Quran 20:24 · Taha

Incidents in the lives of prophets of the past are mentioned in the Bible as well as in the Quran. But, at many places, there are meaningful differences in the versions respectively of the Quran and the Bible. For instance, in this case, the Bible says: Moses kept his hand on his chest and covered it, and when he brought it out and saw it, it was white like ice, due to leprosy (Exodus 4:7). The Bible attributes the whiteness of Moses’s hand to ‘leprosy’. In this context, the Quran’s describing of the miracle of the white hand and the adding of the words ‘without any blemish’ clearly indicate that the Qur’an is not derived from the Bible, but is directly from God, who is All-knowing. As such, it corrects the biblical version. Moses was given two special miracles. The miracle of the snake was the sign of power, and the miracle of the bright white hand was a symbol of his standing for a luminous Truth. Pharaoh transgressed all limits when, having attained power, he considered himself to be god. The literal meaning of ‘Pharaoh’ is the child of the sun. The ancient Egyptians used to regard the sun as the greatest god–the Mighty Lord. So Pharaoh had declared himself the representative of the sun god on earth. He had statues of himself made and installed in all the cities of Egypt and these statues were worshipped. Power is a blessing conferred by God; when a man receives this blessing, he should be overwhelmed with gratitude. But if he is vain and arrogant, he not only feels no gratitude, but he also sets himself up as God’s equal.