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Refutations

Does Allah's Question to Moses Prove Limited Knowledge? Taha 20:17 Explained

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One objection raised against the Quran claims that when Allah asked Moses, peace be upon him, “And what is that in your right hand, O Moses?” (Taha 20:17), this implies that Allah did not already know the answer — and therefore that His knowledge is limited. This reading collapses under the weight of classical Quranic commentary and is flatly contradicted by dozens of Quranic verses affirming that Allah’s knowledge is absolute, eternal, and encompasses all things without exception.

The Verse

Surah Taha 20:17 وَمَا تِلكَ بِيَمينِكَ يَا مُوسىٰ

“And what is that in your right hand, O Moses?”

Classical Tafsir: The Purpose of the Question

The classical scholars of tafsir addressed this objection directly and resolved it comprehensively. The question was not a request for information Allah lacked. It was a pedagogical and preparatory address to Moses himself.

Imam al-Qurtubi — al-Jami’ li-Ahkam al-Quran “The purpose of the question is to establish the matter so that Moses can say: It is my staff — to establish the argument against him after he confessed. Otherwise, Allah knew what it was from eternity.”

Al-Qurtubi’s point is precise: Allah caused Moses to identify and verbally confirm the staff in his own words, so that when it was transformed into a serpent, the miracle would be all the more undeniable to Moses himself. The confession preceded the transformation — making Moses a witness against any later doubt.

Imam al-Tabari — Jami’ al-Bayan ‘an Ta’wil Ay al-Quran “Perhaps someone might say: What is the reason for Allah asking Moses about what was in his hand? Did He not know that what was in His hand was a staff? It was said to him: This is not what you have gone to, but rather the Almighty said that to him when He wanted to transform it into a moving snake, and it was a piece of wood, so He alerted him to it, and confirmed to him that it was a piece of wood on which he leaned, and with which he used to herd his sheep — to show him His ability to do whatever He wanted, and the greatness of His authority, and the implementation of His command in what He loved by transforming it into a moving snake, if He wanted that for him — to make that a sign for Moses along with the rest of his signs to Pharaoh and his people.”

Al-Tabari’s commentary makes the divine wisdom behind the question explicit. Allah directed Moses’s attention to the staff in his hand — an ordinary piece of wood he leaned upon and used to herd sheep — precisely to magnify the demonstration of divine power about to follow. When Moses confirmed in his own words what it was and what he used it for, the transformation into a serpent became an irrefutable sign: the greatness of Allah’s authority is demonstrated by His ability to transform what His servant knows most intimately.

Quranic Verses Affirming Allah’s Absolute Knowledge

The Quran itself, in passage after passage, establishes that Allah’s knowledge is total, eternal, and admits of no limitation or gap whatsoever. The objection based on Taha 20:17 must be read against this overwhelming Quranic testimony.

Surah Ghafir 40:19 يَعلَمُ خائِنَةَ الأَعيُنِ وَما تُخفِي الصُّدورُ

“He knows the treachery of the eyes and what the hearts conceal.”

Surah al-Hajj 22:70 أَلَم تَعلَم أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَعلَمُ ما فِي السَّماءِ وَالأَرضِ ۗ إِنَّ ذٰلِكَ فِي كِتابٍ ۚ إِنَّ ذٰلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ يَسيرٌ

“Do you not know that Allah knows whatever is in the heaven and the earth? Indeed, that is in a register. Indeed, that, for Allah, is easy.”

Surah Yunus 10:61 وَما يَعزُبُ عَن رَبِّكَ مِن مِثقالِ ذَرَّةٍ فِي الأَرضِ وَلا فِي السَّماءِ وَلا أَصغَرَ مِن ذٰلِكَ وَلا أَكبَرَ إِلّا فِي كِتابٍ مُبينٍ

“And nothing is hidden from your Lord, not even the weight of an atom on the earth or in the heaven, nor anything smaller than that or greater, but it is in a clear register.”

