قَالَ Said الْمَلَاُ the chiefs مِنْ of قَوْمِ (the) people فِرْعَوْنَ (of) Firaun اِنَّ Indeed هٰذَا this لَسٰحِرٌ (is) surely a magician عَلِیْمٌۙ learned یُّرِیْدُ He wants اَنْ to یُّخْرِجَكُمْ drive you out مِّنْ from اَرْضِكُمْ ۚ your land فَمَا ذَا so what تَاْمُرُوْنَ (do) you instruct قَالُوْۤا They said اَرْجِهْ Postpone him وَ اَخَاهُ and his brother وَاَرْسِلْ and send فِی in الْمَدَآىِٕنِ the cities حٰشِرِیْنَۙ gatherers یَاْتُوْكَ They (will) bring to you بِكُلِّ [with] every سٰحِرٍ magician عَلِیْمٍ learned وَ جَآءَ So came السَّحَرَةُ the magicians فِرْعَوْنَ (to) Firaun قَالُوْۤا They said اِنَّ Indeed لَنَا for us لَاَجْرًا surely (will be) a reward اِنْ if كُنَّا we are نَحْنُ [we] الْغٰلِبِیْنَ the victors قَالَ He said نَعَمْ Yes وَ اِنَّكُمْ and indeed you لَمِنَ surely (will be) of الْمُقَرَّبِیْنَ the ones who are near قَالُوْا They said یٰمُوْسٰۤی O Musa اِمَّاۤ Whether اَنْ [that] تُلْقِیَ you throw وَ اِمَّاۤ or اَنْ [that] نَّكُوْنَ we will be نَحْنُ [we] الْمُلْقِیْنَ the ones to throw قَالَ He said اَلْقُوْا ۚ Throw فَلَمَّاۤ Then when اَلْقَوْا they threw سَحَرُوْۤا they bewitched اَعْیُنَ (the) eyes النَّاسِ (of) the people وَ اسْتَرْهَبُوْهُمْ and terrified them وَ جَآءُوْ and came (up) بِسِحْرٍ with a magic عَظِیْمٍ great وَ اَوْحَیْنَاۤ And We inspired اِلٰی to مُوْسٰۤی Musa اَنْ that اَلْقِ Throw عَصَاكَ ۚ your staff فَاِذَا and suddenly هِیَ it تَلْقَفُ swallow(ed) مَا what یَاْفِكُوْنَۚ they (were) falsifying فَوَقَعَ So was established الْحَقُّ the truth وَ بَطَلَ and became futile مَا what كَانُوْا they used to یَعْمَلُوْنَۚ do فَغُلِبُوْا So they were defeated هُنَالِكَ there وَ انْقَلَبُوْا and returned صٰغِرِیْنَۚ humiliated وَ اُلْقِیَ And fell down السَّحَرَةُ the magicians سٰجِدِیْنَۚۖ prostrate 7. Al-A'raf Page 165 قَالُوْۤا They said اٰمَنَّا We believe بِرَبِّ in (the) Lord الْعٰلَمِیْنَۙ (of) the worlds رَبِّ Lord مُوْسٰی (of) Musa وَ هٰرُوْنَ and Harun قَالَ Said فِرْعَوْنُ Firaun اٰمَنْتُمْ You believed بِهٖ in him قَبْلَ before اَنْ [that] اٰذَنَ I give permission لَكُمْ ۚ to you اِنَّ Indeed هٰذَا this لَمَكْرٌ (is) surely a plot مَّكَرْتُمُوْهُ you have plotted it فِی in الْمَدِیْنَةِ the city لِتُخْرِجُوْا so that you may drive out مِنْهَاۤ from it اَهْلَهَا ۚ its people فَسَوْفَ But soon تَعْلَمُوْنَ you will know لَاُقَطِّعَنَّ I will surely cut off اَیْدِیَكُمْ your hands وَ اَرْجُلَكُمْ and your feet مِّنْ of خِلَافٍ opposite (sides) ثُمَّ Then لَاُصَلِّبَنَّكُمْ I will surely crucify you اَجْمَعِیْنَ all قَالُوْۤا They said اِنَّاۤ Indeed we اِلٰی to رَبِّنَا our Lord مُنْقَلِبُوْنَۚ (will) return وَ مَا And not تَنْقِمُ you take revenge مِنَّاۤ from us اِلَّاۤ except اَنْ that اٰمَنَّا we believed بِاٰیٰتِ in (the) Signs رَبِّنَا (of) our Lord لَمَّا when جَآءَتْنَا ؕ they came to us رَبَّنَاۤ Our Lord! اَفْرِغْ Pour عَلَیْنَا upon us صَبْرًا patience وَّ تَوَفَّنَا and cause us to die مُسْلِمِیْنَ۠ (as) Muslims
(7:109) The elders of Pharaoh's people said: 'Surely this man is a skilful magician
(7:110) who seeks to drive you out from your land.88 What would you have us do?'
