Musa's Staff

وَمَا تِلْكَ بِيَمِينِكَ يَا مُوسَىٰ

And what is this in your right hand, O Musa?

قَالَ هِيَ عَصَايَ أَتَوَكَّأُ عَلَيْهَا وَأَهُشُّ بِهَا عَلَىٰ غَنَمِي وَلِيَ فِيهَا مَآرِبُ أُخْرَىٰ

He said: This is my staff: I recline on it and I beat the leaves with it to make them fall upon my sheep, and I have other uses for it.

قَالَ أَلْقِهَا يَا مُوسَىٰ

He said: Cast it down, O Musa!

فَأَلْقَاهَا فَإِذَا هِيَ حَيَّةٌ تَسْعَىٰ
So he cast it down; and lo! it was a serpent running. (Surah Taha: 17:20)

Musa's staff was not something out of the ordinary. It was an object he used on a daily basis, to recline on and to beat the leaves with, as well as do other things. Yet, it became a tool of change and transformation and a means of much good. Allah granted it the power to split a sea in half and caused it transform into a serpent.

The way we use our pen, or our paintbrush, or our tongue, or our keyboards, or our limbs can be so powerful for the betterment of ourselves and those around us.

The first step is for us to recognise our talent or skill or find a means to serve the deen of Allah. For Musa (as) it was his staff, for you it may be the pen, for someone else it may be speaking.

Step two is take the means. To try. To put in the effort. Musa (as) cast down his staff, he did His part, Allah then gave the staff the power to change its form. Cast down your pen. Put it to paper. Let the ink flow through. If Allah wills, He will givd those words the power to impact, to inspire and to transform and to enrich.

Allah has given us tools to serve Him. Seek them and then use them to positively impact yourself and those around you. What might be an ordinary talent, may also be the talent He uses as a means of transforming the world.