What did Allah say to Prophet Musa after the miracle of his staff?
A brief explanation of the dubiety
Two verses of the Holy Quran, Surah al-Naml, verse 10, and Surah al-Qasas, verse 31, narrate the story of Prophet Musa and Allah’s command to him to not be afraid. However, the wording of the verses differs from one another. In the first verse, after Allah commands Prophet Musa not to fear, the reason that He brings for this command is ‘the Prophets being in the divine presence’; but according to the second verse, Allah says that the reason for this command is that ‘Prophet Musa is in safety’ and not the reason used in the first verse. These two verses are not reconcilable with one another, so in reality, Allah had either said the first reason or the second, and the verses that account this event are in direct contradiction with one another.
A detailed explanation of the dubiety
The contradictory verses
The verse in which the reasoning is ‘the Prophets being in the divine presence’ is verse 10 of Surah al-Naml, in which it has been revealed
«وَ أَلْقِ عَصَاكَ فَلَمَّا رَءَاهَا تهَتزَّ كَأَنهَّا جَانٌّ وَلىَ مُدْبِرًا وَ لَمْ يُعَقِّبْ يَا مُوسىَ لَا تخَفْ إِنىّ لَا يخَافُ لَدَىَّ الْمُرْسَلُون»
“‘Throw down your staff!’ When he saw it wiggling, as if it was a snake, he turned his back [to flee], without looking back. ‘O Musa! ‘Do not be afraid. Indeed, the apostles are not afraid before Me’ ”
This verse has stated, in Allah’s words, that the reason why Prophet Musa should not be afraid is because of his presence in front of Allah, and not for any other reason.
The verse in which the reasoning is that ‘Prophet Musa is in safety’ is verse 31 of Surah al-Qasas, in which Allah says
«وَ أَنْ أَلْقِ عَصَاكَ فَلَمَّا رَءَاهَا تهَتزَّ كَأَنهَّا جَانٌّ وَلىَ مُدْبِرًا وَ لَمْ يُعَقِّبْ يَامُوسىَ أَقْبِلْ وَ لَا تخَفْ إِنَّكَ مِنَ الاَمِنِين»
“And: ‘Throw down your staff!’ And when he saw it wiggling as if it was a snake, he turned his back [to flee], without looking back. ‘Musa! Come forward, and do not be afraid. Indeed, you are safe.’ ”
This verse has accounted that the words Allah used for explaining why Prophet Musa should not be afraid is because he is safe.
Conclusion
When Prophet Musa throws down his staff by Allah’s command and it turns into a snake, he flees in terror. At this moment, Allah calms him by mentioning something to him. According to the verse in Surah al-Naml, Allah says that when the apostles are in His presence, there is no fear and therefore, Prophet Musa must also not be afraid. Meanwhile, in the verse of Surah al-Qasas, it has been revealed that to calm His Prophet down, Allah did not say this, rather on the contrary, He told him that because he is safe, he should not be afraid.
Given that both verses are in relation to one time and one event, and the speaker is also one person- these verses are in direct contradiction to one another.
Brief response
The fact that Allah has said both things, but He lays out some parts of the story in Surah al-Naml, and lays out other parts in Surah al-Qasas, does not create any contradiction or conflict between the two, and the words that Allah uses is not exclusive in either of the verses.
Detailed answer
Premise: proving a contradiction stops the impossibility of both versions of the accounts being right.
When a contradiction is proven between two accounts that cannot be reconciled, it is contradictory to the impossibility of both reports being right.
When two reports cannot be reconciled, each one denies the existence of the other. For example, the two sentences, ‘the weather is cold now’ and ‘the weather is hot now’, each one of these denies the validity of the other, and it is not possible for both of them to happen in the same time and place. ‘The weather is cold now’ means that ‘the weather is not hot now’ and this is that same denial of the other sentence. Therefore, if two reports do not deny the existence of the other, then they do not contradict one another. For example, a teacher that says to his lazy pupil, “you are a lazy pupil, and you will never reach a high level of knowledge.” Someone narrates this report and says, “The teacher told his pupil that he was lazy.” Another person narrates the same report and says, “The teacher told his pupil that he will never reach a high level of knowledge.” These two reports are not contradictory because these two reports can be reconciled and they neither deny, nor invalidate each other. Any of these reports can be used alone to describe the event, because there are sentences in both reports which the teacher said to the pupil. It is not possible to determine from either report whether the teacher said one of those things and not the other, because in these reports, the words that the teacher used have not been restricted to just the one reported. Therefore in reality, each report only relays part of an account of an event and does not intend to portray a full picture of the events. This is why these two reports neither deny, invalidate, nor contradict one another and are able to be reconciled.
The account is only part of what Allah said in the verses of Surahs al-Qasas and al-Naml
The verses of both Surah al-Araf and Surah al-Naml are sentences that Allah used during one conversation with Prophet Musa which was reported, but with this assumption, that there is no contradiction between the two of them. This is because there is no restriction on what has been said, by Allah, in one verse on the other. Each verse is only narrating what was said by Allah according to the report and it does not refute the other thing that He said, because the verses do not restrict what was being said in the other. In reality, both verses are indistinct in relation to the rest of Allah’s conversation and they neither confirm, nor deny if anything else was said. Therefore, none of the verses deny the other words said by Allah and are consequently, reconcilable. The conclusion is reached that these verses wholly express that Allah had used both sentences from the mentioned verses during one conversation with Prophet Musa and there is no contradiction between the two. In reality, each verse has only relayed part of Allah’s words and neither verse is in a position to narrate His whole conversation or reasoning.
An example of common use
A father goes to a swimming pool with his child who has just learned to swim. The father puts his child into the water and lets him go. As soon as the father leaves, the child starts to worry. The father addresses his child and says, “Do not be afraid! Someone who knows how to swim while his father is with him does not fear. Nothing will happen to you, do not fear!” The father’s words are accounted in two reports. In one instance, the child tells his mother, “I got scared in the pool and my father told me: ‘Do not be afraid! Someone who knows how to swim while his father is with him does not fear.’” The father then tells his wife, “Our child got scared in the pool. I told him, ‘Nothing will happen to you, do not fear!’” These two accounts are reconcilable with one another and neither negates the other. This is because neither one indicates a restriction of words; and the same goes for the instance of what Allah said to Prophet Musa.