⦗76⦘ “When the truth came to them from Us”—the greatest and most sublime kind of truth. It came from Allah, before whose greatness all bow. He is the Lord of the worlds, who nurtures all His creation with blessings.

Thus, when the truth came to them from Allah at the hands of Moses, they rejected it and refused to accept it. “They said, ‘Indeed, this is manifest magic.’” It was not enough for them—may Allah disgrace them—to turn away from it and reject it; they went so far as to portray it as the most utterly false thing of all: magic, whose reality is mere deception. Indeed, they called it manifest and obvious magic, though it was the manifest truth. ⦗371⦘ Therefore, Moses “said” to them, rebuking them for rejecting the truth—which none but the most unjust would reject—“Do you say this about the truth when it has come to you?” That is: do you say that it is manifest magic?

“Is this magic?” That is, consider its nature and all that it contains; that alone makes it certain that it is the truth. “Sorcerers will never prosper,” either in this world or in the Hereafter. See, then, who will enjoy the good end, who will prosper, and at whose hands success will be achieved. They later came to know—and it became clear to everyone—that Moses (peace be upon him) was the one who prospered and attained triumph in this world and the Hereafter.