12 Preface وَأَدخِل يَدَكَ في جَيبِكَ تَخرُج بَيضاءَ مِن غَيرِ سوءٍ ۖ في تِسعِ آياتٍ إِلىٰ فِرعَونَ وَقَومِهِ ۚ إِنَّهُم كانوا قَومًا فاسِقينَYusuf Ali“Now put thy hand into thy bosom, and it will come forth white without stain1 (or harm): (these are) among the nine Signs (thou wilt take)2 to Pharaoh and his people: for they are a people rebellious in transgression.”Cf. 20:22 - There the expression is: “Draw thy hand close to thy side.” As far as the physical act is concerned, the expressions there and here mean the same thing. Moses had a loose-fitting robe. If he put his hand within the folds of the robe, it would go to his bosom on the side of his body opposite to that from which the hand came: i.e., if it was his right hand it would go to the left side of his bosom. But the difference of expression has little spiritual significance. The bosom here stands for his innermost being, which was being so transformed with divine light as to lend the radiance to his hand also, his instrument of action. The hand comes out white and radiant without a stain. Ordinarily if the skin becomes white it is a sign of disease or leprosy. Here it was the opposite. It was a sign of radiance and glory from the higher Light.The nine Signs: see n. 1091 to 7:133.