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 Surah Al-A'raf 7:100-117 [13/24]
  
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Verse Summary -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
أَوَلَمْWould it not
يَهْدِguide
لِلَّذِينَ[for] those who
يَرِثُونَinherit
ٱلْأَرْضَthe land
مِنۢ بَعْدِafter
أَهْلِهَآits people
أَنthat
لَّوْif
نَشَآءُWe willed,
أَصَبْنَـٰهُمWe (could) afflict them
بِذُنُوبِهِمْ‌ۚfor their sins
وَنَطْبَعُand We put a seal
عَلَىٰover
قُلُوبِهِمْtheir hearts
فَهُمْso they
لَا يَسْمَعُونَ(do) not hear?
﴿١٠٠﴾
تِلْكَThese
ٱلْقُرَىٰ(were) the cities -
نَقُصُّWe relate
عَلَيْكَto you
مِنْof
أَنۢبَآئِهَا‌ۚtheir news.
وَلَقَدْAnd certainly
جَآءَتْهُمْcame to them
رُسُلُهُمtheir Messengers
بِٱلْبَيِّنَـٰتِwith clear proofs,
فَمَاbut not
كَانُواْthey were
لِيُؤْمِنُواْto believe
بِمَاin what
كَذَّبُواْthey (had) denied
مِن قَبْلُ‌ۚbefore.
كَذَٲلِكَThus
يَطْبَعُ ٱللَّهُAllah put a seal
عَلَىٰon
قُلُوبِ(the) hearts
ٱلْكَـٰفِرِينَ(of) the disbelievers.
﴿١٠١﴾
وَمَاAnd not
وَجَدْنَاWe found
لِأَكْثَرِهِمfor most of them
مِّنْ[of]
عَهْدٍ‌ۖ(any) covenant.
وَإِنBut
وَجَدْنَآWe found
أَكْثَرَهُمْmost of them
لَفَـٰسِقِينَcertainly, defiantly disobedient.
﴿١٠٢﴾
ثُمَّThen
بَعَثْنَاWe sent
مِنۢ بَعْدِهِمafter them
مُّوسَىٰMusa
بِـَٔـايَـٰتِنَآwith Our Signs
إِلَىٰto
فِرْعَوْنَFiraun
وَمَلَإِيْهِۦand his chiefs,
فَظَلَمُواْBut they were unjust
بِهَا‌ۖto them.
فَٱنظُرْSo see
كَيْفَhow
كَانَwas
عَـٰقِبَةُ(the) end
ٱلْمُفْسِدِينَ(of) the corrupters.
﴿١٠٣﴾
وَقَالَ مُوسَىٰAnd Musa said,
يَـٰفِرْعَوْنُ`O Firaun!
إِنِّىIndeed, I am
رَسُولٌa Messenger
مِّنfrom
رَّبِّ(the) Lord
ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ(of) the worlds
﴿١٠٤﴾
حَقِيقٌObligated
عَلَىٰٓon
أَنthat
لَّآnot
أَقُولَI say
عَلَىabout
ٱللَّهِAllah
إِلَّاexcept
ٱلْحَقَّ‌ۚthe truth.
قَدْVerily,
جِئْتُكُمI (have) come to you
بِبَيِّنَةٍwith a clear Sign
مِّنfrom
رَّبِّكُمْyour Lord,
فَأَرْسِلْso send
مَعِىَwith me
بَنِىٓ(the) Children
إِسْرَٲٓءِيلَ(of) Israel.`
﴿١٠٥﴾
قَالَHe said,
إِن`If
كُنتَyou have
جِئْتَcome
بِـَٔـايَةٍwith a Sign,
فَأْتِthen bring
بِهَآit
إِنif
كُنتَyou are
مِنَof
ٱلصَّـٰدِقِينَthe truthful.`
﴿١٠٦﴾
فَأَلْقَىٰSo he threw
عَصَاهُhis staff,
فَإِذَاand suddenly
هِىَit
ثُعْبَانٌ(was) a serpent,
مُّبِينٌmanifest.
﴿١٠٧﴾
وَنَزَعَAnd he drew out
يَدَهُۥhis hand
فَإِذَاand suddenly
هِىَit
بَيْضَآءُ(was) white
لِلنَّـٰظِرِينَfor the observers.
﴿١٠٨﴾
قَالَSaid
ٱلْمَلَأُthe chiefs
مِنof
قَوْمِ(the) people
فِرْعَوْنَ(of) Firaun,
إِنَّ`Indeed,
هَـٰذَاthis
لَسَـٰحِرٌ(is) surely a magician -
عَلِيمٌlearned.
﴿١٠٩﴾
يُرِيدُHe wants
أَنto
يُخْرِجَكُمdrive you out
مِّنْfrom
أَرْضِكُمْ‌ۖyour land,
فَمَاذَاso what
تَأْمُرُونَ(do) you instruct?`
﴿١١٠﴾
قَالُوٓاْThey said,
أَرْجِهْ`Postpone him
وَأَخَاهُand his brother,
وَأَرْسِلْand send
فِىin
ٱلْمَدَآئِنِthe cities
حَـٰشِرِينَgatherers.
﴿١١١﴾
يَأْتُوكَThey (will) bring to you
بِكُلِّ[with] every
سَـٰحِرٍ عَلِيمٍlearned magician.`
﴿١١٢﴾
وَجَآءَ ٱلسَّحَرَةُSo the magicians came
فِرْعَوْنَ(to) Firaun.
قَالُوٓاْThey said,
إِنَّ`Indeed,
لَنَاfor us
لَأَجْرًاsurely (will be) a reward
إِنif
كُنَّا نَحْنُwe are
ٱلْغَـٰلِبِينَthe victors.`
﴿١١٣﴾
قَالَHe said,
نَعَمْ`Yes,
وَإِنَّكُمْand indeed you
لَمِنَsurely (will be) of
ٱلْمُقَرَّبِينَthe ones who are near.`
﴿١١٤﴾
قَالُواْThey said,
يَـٰمُوسَىٰٓ`O Musa!
إِمَّآWhether
أَن[that]
تُلْقِىَyou throw
وَإِمَّآor
أَن[that]
نَّكُونَ نَحْنُwe will be
ٱلْمُلْقِينَthe ones to throw?`
﴿١١٥﴾
قَالَHe said,
أَلْقُواْ‌ۖ`Throw.`
فَلَمَّآThen when
أَلْقَوْاْthey threw,
سَحَرُوٓاْthey bewitched
أَعْيُنَ(the) eyes
ٱلنَّاسِ(of) the people,
وَٱسْتَرْهَبُوهُمْand terrified them
وَجَآءُوand came (up)
بِسِحْرٍwith a magic
عَظِيمٍgreat.
﴿١١٦﴾
۞ وَأَوْحَيْنَآAnd We inspired
إِلَىٰto
مُوسَىٰٓMusa
أَنْthat,
أَلْقِ`Throw
عَصَاكَ‌ۖyour staff,`
فَإِذَاand suddenly
هِىَit
تَلْقَفُswallow(ed)
مَاwhat
يَأْفِكُونَthey (were) falsifying.
﴿١١٧﴾


