سُورَةُ الأَعۡرَافِ
Reading Tafsir al-Jalalayn (second English edition) by Jalal al-Din al-Mahalli & Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti
Ayahs 111–120 of 206
قَالُوٓا۟ أَرْجِهْ وَأَخَاهُ وَأَرْسِلْ فِى ٱلْمَدَآئِنِ حَٰشِرِينَ
They said, "Postpone [the matter of] him and his brother and send among the cities gatherers
They said, ‘Put him and his brother off a while, postpone [any decision regarding] their affair, and send into the towns summoners, gatherers,
يَأْتُوكَ بِكُلِّ سَٰحِرٍ عَلِيمٍۢ
Who will bring you every learned magician."
to bring you every cunning sorcerer’ (sāhir: a variant reading has sahhār) to outdo Moses in the art of magic. And so they summoned [them].
وَجَآءَ ٱلسَّحَرَةُ فِرْعَوْنَ قَالُوٓا۟ إِنَّ لَنَا لَأَجْرًا إِن كُنَّا نَحْنُ ٱلْغَٰلِبِينَ
And the magicians came to Pharaoh. They said, "Indeed for us is a reward if we are the predominant."
And the sorcerers came to Pharaoh, saying, ‘Surely (a-inna: read pronouncing both hamzas, or by not pronouncing the second one, but inserting an alif between the two in both cases) there will be a wage for us if we are the victors?’
قَالَ نَعَمْ وَإِنَّكُمْ لَمِنَ ٱلْمُقَرَّبِينَ
He said, "Yes, and, [moreover], you will be among those made near [to me]."
He said, ‘Yes, and indeed you shall be of those brought near’.
قَالُوا۟ يَٰمُوسَىٰٓ إِمَّآ أَن تُلْقِىَ وَإِمَّآ أَن نَّكُونَ نَحْنُ ٱلْمُلْقِينَ
They said, "O Moses, either you throw [your staff], or we will be the ones to throw [first]."
They said, ‘O Moses, either you cast, your staff, or we shall be the casters!’, of what we have.
قَالَ أَلْقُوا۟ ۖ فَلَمَّآ أَلْقَوْا۟ سَحَرُوٓا۟ أَعْيُنَ ٱلنَّاسِ وَٱسْتَرْهَبُوهُمْ وَجَآءُو بِسِحْرٍ عَظِيمٍۢ
He said, "Throw," and when they threw, they bewitched the eyes of the people and struck terror into them, and they presented a great [feat of] magic.
He said, ‘Cast!’, this is a command permitting them to cast first, as a means to manifesting the truth. And when they cast, their ropes and staffs, they put a spell upon the people’s eyes, misleading them from perceiving the real state of these [ropes and staffs], and overawed them, scared them, by making them appear to be slithering snakes, and produced a mighty sorcery.
۞ وَأَوْحَيْنَآ إِلَىٰ مُوسَىٰٓ أَنْ أَلْقِ عَصَاكَ ۖ فَإِذَا هِىَ تَلْقَفُ مَا يَأْفِكُونَ
And We inspired to Moses, "Throw your staff," and at once it devoured what they were falsifying.
And We revealed to Moses [saying]: ‘Cast your staff.’ And lo! it swallowed up (read talaqqafu, with one of the original tā’ letters [of tatalaqqafu] omitted) the illusion they were creating, that which they were transforming by delusion.
فَوَقَعَ ٱلْحَقُّ وَبَطَلَ مَا كَانُوا۟ يَعْمَلُونَ
So the truth was established, and abolished was what they were doing.
Thus did the truth come to pass, [thus was it] confirmed and made manifest; and that which they were doing, in the way of sorcery, was proved false.
فَغُلِبُوا۟ هُنَالِكَ وَٱنقَلَبُوا۟ صَٰغِرِينَ
And Pharaoh and his people were overcome right there and became debased.
Thus were they, that is, Pharaoh and his folk, there defeated, becoming humiliated — they ended up abased.
وَأُلْقِىَ ٱلسَّحَرَةُ سَٰجِدِينَ
And the magicians fell down in prostration [to Allah].
And the sorcerers fell down in prostration.
Commentary: Tafsir al-Jalalayn (second English edition) by Jalal al-Din al-Mahalli & Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti. Qur'an text and translation via AlQuran Cloud.
