وَما نُريهِم مِن آيَةٍ إِلّا هِيَ أَكبَرُ مِن أُختِها ۖ وَأَخَذناهُم بِالعَذابِ لَعَلَّهُم يَرجِعونَ

And We did not show them a sign but it was greater than the other, and We seized them with punishment so that they might come back.

EXEGESIS

Ukht (sister) is the feminine of akh (brother), whose primary meaning is one who shares another in birth, either from both parents, one parent, or through wet-nursing. The term is also metaphorically extended to denote any individual who shares a connection with another in various contexts, such as within the same tribe, religion, craft, dealings, friendship, or other relationships. Ukht literally means sister, and thus Arberry translates the verse as: ‘And not a sign We showed them, but it was greater than its sister sign.’ The miracles are described as sisters of each other since they all share in authenticity, clarity, and being markers of the truthfulness of Prophet Moses (a).[1]

We did not show them is a circumstantial clause (ḥāl) describing them in the previous verse, indicating that they mocked the signs out of contempt, even though each sign was greater than the one before in proving its divine origin.

EXPOSITION

And We did not show them a sign but it was greater than the other: each sign proved irrefutably that Prophet Moses (a) was truly a divine apostle, without any deficiency or shortcoming.[2] Each sign reached the utmost degree of miraculousness, such that the observer would perceive it as greater than the other signs to which it is compared.[3] Alternatively, it could mean that each sign was distinguished by a specific type of miraculousness, making it superior to others in that particular regard.[4]

What is more likely is that each miracle was so great that, if we were shown one, we would say that it is the greatest miracle ever, and if we were shown the other, we would say it too is the greatest miracle ever. It is like an art gallery filled with masterpieces; a person would be hard-pressed to rank them by beauty. Instead, whichever one he looks at, he feels that it is the most beautiful until he looks at another and is forced to revise his judgement.[5]

And We seized them with punishment: following their rejection of Prophet Moses (a), God chastised them in a manner designed to dismantle their arrogance and compel them towards the truth. Clearly, this punishment was not meant to destroy them, and therefore most exegetes understand this to be a reference to the calamities that befell them, which the Bible refers to as a series of plagues (Exodus 7:14 to 12:30).

In the Quran, these punishments or calamities are also referred to as signs: So We sent against them a flood and locusts, lice, frogs, and blood, as distinct signs. But they acted arrogantly, and they were a guilty lot (7:133).[6] Consequently, some exegetes have regarded the said calamities falling under the purview of the first part of the verse, And We did not show them a sign but it was greater than the other.[7] In other words, the calamities such as the flood, locusts, lice, frogs, and blood (as mentioned in 7:133) were signs for Prophet Moses (a) but were punishments for the Egyptians.[8]

So that they might come back: God punished them such that they would repent and recant their disbelief.[9] It is suggested by some exegetes that using the verb come back indicates that belief in one God is the natural disposition of man and therefore those who accept the message of the apostles in essence return to their primordial state.[10]

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

According to Ṭabarī, And We did not show them a sign but it was greater than the other means that each miracle was stronger in acting as a proof against them than the previous one, and stronger in acting as evidence for the truth of Prophet Moses’ (a) claim.[11] According to other exegetes, the first sign provided evidence, whilst the second sign provided further evidence in conjunction with the first one, i.e. each sign was greater than the previous one due to having a cumulative effect.[12]

According to Ibn ʿĀshūr, the meaning of so that they might come back is ‘so that they may confess about their wrongdoing and accept the word of Prophet Moses (a)’. In this manner, this verse would be different to verse 28 which uses the same verb, And He made it a lasting word among his posterity so that they may come back.[13]

Some exegetes suggest that perhaps the staff turning into a serpent was the greatest sign of them all since the Quran refers to it as, Then he showed him the greatest sign (79:20).[14]

INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS

1. And the LORD said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do all those wonders before Pharaoh which I have put in your hand. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go.[15]
2. And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt. But Pharaoh will not heed you, so that I may lay My hand on Egypt and bring My armies andMy people, the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments.[16]
3. Then the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments; and Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the LORD had said. And Pharaoh turned and went into his house. Neither was his heart moved by this.[17]
4. And forgot His works And His wonders that He had shown them. Marvelous things He did in the sight of their fathers, In the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.[18]

[1] Raghib, p. 68.
[2] Mizan, 18/109.
[3] Daqaiq, 12/74.
[4] Daqaiq, 12/74; Alusi, 13/87.
[5] Rizwan Arastu, God’s Emissaries, p. 374; Tibyan, 9/204; Alusi, 13/87.
[6] Ibn Ashur, 25/265.
[7] Amthal, 16/68.
[8] Ahsan al-Hadith, 10/38; Tabrisi, 9/77; Qurtubi, 16/97.
[9] Thaalabi, 5/184.
[10] Rahnama, 17/69.
[11] Tabari, 20/608.
[12] Qurtubi, 16/97.
[13] Ibn Ashur, 25/265.
[14] Tasnīm, 72/99.
[15] Exodus 4:21.
[16] Exodus 7:3-4.
[17] Exodus 7:22-23.
[18] Psalm 78:11-12.