(7:111) Then they advised Pharaoh: 'Put off Moses and his brother for a while, and send forth heralds to your cities
(7:112) to summon every skilful magician to your presence.'89
(7:113) And the magicians came to Pharaoh and said: 'Shall we have a reward if we win?'
(7:114) Pharaoh replied: 'Certainly, and you shall be among those who are near to me.'
(7:115) Then they said: '0 Moses, will you [first] throw your rod, or shall we throw?'
(7:116) Moses said: 'You throw.' So when they threw [their rods], they enchanted the eyes of the people, and struck them with awe, and produced a mighty sorcery.
(7:117) Then We directed Moses: 'Now you throw your rod.' And lo! it swallowed up all their false devices.90
(7:118) Thus was the truth established, and their doings proved in vain.
(7:119) Pharaoh and his men were defeated and put to shame,
(7:120) and the magicians flung themselves prostrate,
(7:121) saying: 'We believe in the Lord of the universe,
(7:122) the Lord of Moses and Aaron.'91
(7:123) Pharaoh said: 'What! Do you believe before you have my permission? Surely this is a plot you have contrived to drive out the rulers from the capital. So you shall see,
(7:124) I shall cut off your hands and feet on the opposite sides, and then crucify you all.'
(7:125) They replied: 'We shall surely return to our Lord.
(7:126) Will you punish us just because we believed in the signs of our Lord when they came to us? Our Lord! Shower us with perseverance and cause us to die as those who have submitted [to You].'92
88. The above account raises the question as to how a destitute member of the slave Israeli nation could pose such a serious threat to an emperor as mighty as Pharaoh. This is especially so when one considers that Pharaoh was not only an absolute ruler over territory which stretched in one direction from Syria to Libya and in the other from the Mediterranean coast to Ethiopia, but was even considered a deity deserving of worship,
One might also wonder how the transformation of Moses' rod into a serpent could he considered an event of such magnitude as to give rise to the fear that Moses would overthrow the entrenched empire and unseat the royal family as well as the entire ruling class. It might further seem strange that the mere declaration of prophethood and the demand to liberate the people of Israel caused such a furore even though no other political question had been touched upon.
The answer here lies in the fact that Moses' claim to prophethood implied the call to total change, obviously, including political change. For if a person lays claim to be God's Messenger, it implies that people obey him unreservedly. For God's Messengers are not sent to the world to obey other human beings and live in subordination to them; they rather ask others to accept them as their leaders and rulers. It is this which explains why Pharaoh and his coteric felt threatened by an all-out revolution -political, economic and social - when Moses came forth with his call.
