Quran 20:21 · Taha

The question ‘What do you have in your right hand?’ was meant to awaken Moses’s awareness. Its purpose was to impress afresh on his mind that his stick was but a stick, so that the next moment when, due to a miracle of God, it changed into a snake, he should be fully aware of its significance. Moses’ stick being changed into a snake was a miracle of transformation. But it must be borne in mind that all the things we see on earth are actually in a process of transformation. An acorn planted in soil and watered will one day grow into a mighty oak tree. Vapour condenses and turns into water, and water, when boiled, will turn into steam. Some of these processes are rapid and others are slow. Some are so slow—like the growth of a tree—that they are imperceptible to the human eye. The slower the process, the less strange it seems, because its slowness gives us time to familiarise ourselves with the phenomenon. When Moses’ stick took the shape of a snake, it happened in an instant, and so seemed very strange and startling. The fact is that whatever there is in this world, or whatever the events, all are ‘miracles’ of God, be it the emerging of a sapling from the earth or a stick becoming a snake. ‘Extraordinary’ miracles are shown through prophets to make man take notice of the everyday miracles wrought by God.