94. Pharaoh's courtiers obstinately persisted in branding Moses' signs as
sorcery although they knew well that sorcery had nothing in common with the
miraculous signs granted to Moses. Even a fool would not he ready to believe
that the country-wide famine and the consistent decrease in agricultural output
could have been caused by magic. It is for this reason that the Qur'an says:
But when Our signs, which should have opened their eyes, came to them they said:
'This is clear sorcery! And they rejected those signs out of iniquity and arrogance
even though they were inwardly convinced of it'
(al-Naml 27: 13-14).
95. This probably refers to the torrential rain accompanied by hailstorm. While we do not totally exclude the possibility of other kinds of storms, we are inclined to the view, that it probably signifies hailstorm since the Bible specifically mentions that. (See Exodus 9: 23-4 - Ed.)
96. The word used in the text - qummal - denotes lice, fleas, small locusts, mosquitoes, and weevil. This rather general term has been used in the Qur'an probably to suggest that while men were afflicted with lice and fleas, weevil destroyed the barns. (Cf. Exodus 7-12. See also Tafhim al-ur'an, (al-Zukhruf 43, n. 43.)