ خْرُجْ بَيْضاءَ مِنْ غَيْ رِ سُوءٍ فِي تِسْعِ آياتٍ إِ لى فِرْعَوْنَ وَ قَوْمِ هِ إِنَّهُمْ كانُوا قَوْماً فاسِقِينَ ١٢
(27:12) And put your hand to your chest. It shall come forth white without evil, among nine signs to Pharaoh and his people. Surely they are a transgressing people.
“Evil” here has been interpreted as leprosy (baraṣ), which we discussed before. We can deduce two points from the theme and context of these verses: (1) “Among nine signs to Pharaoh and his people” describes the condition (ḥāl) of the two signs. That is: “I am giving you these two signs—the staff and the hand—while they are two of nine signs.” (2) These two were among the nine signs that we discussed in detail in the exposition of the verse: And certainly We gave Moses nine clear signs (). The rest of the verse is clear.
فَلَمَّا جاءَتْ هُمْ آياتُنا مُبْصِرَةً قالُ وا هذا سِحْرٌ مُبِينٌ ١٣
(27:13) So when Our clear (mubṣirah) signs came to them, they said: This (hādhā) is clear enchantment.
Mubṣirah means “clear, evident.” Their claim—“this is clear enchantment”—shows their disparagement and disregard of the signs, because they referred to all of the signs simply as hādhā (lit. “this”), in singular form. They did not even care to mention how many signs there were. They only referred to them vaguely as some matter [of enchantment], without any further detail.
وَ جَحَدُوا بِها وَ اسْتَيْ قَنَتْها أَنْفُسُهُمْ ظُلْماً وَ عُلُوًّا فَانْ ظُرْ كَيْفَ كانَ عاقِبَةُ الْ مُفْسِدِينَ ١٤
(27:14) And they denied (jaḥadū) them unjustly and proudly while their souls had been convinced of them (istayqanathā, from istīqān); consider, then, how was the end of the mischief-makers.
Al-Rāghib says, “Jaḥd is to deny something that one knows in his heart to be true, or to affirm something that one knows in his heart to be false.” Istīqān and īqān both mean the same thing (to be sure, certain and convinced).
See verses . (Trans.) ↩︎
The former is bringing something mental: some description, instruction, knowledge; while the latter is bringing something physical: a burning piece of wood. (Trans.) ↩︎
See verse . (Trans.) ↩︎
See verse . (Trans.) ↩︎
The Holy Land starts from the end of the Sinai desert toward the east, including Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. (Trans.) ↩︎
Based on verse , the staff did turn into a ḥayyah, which, according to the above interpretation, is the same as jānn in the current verse. However, the current verse () says: as if it were a jānn. This means that serpent has been compared to itself, which is contradictory. The author’s ingenious solution is that the staff neither became a jānn in every aspect, nor a thuʿbān in every aspect, but it had some properties of each. (Trans.) ↩︎
This means that what is being excepted is not a member of the original group. In other words, “he who has been unjust” () is not part of “the messengers” (), but what is said in this verse is a new sentence independent from the previous verse. (Trans.) ↩︎
This was discussed under verse . See volume 27, p. 201 of the English translation. (Trans.) ↩︎
See volume 25, pp. 297-298 of the English translation. (Trans.) ↩︎