Surah Taha, Ayah 34

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,

Good companions are a help in the better performance of worship and Dhikr (remembrance)

كَيْ نُسَبِّحَكَ كَثِيرً‌ا وَنَذْكُرَ‌كَ كَثِيرً‌ا (So that we proclaim Your purity a lot and remember You a lot - 20:33, 34). The advantage of making Sayyidna Harun a Wazir and a partner in prophethood would be that both of them together would be able to pray to Allah Ta` ala and glorify His name more often. Here the question may arise that a man by himself can also pray as often as he desires, so where was the need for a companion? The answer to this is that good companions and a conducive environment definitely contribute towards the better performance of worship and Dhikr. A person whose friends are negligent about Allah cannot devote himself to His worship with the same quality and quantity as the person who is fortunate to have the company of pious men and righteous friends devoted to Allah's worship and Dhikr.

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.