Tafheem ul Quran

Surah 20 Taha, Ayat 68-73

قُلۡنَا لَا تَخَفۡ اِنَّكَ اَنۡتَ الۡاَعۡلٰى‏ ﴿20:68﴾ وَاَ لۡقِ مَا فِىۡ يَمِيۡنِكَ تَلۡقَفۡ مَا صَنَعُوۡا​ ؕاِنَّمَا صَنَعُوۡا كَيۡدُ سٰحِرٍ​ ؕ وَلَا يُفۡلِحُ السّٰحِرُ حَيۡثُ اَتٰى‏ ﴿20:69﴾ فَاُلۡقِىَ السَّحَرَةُ سُجَّدًا قَالُوۡۤا اٰمَنَّا بِرَبِّ هٰرُوۡنَ وَمُوۡسٰى‏  ﴿20:70﴾ قَالَ اٰمَنۡتُمۡ لَهٗ قَبۡلَ اَنۡ اٰذَنَ لَـكُمۡ​ؕ اِنَّهٗ لَـكَبِيۡرُكُمُ الَّذِىۡ عَلَّمَكُمُ السِّحۡرَ​ۚ فَلَاُقَطِّعَنَّ اَيۡدِيَكُمۡ وَاَرۡجُلَكُمۡ مِّنۡ خِلَافٍ وَّلَاُصَلِّبَـنَّكُمۡ فِىۡ جُذُوۡعِ النَّخۡلِ وَلَـتَعۡلَمُنَّ اَيُّنَاۤ اَشَدُّ عَذَابًا وَّاَبۡقٰى‏ ﴿20:71﴾ قَالُوۡا لَنۡ نُّؤۡثِرَكَ عَلٰى مَا جَآءَنَا مِنَ الۡبَيِّنٰتِ وَالَّذِىۡ فَطَرَنَا​ فَاقۡضِ مَاۤ اَنۡتَ قَاضٍ​ ؕ اِنَّمَا تَقۡضِىۡ هٰذِهِ الۡحَيٰوةَ الدُّنۡيَا ؕ‏ ﴿20:72﴾ اِنَّاۤ اٰمَنَّا بِرَبِّنَا لِيَـغۡفِرَ لَـنَا خَطٰيٰنَا وَمَاۤ اَكۡرَهۡتَـنَا عَلَيۡهِ مِنَ السِّحۡرِؕ​ وَاللّٰهُ خَيۡرٌ وَّاَبۡقٰى‏ ﴿20:73﴾

(20:68) We said to him: "Have no fear; for it is you who will prevail. (20:69) And throw down what is in your right hand; it will swallow up all that they have wrought. They have wrought only a magician's stratagem.42 A magician cannot come to any good, come whence he may." (20:70) Eventually the magicians were impelled to fall down prostrate43 and said: "We believe in the Lord of Moses and Aaron."44 (20:71) Pharaoh said: "What! Did you believe in Him even before I permitted you to do so? Surely, he must be your chief who taught you magic.45 Now I will certainly cut off your hands and your feet on opposite sides,46 and will crucify you on the trunks of palm-trees,47 and then you will come to know which of us can inflict sterner and more lasting torment."48 (20:72) The magicians answered: "By Him Who has created us, we shall never prefer you to the Truth after manifest Signs have come to us.49 So decree whatever you will. Your decree will pertain, at the most, to the present life of the world. (20:73) We believe in our Lord that He may forgive us our sins and also forgive us the practice of magic to which you had compelled us. Allah is the Best and He alone will abide."

Notes

42. This is capable of two interpretations:

(1) The staff, which was turned into a dragon by a miracle, actually swallowed up all the staffs and cords which had been made to appear as serpents.

(2) The dragon of the staff did not actually swallow up the serpents of the magicians but wiped out the effect of their magic from these things and they again became ordinary cords and staffs.

We prefer the second interpretation because the wording of (Surahs Al-Aaraf, Ayat 117) and (Ash-Shuara, Ayat 45) is this: It swallowed up their false magic. And here the wording is: It will swallow up what they have crafted. Obviously, the staffs and cords were not their creation but the magic which had made them appear like serpents.

43. When they saw the power of the staff of Moses (peace be upon him), they involuntarily fell prostrate as if someone had made them do so, because they were convinced that it was a miracle and not a feat of magic.

44. This profession of faith by the magicians shows that everyone was aware of the basic object of the encounter. It was not an encounter between the feats of the magicians and those of Prophet Moses (peace be upon him), but it was to decide whether the claim of Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) that he was a Messenger of Allah was true or not. If this staff was actually turned into a dragon, it was by means of a miracle. On the other hand, Pharaoh intended to prove by the feats of his magicians that it was not a miracle but a feat of magic. Incidentally, this also shows that Pharaoh and his magicians and the common people fully understood the distinction between a miracle and a feat of magic. ,That is why when the magicians saw that it was a miracle shown by the power of Allah which had exposed their magic, they did not say that Moses (peace be upon him) was a more skillful magician, but straightway fell prostrate, saying: We believe in the Lord of Aaron and Moses.

It is obvious that the defeat turned the tables on Pharaoh who had himself arranged the encounter to expose Prophet Moses (peace be upon him). He had mustered all his magicians with a view to demonstrating before the public that there was nothing extraordinary in turning a staff into a serpent for this could be done by any magician. But the defeat of the magicians and their acknowledgment testified that Moses (peace be upon him) was really a Messenger of Allah and the transformation of the staff was not a feat of magic but a miracle.

45. In( Surah Al-Aaraf, Ayat, 123), it has been stated: Indeed it was a plot you conspired in the city to deprive the rightful owners of their power. Here the same thing has been further explained, as if to say: It is not merely a plot between you and him but it appears that Moses is your master and leader. You conspired beforehand that you would be defeated by your master in the encounter to prove that he was a Messenger who had shown the miracle of the staff to frustrate your magic and bring about a political revolution in the country.

46. That is, right hand and left foot or vice versa.

47. This was a very cruel way of punishment in ancient times. They fixed a long pole in the ground or used the trunk of a tree for this purpose. Then a piece of wood was tied across it at the top. Then the hands of the criminal were nailed on to it and he was left hanging there for hours to die a slow, painful death.

48. This was the last trick played by Pharaoh to win the losing game. He held out the threat of a cruel punishment in order to coerce them to admit that there really was a conspiracy between Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) and them against the kingdom. But the fortitude and determination of the magicians turned the tables on him. The very fact that, they were ready to endure the terrible punishment proved to the world that they had sincerely believed in the Prophethood of Moses (peace be upon him) and that the charge of conspiracy was an impudent trick that had been invented as a device.

49. It may also be interpreted like this: It cannot be that we should prefer you to these plain signs which have come before us and to that Being Who has created us.