عَصَا

7:161.

Important Words:

عصا (rod). عصا الرجل means, he beat the man with a rod. عصا القوم means, he brought together the people, or he made them agree on some matter of common concern. عصا means: (1) a rod strong enough to support the weight of a man; (2) communal and family life; (3) a community; (4) the shin-bone (Aqrab).

الحجر (rock) is from حجر i.e. it prevented or resisted. الحجر means, a stone; a great mass of stone; a rock (Lane).

Commentary:

This verse mentions another favour bestowed on the Israelites. When once they were hard pressed by thirst and no water was procurable in the desert, God saved them by revealing to Moses the knowledge of a rock from which water flowed out when struck with a rod.

The demand of the Israelites for water and their being supplied with it is mentioned at two places in the Bible. At one place mention is made of the twelve springs of Elim, but nothing is said there of Moses’ striking the rock with his rod (Exod. 15:27). At the other place, Moses, by divine command, struck the rock Horeb with his rod, and there flowed out abundant water with which the Israelites and their animals slaked their thirst (Exod. 17:1-7 Numb. 20:2-11). Here no mention is made of the number of springs. It appears that the Quran refers to the occurrence relating to the rock of Horeb because, with the only difference that the Bible does not give the number of springs whereas the Quran gives a definite number, almost all the details narrated in the Bible concur with the narrative of the Quran. As for the slight difference with regard to the number of springs, reason favours the narrative of the Quran. The Israelites numbered several thousands besides riding animals and beasts of burden, and one spring was certainly insufficient for such a large number, especially when we take into consideration the fact that the thirsty Israelites were, according to the Bible, in a state of extreme exasperation at that time and were prepared even to stone Moses to death. It is possible, however, that at the source there was only one mouth of the spring, but it divided into twelve channels as it flowed down the rock, the number being in conformity with the number of the Israelite tribes.

If at present there is no trace of the twelve springs at that spot, it is no wonder; for it is a matter of common experience that sometimes several springs rising at the same spot have some of their openings closed and cease to flow. From a testimony quoted by Sale, however, it appears that even as late as the end of the fifteenth century, twelve springs actually flowed there. He says: "The rock stands within the border of Arabia and some of his (the Prophet’s) countrymen must needs have seen it if he himself had not, as it is most probable he had. And in effect he seems to be in the right. For one who went into those parts in the end of the fifteenth century tells us expressly that the water issued from twelve places of the rock, according to the number of the tribes of Israel" (Al-Koran by Sale, page 8).

The miracle of Moses on this occasion did not lie in bringing about a thing against the known laws of nature, but in the fact that God revealed to him the specific spot where water was just ready to flow at a blow of his rod. It is within the experience of those who study geological conditions in rocky districts that sometimes water flows underneath small hillocks or rocks and gushes forth when the rock is struck with something heavy or pointed.

As Manna and Salwa had already been bestowed on the Israelites, God now fittingly asks them to eat and drink of what Allah has provided. But as a life of ease and independence is likely to make men arrogant and mischievous, God at the same time warns the Israelites to exercise self-restraint and refrain from creating trouble and disorder in the land.

20:21; 26:33; 27:11; 28:32.

Important Words:

ثعبان (serpent) is derived from ثعب. They say ثعبه i.e. he gave vent to it; or he made it (water, etc.) to flow or run or stream. ثعبان means, a kind of long serpent; a great serpent, whether male or female, but particularly the male; or the serpent in general whether male or female, great or small; also applied to an enormous fabulous serpent (Lane).

Commentary:

The Quran has used three different words for describing the turning of the rod of Moses into a serpent; (1) ثعبان as in the verse under comment and in 26:33; (2) حیة as in 20:21, and (3) جان as in 28:32 and 27:11. The words ثعبان and حیة are applied both to a large or a small serpent, while the word جان signifies only a small serpent. Thus, there is no conflict or contradiction in using these three different words for the same thing, as all of them may be used to give the same meaning, i.e. a small serpent.

Moreover, on carefully pondering over the verses in which these words occur, we find that different words have been used to suit different occasions. The word جان has been used on the occasion when the rod is made to appear as a serpent to Moses alone (27:11) while the words ثعبان and حیة have been used in connection with the occasion when the miracle was wrought in public. This shows that to Moses the rod appeared as only a small serpent. While in the presence of Pharaoh and other men, it was made to appear like a big serpent. Thus the use of three different words for different occasions was not haphazard and casual, but deliberate and evidently intended to serve a definite purpose.

Moreover, in the verses in which the word جان is used, it is not said that the rod actually turned into a جان (small serpent) but that it moved as though it were a جان. This does not mean that the rod necessarily turned into a small serpent but that it only moved quickly like a small serpent, though it may have been a large serpent. So the different words used by the Quran do not conflict with each other, whether the rod be taken as turning into a small serpent or a large one.

