A man asks about the noble verse: “And what is that in your right hand, O Musa?” He said: “It is my staff. I lean on it and I beat branches with it for my sheep, and I have other uses for it.” What is the interpretation of this, and what are the other uses?
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The questioner : He asks about the noble verse. I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan. [Taha 20:17-18] What is the interpretation of this, and what are the other uses?
The Shaykh : The interpretation is that Allah, Mighty and Majestic, asked Musa (peace be upon him) about the staff he had with him, and He, Glorified and Exalted is He, knows it, and nothing is hidden from Him. However, this was to make clear to Musa that there is a matter greater than what he was using it for. So Musa (peace be upon him) explained his purposes with this staff and said: meaning, I rely on it when I need to. meaning, I beat the leaves of trees for the sheep so that they may eat them. And he has other uses for it, meaning other needs, such as defending himself if someone attacks him, killing harmful creatures like a snake or a scorpion, striking the she-camel or camel he rides, and other known benefits of the staff.
Then He, Mighty and Majestic, said:[Taha 20:19-20] This is the result of Allah the Exalted asking him about this staff, and that there is a matter greater and more severe than what he was making this staff for, which is that he throws it and it becomes a snake that moves with a soul. And it happened that this snake swallowed everything that the magicians made, whom Pharaoh had gathered to plot against Musa (peace be upon him). Allah the Exalted said: [Taha 20:69] Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.
(17) And what is that in your right hand, O Moses?" (18) He said, "It is my staff; I lean upon it, and I bring down leaves for my sheep and I have therein other uses."
وَما تِلكَ بِيَمينِكَ يا موسى * قالَ هِيَ عَصايَ أَتَوَكَّأُ عَلَيها وَأَهُشُّ بِها عَلى غَنَمي وَلِيَ فيها مَآرِبُ أُخرىThe Shaykh : The interpretation is that Allah, Mighty and Majestic, asked Musa (peace be upon him) about the staff he had with him, and He, Glorified and Exalted is He, knows it, and nothing is hidden from Him. However, this was to make clear to Musa that there is a matter greater than what he was using it for. So Musa (peace be upon him) explained his purposes with this staff and said:
It is my staff. I lean on it.
هي عصاي أتوكأ عليهاAnd I beat branches with it for my sheep.
وأهش بها على غنميThen He, Mighty and Majestic, said:
"Throw it down, O Moses." (20) So he threw it down, and thereupon it was a snake, moving swiftly.
أَلقِها يا موسى * فَأَلقاها فَإِذا هِيَ حَيَّةٌ تَسعىAnd throw what is in your right hand; it will swallow up what they have crafted. What they have crafted is but the trick of a magician, and the magician will not succeed wherever he is."
وَأَلقِ ما في يَمينِكَ تَلقَف ما صَنَعوا إِنَّما صَنَعوا كَيدُ ساحِرٍ وَلا يُفلِحُ السّاحِرُ حَيثُ أَتىThe questioner : May Allah bless you.