two proofs from your Lord to Pharaoh and his chiefs, for they were a defiantly disobedient people. In addition to these came seven other signs, making nine manifest signs in all.
These are mentioned at the end of Sūrat al-Isrāʾ, where the Most High says:
“We certainly gave Moses nine clear signs. Ask the Children of Israel about the time he came to them, and Pharaoh said to him, ‘Moses, I think you are bewitched.’ He replied, ‘You know full well that none has sent down these (signs) but the Lord of the heavens and the earth as enlightening proofs, and truly, O Pharaoh, I think you are doomed.’” (al-Isrāʾ 17:101–102)
They are set out in detail in Sūrat al-Aʿrāf, in His words:
“We afflicted the people of Pharaoh with years of drought and scarcity of fruits so that they might take heed. But whenever good fortune came to them they said, ‘This is ours,’ and when adversity struck them they blamed their ill omen on Moses and those with him. Surely their ill omen lies only with Allah, though most of them do not know. They said, ‘Whatever sign you may bring to bewitch us with, we will never believe in you.’ So We sent upon them the flood, the locusts, the lice, the frogs, and the blood—distinct signs—yet they behaved arrogantly and were a criminal people.” (7:130-133)
A fuller discussion of these signs will follow in its proper place. Let it also be noted that these nine signs are different from the Ten Words, for the nine belong to God’s creational decree (words of destiny), whereas the ten pertain to His legislative command. We emphasize this because some narrators have confused the two, supposing them to be identical—a point we have already clarified in our commentary on the closing verses of Sūrat Banī Isrāʾīl.
(1) On the exegesis of the verse “And We certainly gave Moses nine clear signs; so ask the Children of Israel when he came to them. But Pharaoh said, ‘I think you, O Moses, are bewitched,’” some narrators misunderstood that the “words” themselves were the signs. The source of this report is a hadith transmitted by ʿAbd Allāh ibn Salama from Sufyān ibn ʿAssāl al-Murādī, who said:
A Jew said to his companion, “Let us go to this Prophet so that we may ask him about these signs, ‘And We certainly gave Moses nine clear signs.’” His companion replied, “Do not call him ‘Prophet,’ for if he hears you he will grow four eyes.” They questioned him, and the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
“Do not associate anything with Allah; do not steal; do not commit adultery; do not kill a soul whom Allah has forbidden except by right; do not practice magic; do not consume usury; do not bring a freeman before the ruler to be killed; do not slander a chaste woman”—or he said, “Do not flee from battle”—(reported by Shu‘bat al-Shakk). “And you, O Jews, it is especially forbidden for you to transgress on the Sabbath.” They kissed his hands and feet and said, “We testify that you are a Prophet.” He asked, “What prevents you from following me?” They replied, “Because Dāwūd (peace be upon him) prayed that no prophet would ever come from his offspring, and we fear that if we accept Islam, the Jews will kill us.”
Ibn Kathīr records this hadith in his Tafsīr and also cites it via al-Ṭabarī (vol. 15: 115–116) on the same verse. It appears in Musnad Aḥmad (4: 239–240), in al-Tirmidhī (no. 3144) under the chapter “Tafsīr,” section 18 on Sūrat Banī Isrā’īl, and in al-Nasā’ī (7: 111) in the chapter on the prohibition of magic. Al-Tirmidhī remarks, “This is a ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ hadith.” Ibn Kathīr comments: “It is a problematic report; ʿAbd Allāh ibn Salama’s memory of it has weaknesses, and scholars have discussed it. He may have confused the nine signs with the ten words—the commandments in the Torah that have no bearing on presenting a proof to Pharaoh. And Allah knows best.”
Ibn Kathīr also notes (3: 66–67) that Moses (peace be upon him) was granted many other signs—striking the rock with his staff and water gushing forth, shading the people with clouds, the sending down of manna and quails, and other wonders given to the Children of Israel after their departure from Egypt. Yet here only the nine signs witnessed by Pharaoh and his people in Egypt are mentioned as proof against them, although they opposed and denied them out of disbelief.