A Stick That Became a Serpent

Allah (swt) told Mūsā: throw it, O Mūsā. So Mūsā threw his stick, and what happened? Allah (swt) says he threw his stick from his hand, and it began to move. The stick is dead, but Allah (swt) is the One who created life and death. So into that dead stick Allah (swt) put the soul of a snake. For Allah (swt), it is exactly like creating anything else; for Allah (swt), it is kun fa-yakūn — be, and it is. But this was unusual for Mūsā, who had known his stick for a very long time.

So when Mūsā saw it shaking as if it were a huge serpent — what was his first reaction? It was the reaction of a human being. Wallā mudbiran wa lam yuʿaqqib — he ran away and he did not look back. He ran away; he did not even look back. Because this was his stick, which he had known for a very long time, and now suddenly it was a huge snake.

Allah (swt) is training Mūsā. This natural human fear has to come out of his heart. It is natural; it is a natural human trait to have fear in your heart. But Mūsā is going to be dealing with situations in which he has to have a strong heart, so Allah (swt) is preparing him for that. Allah (swt) told Mūsā: yā Mūsā aqbil wa lā takhaf, innaka min al-āminīn — O Mūsā, come here, and do not have any fear, because you are going to be safe and secure. So Mūsā came back.