It should also be noted here that this miracle did not really contradict any law of nature. If the existence of a thing is proved beyond doubt, it must be admitted, even if we are unable to explain it in the light of the laws of nature, as we know them. Our knowledge of the laws of nature is evidently very limited and so we cannot deny a fact on the basis of our limited and imperfect knowledge. Moreover, the said miracle did not take place in the manner in which it is popularly understood to have occurred. Indeed, miracles shown by God’s Prophets are not like the performance of jugglers. They are meant to serve some great moral or spiritual purpose. One of their primary objects is to bring about certainty of faith and engender feelings of piety and fear of God in the minds of those who witness them. If the rod had actually turned into a serpent, the whole performance must have looked more like the hand-tricks of a juggler than the miracle of a Prophet. In spite of what the Bible might say about this miracle, the Quran lends no support whatever to the view that the rod actually turned into a real and living serpent. No such thing ever took place. The rod only appeared like a moving serpent. It was a sort of a vision in which God either exercised special control over the sight of the onlookers in order to make them see the rod in the form of a serpent or the rod itself was made to appear like a serpent; and this vision was shared by Pharaoh and his courtiers and the enchanters along with Moses. The rod remained a rod, only it appeared to Moses and others as a serpent. It is a spiritual phenomenon of common occurrence that in a vision when man rises above the encumbrances of the flesh and becomes temporarily transported to a spiritual sphere, he can see things taking place which are beyond his ken and are quite invisible to his physical eyes. The miracle of the rod turning into a serpent was one such spiritual experience.

A similar spiritual phenomenon took place when in the time of the Holy Prophet the moon was seen as rent asunder not only by the Holy Prophet but by some of his followers and opponents as well (Bukhari, ch. on Tafsir). Such visions, which constitute a peculiar state between sleep and wakefulness, are a common spiritual experience of God’s Prophets and His Elect, but sometimes they are shared by ordinary men and by even disbelievers. Tradition tells us that Gabriel whom the Holy Prophet often saw in his visions, was also once seen by his Companions, who were sitting with him (Bukhari, ch. on Iman). Similarly, some angels were seen even by some of the disbelievers at the Battle of Badr (Jarir, vi.47). Another instance of this kind occurred when a Muslim army under the well-known Muslim general, Sariyah, was fighting the enemy in Iraq at a distance of hundreds of miles from Medina. ‘Umar, the Second Khalifah, while delivering his Friday sermon at Medina, saw in a vision that the Muslim army was being over-whelmed by the superior numbers of the enemy and that a disastrous defeat was imminent. Thereupon, ‘Umar suddenly discontinued his sermon and cried out from the pulpit, saying, "O Sariyah, take to the mountain, take to the mountain." Sariyah, hundreds of miles away and surrounded by the deafening noise of the battlefield, heard the voice of ‘Umar and obeyed it; and the Muslim army was saved from destruction (Khamis, ii. 270).

The miracle of Moses mentioned in the verse under comment possessed a special significance. It may be interpreted something like this. God told Moses to throw down his rod which then appeared to him like a serpent; and when subsequently on God’s bidding he took it up, lo! the rod was a mere piece of wood. Now a serpent, in the language of visions and dreams, is a symbol of the enemy, while a rod is emblematic of one’s community (Ta‘tirul-Anam). Thus, by means of this vision, God made Moses understand that if He cast away his people from him, they would become veritable serpents. But if he kept them under his care, they would grow into a strong and well-knit community of righteous and God-fearing men. Moses had in the beginning begged to be excused from being entrusted with the onerous task of reclaiming a morally depraved people, but God told him by means of this vision that the well-being of his people depended upon his taking them in his charge, failing which they would turn into veritable serpents.

Abu Jahl, the arch-enemy of Islam, was also once made to see a similar vision. It is reported that the Holy Prophetone day went to him and asked him to pay a certain sum of money which he owed to a poor man, a stranger in Mecca, but which he had so far declined to pay. On the Holy Prophet’s demand, Abu Jahl, in spite of his great enmity to the Prophet, made the payment at once, and when asked by his friends the reason for his doing so, he said he saw two enraged camels on both sides of Muhammad about to tear him to pieces if he refused to comply with his demand (Hisham). Arabia is a land of camels, so Abu Jahl was made to see camels, while Egypt being a land of magic serpents, Pharaoh was made to see a serpent.

20:70; 26:46.

Important Words:

تلقف (it swallowed up) is derived from لقف. They say لقف الشیء i.e. he took or seized the thing quickly; or he took or seized the thing quickly when it was thrown to him. لقف الطعام or تلقف الطعام means, he swallowed up the food (Aqrab).

Commentary:

It was certainly not the "serpent" made out of the rod, but the rod itself which undid the magic of the magicians. The rod of Moses, wielded with the spiritual force of a great Prophet and thrown at the command of God, exposed the deception they had wrought on the spectators by breaking to pieces the things which, by their magic, they had made the people take for real serpents. The words تلقف مایافکون literally meaning "it swallowed up whatever they feigned" really signify that the rod quickly exposed the deception wrought by the magicians.

5:13.

2:61.

2:58; 20:81.

Commentary:

See notes on 2:58 & 61.

The words, And they wronged Us not, mean that they did not harm the cause of the religion revealed by God

71:25.

