Al-Qur'an Surah Taha Verse 20

Mufti Taqi Usmani

So, he threw it down, and suddenly it was a snake, running around.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

So he did, then—behold!—it became a serpent, slithering.

Ruwwad Translation Center

He threw it down, and it suddenly became a slithering snake.

A. J. Arberry

and he cast it down, and behold it was a serpent sliding.

Abdul Haleem

He threw it down and- lo and behold!- it became a fast-moving snake.

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

So he cast it down, and lo! it was a serpent running along.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

He threw it, and behold! It was a snake, active in motion.

Abul Ala Maududi

So he threw it down, and lo! it was a rapidly moving snake.

Ahmed Ali

So he threw it down, and lo, it became a running serpent.

Ahmed Raza Khan

So Moosa put it down – thereupon it became a fast moving serpent.

Ali Quli Qarai

So he threw it down, and behold, it was a snake, moving swiftly.

Ali Ünal

So he threw it down, and there and then it was a snake, slithering.

Amatul Rahman Omar

So he cast it down and lo! it was (like) a serpent; running about.

English Literal

So he threw it away, so then it is (a) quick moving snake/alive.

Faridul Haque

So Moosa put it down - thereupon it became a fast moving serpent.

Hamid S. Aziz

Allah said, "Throw it down, O Moses!"

Hilali & Khan

He cast it down, and behold! It was a snake, moving quickly.

Maulana Mohammad Ali

He said: Cast it down, O Moses.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

So he cast it down; and lo! it was a serpent running.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

So he cast it down, and lo! it was a serpent, gliding.

Muhammad Sarwar

Moses threw it on the ground and suddenly he saw that it was a moving serpent.

Qaribullah & Darwish

So he cast it down, and thereupon it turned into a sliding serpent.

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

He cast it down, and behold! It was a snake, moving quickly.

Wahiduddin Khan

So he threw it down, and all of a sudden, it turned into a fast-moving serpent.

Talal Itani

So he threw it—thereupon it became a moving serpent.

Tafsir jalalayn

And he cast it down, and lo! it was a serpent, a giant snake, moving swiftly, moving about on its belly swiftly with the speed of a small snake -- which is called al-jnn and which is [also] used to refer to this [serpent] in another verse [Q. 27;10; Q. 28;31].

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

He cast it down, and behold! It was a snake, moving quickly.

This means that the stick changed into a huge snake, like a long python, and it moved with rapid movements. It moved as if it were the fastest type of small snake. Yet, it was in the form of the largest snake, while still having the fastest of movements.

تَسْعَى
(moving quickly), moving restlessly.

Then Allah said,