Tafsir al-Baghawi - Al-Baghawi - (3/263)

Tafsir al-BaghawiAl-Baghawi

ground and its upper jaw upon the wall of the palace. It moved toward Pharaoh to seize him. It is also related that it grasped Pharaoh’s dome between its two fangs, whereupon Pharaoh leapt from his throne and fled, losing control of his bowels.

It was said that on that day he suffered an attack of diarrhea four hundred times. The serpent charged at the people, and they fled in defeat, crying out; twenty-five thousand of them died, killing one another. Pharaoh entered the house and cried, “O Moses, I implore you by the One who sent you: take it away, and I will believe in you and send the Children of Israel with you.” So Moses took hold of it, and it returned to being a staff as it had been. Pharaoh then said, “Do you have another sign?” He replied, “Yes.”

“And he drew out his hand, and behold, it was shining white for all to see. (108) The chiefs of Pharaoh’s people said, ‘This man is certainly a skilled magician. (109) He seeks to drive you from your land. So what do you command?’ (110) They said, ‘Put him and his brother off for a while, and send gatherers into the cities, (111) to bring you every skilled magician.’ (112)”

“And he drew out his hand, and behold, it was shining white for all to see.” He put his hand into the opening of his garment and then drew it out. It was also said that he brought it out from beneath his armpit, and behold, it was white, with a radiance that outshone the light of the sun. Moses was dark-skinned; then he put it back into the opening of his garment, and it returned to how it had been.

“The chiefs of Pharaoh’s people said, ‘This man is certainly a skilled magician.’” That is, they meant that he affected people’s sight, making them imagine the staff to be a snake and the dark-skinned man to be white, showing a thing contrary to what it truly was.

“He seeks to drive you out,” O assembly of Copts, “from your land,” namely Egypt. “So what do you command?” That is, what do you advise? This was said by Pharaoh, even though he is not explicitly mentioned. It was also said that this was spoken by the chiefs to Pharaoh and his inner circle.

“They said”—that is, the chiefs—“Put him off for a while.” Ibn Kathir, the reciters of Basra, and Ibn ʿAmir recited it with a hamzah and a ḍammah on the hāʾ. The others recited it without a hamzah. Then Nāfiʿ, in the transmission of Warsh, and al-Kisāʾī lengthened the hāʾ with a kasrah; ʿĀṣim and Hamzah rendered it sākin; while Abū Jaʿfar and Qālūn pronounced it lightly.

ʿAṭāʾ said that it means: Delay him. It was also said: Detain him. “And his brother”: that is, they advised him to defer dealing with Moses and to refrain from putting him to death. “And send gatherers into the cities,” meaning the police officials and the cities—the cities of Upper Egypt in the regions of Egypt. They said: Send men to those cities to gather for you the magicians who are there. The leading magicians were in the farthest cities of Upper Egypt. If Moses overcomes them, we shall believe him; but if they overcome him, we shall know that he is a magician.