Commentary:

This verse shows Abraham to have been possessed of the love of his Creator in an unusually large measure, for he emphatically disowns those among his own children who would not worship the One Almighty God, though he offers an indirect prayer for their forgiveness also. Thus, incidentally, the verse teaches the great moral lesson that love of one’s children should always be subject to certain limitations. It goes without saying that uncontrolled parental love not unoften leads to the moral and material ruin of children. Therefore, no feelings of love and attachment should be allowed to stand between God and man. But, as already stated, whereas in the earlier part of the verse Abraham disowns those of his children who should forsake his path, in the latter part he prays for Divine forgiveness for even such among his descendants as might have incurred God’s displeasure by wrongdoing, for God’s Prophets are full to overflowing of the milk of human kindness. Even when a believer is sometimes forced to sever his connection with some of his kinsmen and friends on account of their persistent disbelief, he continues to pray to God for them.

Important Words:

عصا (rod). عصا الرجل means, he beat the man with a rod. عصا القوم means, he brought together the people, or he made them agree on some matters of common concern. عصا means, a rod strong enough to support the weight of a man; communal and family life; a community; the shin-bone. شق العصا means, he separated himself from the community. شقوا عصا المسلمین means, they caused a split in the ranks of the Muslim community (Aqrab & Lane).

مآرب (uses) is the plural of مأربة which is derived from أرب (ariba). They say أرب بالشیء i.e. he became devoted to the thing. أرب الیه او به means, he wanted it and sought it. أربة means, want; intellect. غیر اولی الاربة means, idiots; persons deficient in intellect; persons such as have no need of women. مآرب means, wants, uses, needs, requirements, purposes (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

God had only asked Moses what was in his hand. Moses did not confine himself to giving a direct reply, viz. that it was only a rod that he had held in his hand but also went on to enumerate some of its uses. It may be that taking advantage of his communion with the Divine Being, Moses desired to prolong the blessed talk.

As stated above it was a vision that Moses had seen and "rod" in the language of visions signifies a Prophet’s own community or people and "sheep" signifies those who do not actually belong to his community but only are under his care and protection. Moses’s reply meant that he not only invited and welcomed the help of his own people and relied upon their support in the furtherance of his own cause but also looked after the interests of other people who were under his protection but did not actually belong to his community.

7:118; 20:70.

Important Words:

یأفکون (fabricated) is derived from أفک which means, he hid; he uttered a falsehood; he said what was not true; i.e. he fabricated or invented a lie. أفاک means, a great or habitual liar (Lane & Aqrab).

For تلقف see 7:118.

Commentary:

The verse makes it quite clear that the rod of Moses did not swallow the rods and ropes of the magicians but it "swallowed up all that which they had fabricated;" i.e. it utterly destroyed the imposture, forgery and deception of the magicians. Moreover, it was not the rod changed into a serpent which undid the magic of the magicians, but it was the rod itself which exposed the deception they had wrought on the spectators by breaking to pieces the things which under the influence of the magic the spectators had taken for real serpents.

7:108.

Commentary:

The miracles referred to in this and the following verse have been fully discussed in 7:107-108, and 20:21-23. Briefly, it may be stated here that the rod of Moses did not actually turn into a serpent. It appeared to the audience as if it were a serpent. In fact, it was a vision of Moses in which the whole assembly were made to join. Now a rod in a vision symbolizes a community and the serpent an enemy. Thus by the miraculous happening Moses was made to understand that if he cast away his people from him, they would become veritable serpents but if he kept them under his fostering care they would grow into a strong and well-knit community and would not only become men of light and learning themselves but would also impart these things to others.

Moses’ white hand seemed also to signify that the great spiritual movement he had founded would one day enlighten the world with divine light and that his teaching would radiate and his people would undergo a complete transformation, and would become a community of highly righteous men. In fact, noble and righteous servants of God to whom He entrusts the task of bringing about a great change in the lives of his people become invested with a divine light which sometimes takes a material form and is seen by other people also.

20:78.

Important Words:

طود (mountain) is derived from طاد which means, it was or became firm or steadfast. طود means, a mountain or a great mountain rising high into the sky, an elevated or overlooking tract of land (Lane & Aqrab).

فرق (part) is derived from فرق (faraqa) and means, a piece or portion that is split or separated from a thing; a great flock or herd of sheep or goats only; a group of boys; a mountain; a wave, billow or surge (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

For a more detailed discussion as to how the Israelites passed safely through the sea and how Pharaoh with his hosts was drowned, see 20:78

The idea embodied in the words اضرب بعصاک الحجر has been expressed elsewhere (20:78) in the words فاضرب لھم طریقا فی البحر یبساi.e. "make for them a dry path in the sea." God miraculously so arranged that when the Israelites were crossing the sea it was the time of the low tide and the water of the sea had receded, leaving a dry path for them to pass. But when the Egyptians following them reached the middle of the sea, the high tide returned and the rising water quickly engulfed them.

The words کل فرق may either refer to the two parties of the Egyptians and the Israelites or to the several parties in which the Egyptians might have become divided while they were crossing the sea; or they may refer to each wave of the sea because when the water was receding it looked like a huge mound.

7:118; 20:20; 28:32.

Commentary:

For a detailed discussion of the miracle of the rod and the white hand see 7:108 & 109.