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When it comes to the nine signs given to Moses AS, the two verses below are explicit that said signs refer to miracles :

And put your hand into the opening of your garment [at the breast]; it will come out white without disease. [These are] among the nine signs [you will take] to Pharaoh and his people. Indeed, they have been a people defiantly disobedient." (27:12)

And....

And We had certainly given Moses nine evident signs, so ask the Children of Israel [about] when he came to them and Pharaoh said to him, "Indeed I think, O Moses, that you are affected by magic." (17:101)

However one Hadith speak of these signs as commandments :

Narrated Safwan bin Assal: "A Jew said to his companion: 'Accompany us to this Prophet.' So his companion said: 'Do not say: "Prophet". For if he hears you (say that) then he will be very happy.' So they went to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) to question him about nine clear signs. So he said to them: 'Do not associate anything with Allah, nor steal, nor commit unlawful intercourse, nor take a life which Allah has made prohibited prohibited......(Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2733)

It is graded Hasan but accepting this Hadith would be outrageous since it contradicts the Qur'an's description on the nature of these signs. Can someone determine the hadith's exact status?

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The hadith has been criticized because of the weakness of عبد الله بن سلمة see Al-Arnaa’oot and Al-Albani. Ibn Kathir postulated that a mix-up has happened between the miracles and the ten commandments.

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I found at least two interpretations of the hadith that are at least sensible. Obviously, there is discussion regarding the authenticity of the hadith. However, I will assume for a moment that the hadith is authentic.

Firstly, it could be that the hadith omits a part of the conversation. Basically, like this:

So they went to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) to question him about nine clear signs.

--The Prophet answers the question--

[Then, after answering] he said to them: 'Do not associate anything with Allah, nor steal, nor commit unlawful intercourse, nor take a life which Allah has made prohibited prohibited...

Meaning, the mentioned things could be what the Prophet (SAW) commands them in dawah after telling them about the nine signs. The nine signs could have been omitted from narration because they were well-known.

Secondly, it could be that 17:101 and 27:12 are referring to different things when they say "nine clear ayaat." Note that the word "ayah" can refer to a "sign" and it is also used to refer to a verse in the Quran.

A possible interpretaion:

And We had certainly given Moses nine evident verses, so ask the Children of Israel [about] when he came to them and Pharaoh said to him, "Indeed I think, O Moses, that you are affected by magic." (17:101)

So, it could be that the nine ayaat refer to the commandments. The reason for omitting one from the famous ten commandments may be that nine are universal to all creation while one (the Sabbath) is specific to the Jews and Allah wanted to highlight the more important universal ones.

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  • I'm sorry but this is wrong. 17:101 is referring to miracles bcuz the same verse speaks about the Pharaoh accusing Moses AS of being affected with magic. Plus the revelations of the Torah came afterwards on Mount Sinai. Also when you count the commandments in the Hadith they add up nine. So the context refers to the commandments
    – Afiq
    Sep 17 '20 at 14:36
  • 27:12 and 17:101 are related. There's no need to interpret one of them as referring to anything but the nine miracles.
    – Afiq
    Sep 17 '20 at 14:40
  • @Afiq It is not necessary that him being accused of magic needs to refer to the earlier part of the verse. It is possible the "nine evident verses" is more related to "ask the Children of Israel" than what Pharoah said. I.e. Ask them because they got the Torah.
    – The Z
    Sep 17 '20 at 15:53
  • @Afiq The chronology also is not a decisive argument. For example, Allah says: "And We had certainly given Moses the Scripture and appointed with him his brother Aaron as an assistant."
    – The Z
    Sep 17 '20 at 15:57
  • That's incorrect. The Torah i.e. the whole mitzvah was revealed for the first time on Mount Sinai. The Hadith mentions the Sabbath. The Sabbath wasn't even instituted until long after the Exodus. Moses and Aaron were sent to preach monotheism to Pharaoh and the Egyptians. They were commanded to warn the Pharaoh of an impending doom if he doesn't set the Israelites free. Akhi the Qur'an confirms the biblical chronology.
    – Afiq
    Sep 17 '20 at 16:02

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