His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "And throw down your staff." So when he saw it shaking as if it were a serpent, he turned away retreating and did not look back. "O Moses, do not fear. Indeed, the messengers do not fear in My presence," except for one who has wronged, then exchanged good after evil, for indeed, I am Forgiving and Merciful. "And put your hand into your bosom; it will come out white without any harm, in nine signs to Pharaoh and his people. Indeed, they were a disobedient people."

Allah, the Exalted, commanded him with these two matters as a training for him in using them. And there is an omission in the speech, the meaning of which is: "So Moses threw down the staff." "So when he saw it shaking." Some of the reciters inclined to read "he saw it" with a different vowel. And "the serpent" refers to the snakes; because they hide themselves, meaning they conceal themselves. A group said: "the serpent" refers to small snakes. And the staff of Moses, peace be upon him, became a great serpent. It was likened to a serpent in the swiftness of its movement; because small ones move more than large ones. In any case, Allah, blessed and exalted is He, created in the staff and changed its attributes and qualities, so it became alive. And Al-Zuhri and Amr ibn Ubaid read it as "ja'an" with a hamzah.

So when Moses, peace be upon him, saw the terror of that sight, "he turned away retreating and did not look back." Mujahid said: He did not return. And Qatadah said: And he did not look back.

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: And "he turned away" means if a man turns away from a matter, then he turns his body or face towards it, as if he has turned back on his heels. And Allah called to him, comforting and strengthening him for the matter: "O Moses, do not fear," for indeed, My messengers whom I have chosen for prophethood do not fear in My presence and with Me. So Moses, peace be upon him, took the serpent, and his staff returned to him, then it became a habit for him.

People differed regarding the exception in His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "Except for one who has wronged." Muqatil and others said: The exception is connected, and it is from the prophets. Al-Hasan narrated that Allah, exalted is He, said to Moses: I have frightened you for killing a soul. Al-Hasan also said: The prophets commit sins and are punished, then they commit sins - by Allah - and are punished. So how about us? Ibn Jurayj said: Allah, exalted is He, does not frighten the prophets except for a sin that one of them commits. If he commits it, He frightens him until He takes him from it. Many of the scholars said: No one from mankind has known of their sins except what has been narrated about Yahya ibn Zakariya, peace be upon them.

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: And the scholars agreed that the prophets, peace be upon them, are protected from major sins and from minor sins that are vices. They differed regarding what is besides that, so it may be that Al-Hasan and Ibn Jurayj refer to what is besides that.

And in the verse - according to this interpretation - there is an omission that necessitated brevity and eloquence, leaving its text. The meaning of it is: So whoever has wronged, then exchanged good after evil. And Al-Farra and a group said: The exception is disconnected, and it is news about non-prophets, as if he said: Whoever wrongs from the people, then repents, for indeed, I am Forgiving and Merciful. And a group said: "Except" means the same as "and."

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And this is a statement that has no basis. Abu Ja'far ibn al-Qaqa' and Zayd ibn Aslam read: "Except for whoever (p-522) wronged" at the beginning. And His saying, the Most High: ﴿Then He replaced it with good﴾ means: a righteous deed accompanied by repentance. This verse necessitates the guaranteed forgiveness for the repentant. The people have unanimously agreed on this regarding repentance from polytheism. The people of the Sunnah regarding the repentant from sins agree that he is in the will [of Allah] like the persistent sinner. However, hope prevails for the repentant and fear for the persistent sinner. And His saying, the Most High: ﴿And He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills﴾ [An-Nisa: 48] encompasses all, both the repentant and the persistent sinner. There is no difference between the polytheist and others; because it nullifies its benefit, since polytheism is forgiven for the repentant, and what is less than that likewise according to their interpretation. So what is the benefit of the detail in the verse? This argument is necessary, so reflect upon it. It has been narrated from Abu Amr that he read: "Good after evil" with the opening of the ح and س, and this is the reading of Mujahid and Ibn Abi Layla. Muhammad ibn 'Isa al-Usbuhani read: "Best" like فُعْلى.

Then Allah, the Most High, commanded Musa, peace be upon him, to put his hand into the opening of his garment because it did not have a sleeve, as Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, said. Mujahid said: It is a woolen coat to one of his hands. And "the opening" is the opening in the garment for the head of a person. It has been narrated that the hand of Musa, peace be upon him, would come out as if it were a piece of shining light. The meaning of putting the hand into the opening is to connect the verse to Musa and to show its association with him; because miracles have the condition of being connected to the seer. And His saying, the Most High: ﴿Without any evil﴾ means: without leprosy or illness. It is merely a sign that comes and goes. And His saying: ﴿And put your hand into﴾ is connected to His saying: "Throw" and "put in," and there is brevity and omission in it. Its estimation is: prepare and facilitate that for you in the totality of nine signs, which are: the staff, the white hand, the flood, the locusts, the lice, the frogs, the blood, the blinding, and the stone. And there is disagreement regarding these last two, and the meaning is: He brings them to Fir'aun and his people.