21قالَ خُذها وَلا تَخَف ۖ سَنُعيدُها سيرَتَهَا الأولىٰMuhammad AsadSaid He: "Take hold of it, and fear not: We shall restore it to its former state.1The miraculous transformation of the staff into a serpent has, I believe, a mystic significance: it seems to be an allusion to the intrinsic difference between appearance and reality, and, consequently, to the spiritual insight into this difference bestowed by God on His chosen servants (cf. the experience of Moses with the unnamed sage described in 18:66-82). This interpretation finds strong support in 27:10 and 28:31, in both of which places it is said that Moses saw the staff "move rapidly, as if it were a serpent (ka'annaha jann)"