An-Naml (The Ant)

10. “‘And cast down your staff!’ So when he saw it moving as if it were a serpent, he turned back retreating and did not return. (It was told to him:) ‘O’ Moses! Fear not; surely the messengers shall not fear in My presence;”

11. “Save he who has been unjust, then he does good instead after evil, for verily I am the Forgiving, the Merciful;”

In view of the fact that the mission of prophethood, especially before a cruel and unjust one like Pharaoh, needed the outward and inward power and might as well as a firm proof of legitimacy, here Moses was commanded to throw down his Rod to show it.

The verse says:

“‘And cast down your staff!’…”

Moses (as) Threw down his Rod and suddenly it changed into a serpent.

The verse continues saying:

“…So when he saw it moving as if it were a serpent, he turned back retreating and did not return…”

This is also probable that, at the beginning, the staff changed into a small snake and, in later stages, it became a great serpent. Here, Moses was again addressed and he was told not to be afraid.

It says:

“…(It was told to him:) ‘O’ Moses! Fear not; surely the messengers shall not fear in My presence;”

Moses should be aware that here is the position of nearness and Allah’s secure sanctuary, the Mighty, the High; this rank is a place where there is not any fear or terror. That is, O’ Moses! You are at the presence of Allah, the Most High, and His presence is with absolute security.

A similar meaning to this one is recited in Surah Qasas, No. 28, verse 31 which says:

“…O’ Moses! Come you forward and fear you not; for surely you are in security.”

Through next verse the Qur’an has stated an exception for the holy phrase:

“…surely the messengers shall fear not in My presence”

when it says:

“Save he who has been unjust, then he does good instead after evil, for verily I am the Forgiving, the Merciful;”

Allah accepts the penitence of those who repent and He gives them security, too.

Concerning the circumstance of this exception the Late Tabarsy, the writer of Majma‘-ul-Bayan, says:

“But those people, except the prophets, who have done wrong and then repent remorsefully and decide not to return again, should know that He is the Forgiving, the Acceptor of repentance.”

The reason why the prophets have been mentioned as an exception is that they never commit any wrong and, because of the rank of infallibility, they are far from any sins and evils.

Therefore, there they are not inside the exception, and prophets are like others only in the principle of doing duties. This kind of exception has also been referred to by Qurtabi in his commentary, Vol. 4, P. 8.

The author of Jawami‘-ul-Jami‘, the commentary, Vol. 4, P. 450 concerning the meaning of this sentence says as follows:

“Whoever, except the prophets, does injustice, then he is remorseful of his ugly deeds and repents and decides not to repeat them any more, surely Allah will forgive his injustice and He is merciful to him.”

Some other great commentators have said that there is not any retrenched matter in this verse and the fact is that those, other than the prophets, are not secured. Then there is an exception where it implicitly says: save those who, after their fault and sins, repent and improve, and such ones will be in the Divine security, too.