Surah al-Baqarah 2:33 قالَ يا آدَمُ أَنبِئهُم بِأَسمائِهِم ۖ فَلَمّا أَنبَأَهُم بِأَسمائِهِم قالَ أَلَم أَقُل لَكُم إِنّي أَعلَمُ غَيبَ السَّماواتِ وَالأَرضِ وَأَعلَمُ ما تُبدونَ وَما كُنتُم تَكتُمونَ

“He said, ‘O Adam, inform them of their names.’ And when he had informed them of their names, He said, ‘Did I not tell you that I know the unseen aspects of the heavens and the earth, and that I know what you reveal and what you conceal?’”

Surah Luqman 31:34 إِنَّ اللَّهَ عِندَهُ عِلمُ السّاعَةِ وَيُنَزِّلُ الغَيثَ وَيَعلَمُ ما فِي الأَرحامِ ۚ وَما تَدري نَفسٌ ماذا تَكسِبُ غَدًا ۖ وَما تَدري نَفسٌ بِأَيِّ أَرضٍ تَموتُ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَليمٌ خَبيرٌ

“Indeed, with Allah is knowledge of the Hour. And He sends down the rain and knows what is in the wombs. And no soul perceives what it will earn tomorrow, and no soul perceives in what land it will die. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted.”

Surah al-Hadid 57:4 هُوَ الَّذي خَلَقَ السَّماواتِ وَالأَرضَ في سِتَّةِ أَيّامٍ ثُمَّ استَوىٰ عَلَى العَرشِ ۚ يَعلَمُ ما يَلِجُ فِي الأَرضِ وَما يَخرُجُ مِنها وَما يَنزِلُ مِنَ السَّماءِ وَما يَعرُجُ فيها ۖ وَهُوَ مَعَكُم أَينَ ما كُنتُم ۚ وَاللَّهُ بِما تَعمَلونَ بَصيرٌ

“It is He who created the heavens and the earth in six days, then He established Himself on the Throne. He knows what goes into the earth and what comes out of it and what descends from the sky and what ascends therein, and He is with you wherever you are. And Allah is Seeing of what you do.”

Surah Taha 20:7 وَإِن تَجهَر بِالقَولِ فَإِنَّهُ يَعلَمُ السِّرَّ وَأَخفى

“And if you speak aloud — then indeed, He knows the secret and what is even more hidden.”

Surah al-An’am 6:59 وَعِندَهُ مَفاتِحُ الغَيبِ لا يَعلَمُها إِلّا هُوَ ۚ وَيَعلَمُ ما فِي البَرِّ وَالبَحرِ ۚ وَما تَسقُطُ مِن وَرَقَةٍ إِلّا يَعلَمُها وَلا حَبَّةٍ في ظُلُماتِ الأَرضِ وَلا رَطبٍ وَلا يابِسٍ إِلّا في كِتابٍ مُبينٍ

“And with Him are the keys of the unseen; none knows them except Him. And He knows what is on the land and in the sea. Not a leaf falls but that He knows it. And no grain is there within the darknesses of the earth, and no moist or dry thing but that it is all in a clear register.”

Conclusion

The question “And what is that in your right hand, O Moses?” was not a request for information Allah lacked. Al-Qurtubi establishes that it was a preparatory address designed to have Moses verbally identify the staff before its transformation — establishing the argument against Moses’s own doubt. Al-Tabari establishes that it was an act of divine wisdom, directing Moses’s attention to the familiar object in his hand to magnify the miraculous nature of what was about to occur.

Allah’s knowledge is eternal and admits of no limit. He knows the treachery of the eyes, what the hearts conceal, what is in the wombs, what no soul will earn tomorrow, the weight of every atom in earth and heaven, every leaf that falls, every grain in the darkness of the earth, and every moist and dry thing — all recorded in a clear register. No question He addresses to His creation diminishes this knowledge in the slightest, just as a teacher who asks a student to name what he holds does not thereby reveal ignorance of the answer.

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