As for Moses’ words,

“and I am the first of the believers,”

he voiced them on the occasion when he said,

“My Lord, show me Yourself that I may look at You.”

Allah replied, “You will never see Me” (7:143); no one beholds Him in this life without dying. The verse continues:

“When his Lord revealed Himself to the mountain, He made it crumble, and Moses fell unconscious; and when he revived he said, ‘Glory be to You! I repent to You, and I am the first of the believers’” (7:143).

Here, “the first” means the first to affirm that no one can see Allah in this world without perishing.

As for the magicians’ words,

“for we were the first to believe,”

it means the first among the Copts of Egypt to believe in Moses.

And as for the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—saying,

“and I am the first of the Muslims,”

it means the first among the people of Mecca. This is the explanation of the matter over which the heretics had entertained doubts.1