اَوَلَمۡ يَهۡدِ لِلَّذِيۡنَ يَرِثُوۡنَ الۡاَرۡضَ مِنۡۢ بَعۡدِ اَهۡلِهَاۤ اَنۡ لَّوۡ نَشَآءُ اَصَبۡنٰهُمۡ بِذُنُوۡبِهِمۡ​ ۚ وَنَطۡبَعُ عَلٰى قُلُوۡبِهِمۡ فَهُمۡ لَا يَسۡمَعُوۡنَ‏  تِلۡكَ الۡقُرٰى نَقُصُّ عَلَيۡكَ مِنۡ اَنۡۢبَآئِهَا​ ۚ وَلَقَدۡ جَآءَتۡهُمۡ رُسُلُهُمۡ بِالۡبَيِّنٰتِ​ ۚ فَمَا كَانُوۡا لِيُؤۡمِنُوۡا بِمَا كَذَّبُوۡا مِنۡ قَبۡلُ​ ؕ كَذٰلِكَ يَطۡبَعُ اللّٰهُ عَلٰى قُلُوۡبِ الۡكٰفِرِيۡنَ‏  وَمَا وَجَدۡنَا لِاَكۡثَرِهِمۡ مِّنۡ عَهۡدٍ​ۚ وَاِنۡ وَّجَدۡنَاۤ اَكۡثَرَهُمۡ لَفٰسِقِيۡنَ‏  ثُمَّ بَعَثۡنَا مِنۡۢ بَعۡدِهِمۡ مُّوۡسٰى بِاٰيٰتِنَاۤ اِلٰى فِرۡعَوۡنَ وَمَلَا۟ـئِهٖ فَظَلَمُوۡا بِهَا​ ۚ فَانْظُرۡ كَيۡفَ كَانَ عَاقِبَةُ الۡمُفۡسِدِيۡنَ‏  وَ قَالَ مُوۡسٰى يٰفِرۡعَوۡنُ اِنِّىۡ رَسُوۡلٌ مِّنۡ رَّبِّ الۡعٰلَمِيۡنَۙ‏   حَقِيۡقٌ عَلٰٓى اَنۡ لَّاۤ اَقُوۡلَ عَلَى اللّٰهِ اِلَّا الۡحَـقَّ​ ؕ قَدۡ جِئۡـتُكُمۡ بِبَيِّنَةٍ مِّنۡ رَّبِّكُمۡ فَاَرۡسِلۡ مَعِىَ بَنِىۡۤ اِسۡرَآءِيۡلَ ؕ‏  قَالَ اِنۡ كُنۡتَ جِئۡتَ بِاٰيَةٍ فَاۡتِ بِهَاۤ اِنۡ كُنۡتَ مِنَ الصّٰدِقِيۡنَ‏   فَاَلۡقٰى عَصَاهُ فَاِذَا هِىَ ثُعۡبَانٌ مُّبِيۡنٌ​ ​ ۖ ​ۚ‏  وَّنَزَعَ يَدَهٗ فَاِذَا هِىَ بَيۡضَآءُ لِلنّٰظِرِيۡنَ‏  قَالَ الۡمَلَاُ مِنۡ قَوۡمِ فِرۡعَوۡنَ اِنَّ هٰذَا لَسٰحِرٌ عَلِيۡمٌ ۙ‏  يُّرِيۡدُ اَنۡ يُّخۡرِجَكُمۡ مِّنۡ اَرۡضِكُمۡ​ ۚ فَمَاذَا تَاۡمُرُوۡنَ‏  قَالُوْۤا اَرْجِهْ وَاخَاہُ وَاَرْسِلْ فِی الْمَدَآئِنِ حٰشِرِیْنَ ۙ‏  يَاۡتُوۡكَ بِكُلِّ سٰحِرٍ عَلِيۡمٍ‏  وَجَآءَ السَّحَرَةُ فِرۡعَوۡنَ قَالُوۡۤا اِنَّ لَـنَا لَاَجۡرًا اِنۡ كُنَّا نَحۡنُ الۡغٰلِبِيۡنَ‏  قَالَ نَـعَمۡ وَاِنَّكُمۡ لَمِنَ الۡمُقَرَّبِيۡنَ‏  قَالُوۡا يٰمُوۡسٰٓى اِمَّاۤ اَنۡ تُلۡقِىَ وَاِمَّاۤ اَنۡ نَّكُوۡنَ نَحۡنُ الۡمُلۡقِيۡنَ‏  قَالَ اَلۡقُوۡا​ ۚ فَلَمَّاۤ اَلۡقَوۡا سَحَرُوۡۤا اَعۡيُنَ النَّاسِ وَاسۡتَرۡهَبُوۡهُمۡ وَجَآءُوۡ بِسِحۡرٍ عَظِيۡمٍ‏  وَاَوۡحَيۡنَاۤ اِلٰى مُوۡسٰٓى اَنۡ اَلۡقِ عَصَاكَ​ ۚ فَاِذَا هِىَ تَلۡقَفُ مَا يَاۡفِكُوۡنَ ​ۚ‏ 

