Yafqahoo qawlee (surah TaHa: 28)

Tafseer Tafheem-ul-Quran by Syed Abu-al-A'la Maududi

(20:28) so that people may understand my speech, *15

Yafqahoo qawlee

*15) Prophet Moses prayed to Allah for this because he was conscious that he was not a fluent speaker but was slow of speech. He also knew that as a Messenger he would have to be fluent in order to impress Pharaoh and his courtiers. This is confirmed by the Bible (Exodus 4: 10) but the Talmud gives a strange explanation for this impediment in his speech. According to it, when he was a child he burnt his tongue with a live coal to escape punishment from Pharaoh whose crown he had taken off from his head and put it on his own head. The same story has been adopted by many of our commentators though it is absurd on the face of it. Our interpretation is also confirmed by the Qur'an. The tact is, that at first he was not a fluent speaker and Pharaoh had also taunted him on this impediment (XLIII: 52). Prophet Moses realized the same for he said, "My brother Aaron is more fluent than I, so send him with me as a helper, so that he may support me (with his fluent speech)." (XXVIII: 34). Afterwards this impediment in his speech was removed and he was able to deliver very fluent speeches. This tray be testified by his speeches which have been cited both in the Bible and in the Qur'an for they are masterpieces of eloquence and rhetoric.
Above all, it does not stand to reason that Allah should appoint a lisper or a stammerer or a stutterer as His Messenger. That is why the Messengers have always been the best of mankind in regard to their appearance, personality and capabilities for they had to be most impressive both in their appearance and conduct, so that they could not be made the target of ridicule and contempt by the people because of such personal defects as stammering or stuttering.