وَأَدْخِلْ يَدَكَ فِى جَيْبِكَ تَخْرُجْ بَيْضَآءَ مِنْ غَيْرِ سُوٓءٍ ۖ فِى تِسْعِ ءَايَـٰتٍ إِلَىٰ فِرْعَوْنَ وَقَوْمِهِۦٓ ۚ إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا۟ قَوْمًا فَـٰسِقِينَ 12
Translations
And put your hand into the opening of your garment [at the breast]; it will come out white without disease. [These are] among the nine signs [you will take] to Pharaoh and his people. Indeed, they have been a people defiantly disobedient."
Transliteration
Wa-adkhil yadaka fee jaybika takhruj baydaa min ghayri soo in tis'a ayatin ila Fir'awna wa qawmihi, innahum kanu qawman fasiqin.
Tafsir (Explanation)
Allah commands Prophet Musa (Moses) to place his hand into his garment, and it will emerge white and radiant without any disease—one of nine miraculous signs to present to Pharaoh and his people. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, this white hand (al-yad al-baydaa) was a luminous miracle, distinctly different from leprosy or disease, serving as clear evidence of divine power. The phrase 'from no ailment' emphasizes the miraculous nature: the whiteness was not from sickness but from Allah's supernatural intervention, making it an undeniable sign to those who witnessed it.
Revelation Context
This ayah is part of the narrative of Musa's mission, occurring within Surah An-Naml which recounts the stories of various prophets. The context immediately follows Allah's command to Musa at the burning bush, where he was given multiple signs to convince Pharaoh and the Israelites of his prophethood. This particular sign addresses the psychological impact of visible, tangible miracles on the stubborn disbelievers of Egypt.
Related Hadiths
While no specific hadith directly narrates this ayah's revelation, Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim contain accounts of the Mi'raj where the Prophet Muhammad witnessed various miraculous signs. The theme of divine signs overcoming human disbelief is addressed in the hadith: 'The strongest evidence is the Quran' (related in various collections), as the Quran itself is the comprehensive miracle.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that Allah provides clear, undeniable signs to guide humanity, yet rejection of truth often stems not from lack of evidence but from spiritual hardness and transgression (fisq). For believers today, it emphasizes that miracles serve as reminders of divine authority, while true guidance ultimately depends on the recipient's willingness to submit to Allah's will.
Related Ayahs
قَالَ يَـٰقَوْمِ لِمَ تَسْتَعْجِلُونَ بِٱلسَّيِّئَةِ قَبْلَ ٱلْحَسَنَةِ ۖ لَوْلَا تَسْتَغْفِرُونَ ٱللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ
He said, "O my people, why are you impatient for evil before [i.e., instead of] good? Why do you not seek forgiveness of Allāh that you may receive mercy?"
قُلِ ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ وَسَلَـٰمٌ عَلَىٰ عِبَادِهِ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱصْطَفَىٰٓ ۗ ءَآللَّهُ خَيْرٌ أَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ
Say, [O Muḥammad], "Praise be to Allāh, and peace upon His servants whom He has chosen. Is Allāh better or what they associate with Him?"
إِنَّمَآ أُمِرْتُ أَنْ أَعْبُدَ رَبَّ هَـٰذِهِ ٱلْبَلْدَةِ ٱلَّذِى حَرَّمَهَا وَلَهُۥ كُلُّ شَىْءٍ ۖ وَأُمِرْتُ أَنْ أَكُونَ مِنَ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ
[Say, O Muḥammad], "I have only been commanded to worship the Lord of this city, who made it sacred and to whom [belongs] all things. And I am commanded to be of the Muslims [i.e., those who submit to Allāh].
أَلَّا يَسْجُدُوا۟ لِلَّهِ ٱلَّذِى يُخْرِجُ ٱلْخَبْءَ فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا تُخْفُونَ وَمَا تُعْلِنُونَ
[And] so they do not prostrate to Allāh, who brings forth what is hidden within the heavens and the earth and knows what you conceal and what you declare -