would descend from heaven. Others supposed that, in His words,

“And when the decree is fulfilled against them, We shall bring forth for them a beast from the earth that will speak to them” [al-Naml 82],

the beast was the designation of a scholar who spoke words of wisdom. More than one person claimed this status for himself.

Another group supposed that Moses and the sorcerers believed Pharaoh when he said,

“I am your lord most high” (24) [al-Nāzi‘āt 24],

and that Moses approved of the worship of the calf, sanctioned their doing so, and reproached Aaron for condemning them. They also said that His words,

“Because of their sins they were drowned and made to enter