Translation
(7:100) Has it not, then, become plain to those who have inherited the earth in the wake of the former generations that, had We so willed, We could have afflicted them for their sins,79 (they, however, are heedless to basic facts and so) We seal their hearts so that they hear nothing.80 (7:101) To those [earlier] communities - some of whose stories We relate to you - there had indeed come Messengers with clear proofs, but they would not believe what they had once rejected as false. Thus it is that Allah seals the hearts of those who deny the truth.81 (7:102) We did not find most of them true to their covenants; indeed We found most of them to be transgressors. 82 (7:103) After those We sent forth Moses with Our signs to Pharaoh and his nobles,83 but they dealt with Our signs unjustly.84 Observe, then, what happened to the mischief-makers. (7:104) And Moses said: '0 Pharaoh!85 I am a Messenger from the Lord of the universe. (7:105) And it behoves me to say nothing about Allah except what is true. I have come to you with a clear sign of having been sent from your Lord. So let the Children of Israel go with me.'86 (7:106) Pharaoh said: if you have brought a sign, then bring it forth if you are truthful.' (7:107) Thereupon Moses threw his rod, and suddenly it was a veritable serpent. (7:108) Then he drew out his hand, and it appeared luminous to all beholders.87 (7:109) The elders of Pharaoh's people said: 'Surely this man is a skilful magician (7:110) who seeks to drive you out from your land.88 What would you have us do?' (7:111) Then they advised Pharaoh: 'Put off Moses and his brother for a while, and send forth heralds to your cities (7:112) to summon every skilful magician to your presence.'89 (7:113) And the magicians came to Pharaoh and said: 'Shall we have a reward if we win?' (7:114) Pharaoh replied: 'Certainly, and you shall be among those who are near to me.' (7:115) Then they said: '0 Moses, will you [first] throw your rod, or shall we throw?' (7:116) Moses said: 'You throw.' So when they threw [their rods], they enchanted the eyes of the people, and struck them with awe, and produced a mighty sorcery. (7:117) Then We directed Moses: 'Now you throw your rod.' And lo! it swallowed up all their false devices.90

