“So that we might follow the sorcerers if they are the victors.” That is, they told the people: Gather so that you may witness the sorcerers defeat Moses and see how skilled they are in their craft. We will then follow and honor them and recognize the excellence of the art of sorcery. Had they been guided to the truth, they would have said: Perhaps we may follow whichever side proves to be right and thereby recognize the truth. Consequently, the event benefited them only by establishing the proof against them.
“When the sorcerers arrived” and came before Pharaoh, they asked him, “Will we indeed have a reward if we are the victors” over Moses?
He said, “Yes”—you will have a reward and recompense—“and you will then surely be among those brought near” to me. He promised them both a reward and closeness to him so that they would be more eager and employ every means at their disposal to oppose what Moses had brought.
When they, Moses, and the people of Egypt had assembled at the appointed time, Moses admonished and reminded them, saying, “Woe to you! Do not fabricate lies against Allah, lest He destroy you with a punishment. Whoever fabricates lies has surely failed.” They then disputed and quarreled among themselves, after which Pharaoh encouraged them, and they encouraged one another.
Moses said to them, “Cast whatever you are going to cast.” That is, cast everything you have in mind to cast. He did not restrict them in any way, because he was certain that whatever they brought to oppose the truth was false.
“So they cast down their ropes and staffs,” and they appeared as slithering snakes, for they thereby bewitched the people’s eyes. “They said, ‘By Pharaoh’s might, we will surely be the victors.’” Thus they sought aid from the might of a weak slave, powerless in every respect, except that he had acted as a tyrant and acquired the trappings of kingship and armies. They were deceived by that pomp, and their insight failed to penetrate to the reality of the matter. Alternatively, this was an oath they swore by Pharaoh’s might, the substance of their oath being that they would prevail.
“Then Moses cast down his staff, and suddenly it swallowed up”—devoured and seized—“all that they had falsified.” Thus it swallowed every rope and staff they had cast down, for their work was fabrication, falsehood, and deceit. All falsehood is futile: it can neither stand before the truth nor withstand it.
When the sorcerers saw this tremendous sign, their knowledge made them certain that it was not sorcery. Rather, it was one of Allah’s signs and a miracle demonstrating Moses’s truthfulness and the soundness of what he had brought.
“Then the sorcerers fell down in prostration” before their Lord.
“They said, ‘We believe in the Lord of all worlds, the Lord of Moses and Aaron.’” Falsehood was subdued in that assembly, its leading practitioners acknowledged its invalidity, and the truth became so clear and manifest that the onlookers saw it with their own eyes. Yet Pharaoh refused anything but insolence, misguidance, persistence in error, and stubborn opposition. He said to the sorcerers, “You have believed in him before I gave you permission!”
He expressed amazement and sought to make his people marvel at their audacity toward him and their readiness to believe without his permission or consultation.
“He is surely your master who taught you sorcery!” This was despite the fact that Pharaoh himself had assembled the sorcerers, while his chiefs were the ones who had advised him to gather them from their cities. They knew that the sorcerers had neither met nor even seen Moses before then, and that they had produced sorcery that bewildered and terrified the onlookers. Despite all this, Pharaoh’s claim gained acceptance among them, although they themselves knew it to be false. It is therefore hardly surprising that people with minds such as theirs would refuse to believe in the evident truth and dazzling signs. Had Pharaoh told them of anything whatsoever that it was contrary to its true nature, they would have believed him.
He then threatened the sorcerers, saying, “I will surely cut off your hands and feet on opposite sides”—the right hand and the left foot, as is done to one who spreads corruption upon the earth—⦗592⦘ “and I will surely crucify you all,” so that you may be disgraced and humiliated. Having experienced the sweetness and tasted the delight of faith, the sorcerers replied, “No harm!” That is, we do not care about what you have threatened us with. “Indeed, to our Lord we shall return. We hope that our Lord will forgive us our sins”—our disbelief, sorcery, and other offenses—“because we are the first of the believers” in Moses from among these troops. Allah therefore made them steadfast and granted them patience.
It is possible that Pharaoh carried out his threat against them, given the authority and power he possessed at that time. It is also possible that Allah prevented him from harming them. Thereafter, Pharaoh and his people persisted in their disbelief. Moses continued to bring them manifest signs, and whenever a sign came to them and afflicted them most severely, they promised Moses and pledged that if Allah removed it from them, they would certainly believe in him and send the Children of Israel with him. Allah would then remove it, only for them to break their pledge.
When Moses despaired of their believing, the decree of punishment became binding upon them, and the time came for the Children of Israel to be delivered from captivity and established upon the earth, Allah revealed to Moses: “Depart by night with My servants.”
That is, lead the Children of Israel out during the early part of the night so that they may gain distance and proceed at an unhurried pace. “You will surely be pursued.” That is, Pharaoh and his armies will pursue you.
The matter occurred just as He had foretold: when they awoke in the morning, all the Children of Israel had departed by night with Moses.
“Then Pharaoh sent gatherers throughout the cities” to assemble the people so that he might attack the Children of Israel. Encouraging his people, he said, “These people”—the Children of Israel—“are only a small band, and they have surely enraged us.” We therefore wish to vent our fury upon these slaves who have fled from us.
“And indeed, all of us are on our guard.” That is, everyone must be wary of them, for they are the enemies of all and the interest at stake is shared by all. Pharaoh and his armies therefore set out as a mighty force in a general mobilization. No one remained behind except those excused by an incapacity that prevented them from going.
Allah Most High said, “So We brought them out of gardens and springs”—that is, Egypt’s orchards and magnificent gardens, its gushing springs, and crops that filled their lands and caused both their settled regions and deserts to flourish.
“And splendid dwellings” that delighted onlookers and captivated those who contemplated them. They enjoyed these things for a very long time and spent a long life amid their pleasures and desires, all while persisting in disbelief and corruption, arrogantly exalting themselves over Allah’s servants, and displaying immense pride.
“So it was; and We caused the Children of Israel to inherit them”—those gardens, springs, crops, and splendid dwellings. These were the very people whom they had formerly made their slaves and compelled to perform arduous labor. Glory be to Him who grants sovereignty to whomever He wills and takes it from whomever He wills, who honors whomever He wills through obedience to Him and humiliates whomever He wills through disobedience to Him.
“So they pursued them at sunrise.” That is, Pharaoh’s people pursued Moses’s people at sunrise, pressing hard after them in fury and rancor, confident in their power.