الْأَرْضِ وَالْأَعْلَى عَلَى سُورِ الْقَصْرِ، وَتَوَجَّهَتْ نَحْوَ فِرْعَوْنَ لِتَأْخُذَهُ، وَرُوِيَ أَنَّهَا أَخَذَتْ قُبَّةَ فِرْعَوْنَ بَيْنَ نَابَيْهَا فَوَثَبَ فِرْعَوْنُ مِنْ سَرِيرِهِ هَارِبًا وَأَحْدَثَ. قِيلَ: أَخَذَهُ الْبَطْنُ فِي ذَلِكَ الْيَوْمِ أَرْبَعَمِائَةِ مَرَّةٍ، وَحَمَلَتْ عَلَى النَّاسِ فَانْهَزَمُوا وَصَاحُوا وَمَاتَ مِنْهُمْ خَمْسَةٌ وَعِشْرُونَ أَلْفًا قَتَلَ بَعْضُهُمْ بَعْضًا وَدَخَلَ فِرْعَوْنُ الْبَيْتَ وَصَاحَ يَا مُوسَى أُنْشَدُكَ بِالَّذِي أَرْسَلَكَ خُذْهَا وَأَنَا أُؤْمِنُ بِكَ وَأُرْسِلُ مَعَكَ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ، فَأَخَذَهَا مُوسَى فَعَادَتْ عَصَا كَمَا كَانَتْ ثُمَّ قَالَ فِرْعَوْنُ: هَلْ مَعَكَ آيَةٌ أُخْرَى؟ قَالَ: نَعَمْ. ﴿وَنَزَعَ يَدَهُ فَإِذَا هِيَ بَيْضَاءُ لِلنَّاظِرِينَ (١٠٨) قَالَ الْمَلَأُ مِنْ قَوْمِ فِرْعَوْنَ إِنَّ هَذَا لَسَاحِرٌ عَلِيمٌ (١٠٩) يُرِيدُ أَنْ يُخْرِجَكُمْ مِنْ أَرْضِكُمْ فَمَاذَا تَأْمُرُونَ (١١٠) قَالُوا أَرْجِهْ وَأَخَاهُ وَأَرْسِلْ فِي الْمَدَائِنِ حَاشِرِينَ (١١١) يَأْتُوكَ بِكُلِّ سَاحِرٍ عَلِيمٍ (١١٢) ﴾ ﴿وَنَزَعَ يَدَهُ فَإِذَا هِيَ بَيْضَاءُ لِلنَّاظِرِينَ﴾ فَأَدْخَلَ يَدَهُ فِي جَيْبِهِ ثُمَّ نَزَعَهَا، وَقِيلَ: أَخْرَجَهَا مِنْ تَحْتِ إِبِطَهَ فَإِذَا هِيَ بَيْضَاءُ لَهَا شُعَاعٌ غَلَبَ نُورَ الشَّمْسِ، وَكَانَ مُوسَى آدَمَ، ثُمَّ أَدْخَلَهَا جَيْبَهُ فَصَارَتْ كَمَا كَانَتْ. ﴿قَالَ الْمَلَأُ مِنْ قَوْمِ فِرْعَوْنَ إِنَّ هَذَا لَسَاحِرٌ عَلِيمٌ﴾ يَعْنُونَ أَنَّهُ لَيَأْخُذُ بِأَعْيُنِ النَّاسِ حَتَّى يُخَيِّلَ إِلَيْهِمُ الْعَصَا حَيَّةً وَالْآدَمَ أَبْيَضَ، وَيُرِيَ الشَّيْءَ بِخِلَافِ مَا هُوَ بِهِ. ﴿يُرِيدُ أَنْ يُخْرِجَكُمْ﴾ يَا مَعْشَرَ الْقِبْطِ، ﴿مِنْ أَرْضِكُمْ﴾ مِصْرَ، ﴿فَمَاذَا تَأْمُرُونَ﴾ أَيْ: تُشِيرُونَ إِلَيْهِ، هَذَا يَقُولُهُ فِرْعَوْنُ وَإِنْ لَمْ يَذْكُرْهُ، وَقِيلَ: هَذَا مِنْ قَوْلِ الْمَلَأِ لِفِرْعَوْنَ وَخَاصَّتِهِ. ﴿قَالُوا﴾ يَعْنِي الْمَلَأَ ﴿أَرْجِهْ﴾ قَرَأَ ابْنُ كَثِيرٍ وَأَهْلُ الْبَصْرَةِ وَابْنُ عَامِرٍ بِالْهَمْزَةِ وَضَمِّ الْهَاءِ، وَقَرَأَ الْآخَرُونَ بِلَا هَمْزٍ، ثُمَّ نَافِعٌ بِرِوَايَةِ وَرْشٍ وَالْكِسَائِيُّ يُشْبِعَانِ الْهَاءَ كَسْرًا، وَيُسَكِّنُهَا عَاصِمٌ وَحَمْزَةُ، وَيَخْتَلِسُهَا أَبُو جَعْفَرٍ وَقَالُونَ. قَالَ عَطَاءٌ، مَعْنَاهُ أَخِّرْهُ. وَقِيلَ: احْبِسْهُ، ﴿وَأَخَاهُ﴾ مَعْنَاهُ أَشَارُوا عَلَيْهِ بِتَأْخِيرِ أَمْرِهِ وَتَرْكِ التَّعَرُّضِ لَهُ بِالْقَتْلِ، ﴿وَأَرْسِلْ فِي الْمَدَائِنِ حَاشِرِينَ﴾ يَعْنِي الشُّرَطَ وَالْمَدَائِنَ، وَهِيَ مَدَائِنُ الصَّعِيدِ مِنْ نَوَاحِي مِصْرَ، قَالُوا: أَرْسَلَ إِلَى هَذَا الْمَدَائِنِ رِجَالًا يَحْشُرُونَ إِلَيْكَ مَنْ فِيهَا مِنَ السَّحَرَةِ، وَكَانَ رُؤَسَاءُ السَّحَرَةِ بِأَقْصَى مَدَائِنِ الصَّعِيدِ، فَإِنْ غَلَبَهُمْ مُوسَى صَدَقْنَاهُ وَإِنْ غَلَبُوا عَلِمْنَا أَنَّهُ سَاحِرٌ.