There remains the question as to why the claim to prophethood was considered such a potential threat when Moses enjoyed the support of none except his brother, Aaron, and his claim was reinforced by only two miracles - those of the shining hand and the rod which turned into a serpent. This can be explained by two things. First, that Pharaoh and his courtiers knew very well about Moses. All were aware of his extraordinary abilities and his inherent calibre as a leader of men. Also, according to the traditions of the Talmud and Josephus - provided they are authentic -Moses had also learnt the martial arts and other skills which were available only exclusively to royalty and which were required in connection with their political and military leadership. Moreover, he had proved his mettle as a good general during the expedition to Ethiopia. Furthermore, during the course of his eight years of life in Midian - rigorous years in the desert working as a shepherd - he had purged himself of all his weaknesses because of his association with the Pharaonic svstern. Hence. when the Pharaonic court was confronted by a mature, serene and pious man who came forth with the claim of prophethood, it was obviously impossible for them to give short shrift to his claim. Second, the miracles of the rod and the shining hand overawed Pharaoh and his courtiers to such an extent they were almost convinced that Moses did indeed enjoy the support of some supernatural power. That they were unnerved by the very first proof of his prophethood is borne out by the contradictions in their charges against Moses. On the one hand they dubbed Moses a sorcerer, and on the other hand they accused him of plotting to banish them from their own land. It is clear that had they taken Moses for a mere sorcerer, they would not have expressed fears of political upheaval. For sorcery has never brought about any political change in the world.
89. The plan of Pharaoh's courtiers clearly suggests that they knew the difference between mere sorcery and a miracle. They were well aware that miracles are effective and have the capacity to bring about actual transformation whereas sorcery results merely in optic illusion. Hence, they dubbed Moses a sorcerer so as to refute his claim to prophethood. They claimed instead that the transformation of the rod into a serpent was not a miracle; that it was rather a magical performance which could be undertaken by any sorcerer. Therefore, they asked all the sorcerers of the land to come together and display how rods could be magically transformed into serpents. They believed that such a magical show would remove the awesome effect created by Moses' miracles on the people, or at least sow doubts in their minds about those miracles.
90. It would be a mistake to believe that the rod of Moses swallowed up the rods and ropes cast by the other sorcerers and which had looked like serpents. The Qur'anic statement means that the rod of Moses swallowed up the falsehood faked by them. This clearly shows that wherever Moses' rod moved, it destroyed the magical effect which had caused the transformation of their ropes and rods. One blow of Moses' rod caused every other rod to revert to a rod, and every rope to revert to a rope. (For further elaboration see Tafhim al-Qur'an, (Ta Ha 20, n. 42)
91. Thus God turned the tables on Pharaoh and his courtiers they arranged the magic show in the hope that it would convince the people that Moses was just a sorcerer, and thus make them sceptical about his claim to prophethood. But the actual outcome was quite the opposite. The sorcerers who had been assembled were defeated. Not only that, it was also unanimously acknowledged that the signs displayed by Moses in support of his claim were not feats of magic. Rather, his signs rather manifested the might of God, the Lord of the universe, and hence could not be overcome by magic.
92. Faced with utter failure Pharaoh finally resorted to branding the whole magic tournament as a conspiracy concocted by Moses and his accomplice sorcerers. Under threat of death and physical torture he asked the sorcerers to confess that they had acted in collusion with Moses. This last move by Pharaoh was ineffectual. For the sorcerers readily agreed to endure every torture, clearly proving thereby that their decision to accept Moses' message reflected their sincere conviction and that no conspiracy was involved. Pharaoh was hardly left with any choice. He, therefore, gave up all pretence to follow truth and justice, and brazenly resorted to persecution instead.
The tremendous and instantaneous change which took place in the characters of the sorcerers is also of significance. The sorcerers had come all the way from their homes with the purpose of vindicating their ancestral faith and receiving pecuniary reward from Pharaoh for overcoming Moses. However, the moment true faith illumined their hearts, they displayed such resoluteness of will and love for the truth that they contemptuously turned down Pharaoh's offer, and demonstrated their full readiness to endure even the worst punishments for the sake of the truth that had dawned upon them.