The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 2) — Page 577
AL-A'RĀF PT. 9 107. Pharaoh replied, "If thou hast indeed come with a Sign, CH. 7 iŚ BIJE كُنْتَ مِنَ الصُّدِقِينَ then produce it, if thou art of the truthful. ' فَأَلْقَى عَصَاهُ فَإِذَا هِيَ تُعْبَانٌ مُّبِينٌ So he flung down his rod. 108 and behold, it was a serpent plainly visible. 1001 "26:32. 20:21; 26:33; 27:11; 28:32. him to let the Israelites go with him, though ordinarily he would preach to him also. As a matter of fact, the message of Moses was meant primarily for the Israelites, but as long as the Israelites remained mixed up with the natives of Egypt, Moses had to preach to them both. When the Israelites left the land, he had no concern with the Egyptians and confined his attention to his own kith and kin to whom he had been sent. 1001. Important Words: (serpent) is derived from They say i. e. he gave vent to it; or he made it (water, etc. ) to flow or run or stream. 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) as in the verse under comment and in 26:33; (2) as as in 20:21, and (3) as in 28:32 and 27:11. The words and as are applied both to a large or a small serpent, while the word 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 has been used on the occasion when the rod is alone (27:11) while the words and made to appear as a serpent to Moses have been used in connection with the occasion when the miracle was wrought in public. This shows that to small serpent. While in the presence Moses the rod appeared as only a 1017 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 is used, it is not said that the rod actually turned into a b (small serpent) but that it moved as though it were a b. This does not