Surah Ta-Ha >> Currently viewing Surah Ta-Ha Ayat 17 (20:17)

Surah Ta-Ha Ayat 17 in Arabic Text

وَمَا تِلۡكَ بِيَمِينِكَ يَٰمُوسَىٰ
Wa maa tilka bi yamee nika yaa Moosaa

English Translation

Here you can read various translations of verse 17

Sahih International
And what is that in your right hand, O Moses?”

Yusuf Ali
“And what is that in the right hand, O Moses?”

Abul Ala Maududi
And what is in your right hand, O Moses?”

Muhsin Khan
“And what is that in your right hand, O Musa (Moses)?”

Pickthall
And what is that in thy right hand, O Moses?

Dr. Ghali
And what is that in your right hand, O Mû‍sa?” (Moses).

Abdel Haleem
‘Moses, what is that in your right hand?’

Muhammad Junagarhi
اے موسیٰ! تیرے اس دائیں ہاتھ میں کیا ہے؟

Quran 20 Verse 17 Explanation

For those looking for commentary to help with the understanding of Surah Ta-Ha ayat 17, we’ve provided two Tafseer works below. The first is the tafseer of Abul Ala Maududi, the second is of Ibn Kathir.

Ala-Maududi

(20:17) And what is in your right hand, O Moses?”[11]


11. This question was not asked for the sake of getting any information, for Allah knew that Moses (peace be upon him) held a staff in his hand. The question was posed with a view to impressing upon him the fact that it was a staff so that he might be mentally prepared to see the miracle which was going to be performed with it.

Ibn-Kathir

17. “And what is that in your right hand, O Musa” 18. He said: “This is my stick, whereon I lean, and wherewith I beat down branches for my sheep, and wherein I find other uses.” 19. (Allah) said: “Cast it down, O Musa!” 20. He cast it down, and behold! It was a snake, moving quickly. 21. Allah said: “Grasp it and fear not; We shall return it to its former state.”


The Stick of Musa turned into a Snake

This was a proof from Allah for Musa and a great miracle. This was something that broke through the boundaries of what is considered normal, thus, it was a brilliant evidence that none but Allah could do. It was also a proof that no one could come with the likes of this (from mankind) except a Prophet who was sent (by Allah). Concerning Allah’s statement,

﴿وَمَا تِلْكَ بِيَمِينِكَ يمُوسَى ﴾

(And what is that in your right hand, O Musa) Some of the scholars of Tafsir have said, “He (Allah) only said this to him in order to draw his attention to it.” It has also been said, “He only said this to him in order to affirm for him what was in his hand. In other words, that which is in your right hand is a stick that you are familiar with. You will see what We are about to do to it now.”

﴿وَمَا تِلْكَ بِيَمِينِكَ يمُوسَى ﴾

(And what is that in your right hand, O Musa) This is an interrogative phrase for the purpose of affirmation.

﴿قَالَ هِىَ عَصَاىَ أَتَوَكَّؤُا عَلَيْهَا﴾

(He said: “This is my stick, whereon I lean…”) I lean on it while I am walking.

﴿وَأَهُشُّ بِهَا عَلَى غَنَمِى﴾

(and wherewith I beat down branches for my sheep,) This means, `I use it to shake the branches of trees so that the leaves will fall for my sheep to eat them. ‘ `Abdur-Rahman bin Al-Qasim reported from Imam Malik that he said, “﴿It is﴾ when a man places his staff into a branch and shakes it so that its leaves and fruit will fall without breaking the stick. It is not the same as striking or beating.” Maymun bin Mahran also said the same. Concerning his statement,

﴿وَلِىَ فِيهَا مَأَرِبُ أُخْرَى﴾

(and wherein I find other uses.) This means other benefits, services and needs besides this. Some of the scholars took upon themselves the burden of mentioning many of these obscure uses. Concerning Allah’s statement,

﴿قَالَ أَلْقِهَا يمُوسَى ﴾

((Allah) said: “Cast it down, O Musa!”) “Throw down this stick that is in your right hand, O Musa.”

﴿فَأَلْقَـهَا فَإِذَا هِىَ حَيَّةٌ تَسْعَى ﴾

(He cast it down, and behold! It was a snake, moving quickly.) This means that the stick changed into a huge snake, like a long python, and it moved with rapid movements. It moved as if it were the fastest type of small snake. Yet, it was in the form of the largest snake, while still having the fastest of movements.

﴿تَسْعَى﴾

(moving quickly.) moving restlessly. Concerning Allah’s statement,

﴿سَنُعِيدُهَا سِيَرتَهَا الاٍّولَى﴾

(We shall return it to its former state. ) the form that it was in, as you recognized it before.

Quick navigation links

Surah Ta-Ha
1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6 . 7 . 8 . 9 . 10 . 11 . 12 . 13 . 14 . 15 . 16 . 17 . 18 . 19 . 20 . 21 . 22 . 23 . 24 . 25 . 26 . 27 . 28 . 29 . 30 . 31 . 32 . 33 . 34 . 35 . 36 . 37 . 38 . 39 . 40 . 41 . 42 . 43 . 44 . 45 . 46 . 47 . 48 . 49 . 50 . 51 . 52 . 53 . 54 . 55 . 56 . 57 . 58 . 59 . 60 . 61 . 62 . 63 . 64 . 65 . 66 . 67 . 68 . 69 . 70 . 71 . 72 . 73 . 74 . 75 . 76 . 77 . 78 . 79 . 80 . 81 . 82 . 83 . 84 . 85 . 86 . 87 . 88 . 89 . 90 . 91 . 92 . 93 . 94 . 95 . 96 . 97 . 98 . 99 . 100 . 101 . 102 . 103 . 104 . 105 . 106 . 107 . 108 . 109 . 110 . 111 . 112 . 113 . 114 . 115 . 116 . 117 . 118 . 119 . 120 . 121 . 122 . 123 . 124 . 125 . 126 . 127 . 128 . 129 . 130 . 131 . 132 . 133 . 134

surah taha ayat 17
surah taha ayat 18
surah taha ayat 19
surah taha ayat 20
surah taha ayat 21

skip_previous play_arrow skip_next
0:00/0:00
volume_up