فَأَراهُ الآيَةَ الكُبرىٰ

Then he showed him the greatest sign.

EXPOSITION

The greatest sign appears to be the miracle of the staff of Prophet Moses (a).^{‎[1]Mizan‎, 20/188.} However, this did not have the desired effect upon Pharaoh. Instead, as revealed in verses 21 and 22, he denied Prophet Moses’ (a) divine call, accused him of magic, disobeyed him, and relentlessly opposed his requests.

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

Exegetes have provided different interpretations as to what the greatest sign is in this verse. Some have taken it to be the miracle of the staff, others the staff and the white hand, others the splitting of the sea, and others that it is all the miracles (7:133).^{‎[2]Qurtubi, 20/203.} However, the greatest sign implies singularity and hence taking it to be more than one miracle cannot be. Hence we are left between the sea, the staff, and the white hand. The splitting of the sea comes at the final stage of Prophet Moses’ (a) struggle with Pharaoh and was not for the purpose of providing him with additional guidance, especially since his testimony to faith was not accepted and deemed too late (10:90-91). Therefore, we are between the staff and the white hand. Since we said the greatest sign can only be one, it would be the staff because of its prominence and centrality in various instances of the encounter between Prophet Moses (a) and Pharaoh, such as the first call to Pharaoh, the public duel with the magicians, and the splitting of the sea. Rāzī also points out that the miracle of the staff is made of many more elements than that of the white hand. It includes the changing of colour, the coming to life of the staff in the form of a serpent, the ability of the serpent to devour other entities, the return of the serpent to a staff again, and more.^{‎[3]Razi, 31/40.} We can also say that the greatest sign is both the staff and the hand if they are seen as inseparable and as coming hand-in-hand.

[1] Mizan‎, 20/188.
[2] Qurtubi, 20/203.
[3] Razi, 31/40.