Commentary

79. Every nation which rises in place of one that falls, can perceive the misdeeds which brought about the preceding nation's fall. Were such a people to make use of their reason, to appreciate the false ideas and misdeeds which led to the undoing of those who once strutted abroad in vainglory, they would have realized that the Supreme Being Who had once punished them for their misdeeds and deprived them of power and glory had not ceased to exist. Nor has that Supreme Being been deprived of the power to inflict a punishment on the people of the present times, a power with which He smote the nations of the past. Nor has God become bereft of the capacity to dislodge the wicked nations of today in the manner He did in the past.

80. Those people who derive no lesson from history, who thoughtlessly pass over the ruins of the past, remaining engrossed in heedlessness, are deprived by God of the capacity to think correctly and to pay due attention to the counsel of well-wishers. Such is the God-made law of nature that if someone closes his eyes, not even a single ray of sun-light will reach his sight. Similarly, if someone is bent upon closing his ears none can make him hear even a word.

81. The purpose behind the 'sealing of hearts' mentioned in the preceding verse is also explained in the present verse. It is clear from the two verses that the 'sealing of hearts' means that man's capacity to hear and understand the truth is seriously, impaired because of the operation of natural, psychological laws. Because of these laws, once a person turns away from the truth because of his irrational prejudices and the dominance of lust, he becomes enmeshed in his own obstinacy and adamance. With the passage of time this adamance is compounded to such an extent that despite all rational and empirical evidence in support of the truth, he continues to reject it.

82. The statement that 'We did not find most of them true to their covenants' signifies the general propensity of people not to honour their commitments. They are neither faithful to the primordial covenant which they made with God see (al-A'raf 7: 172) which is binding on every mortal as God's servant and creature, nor faithful to the collective covenant which is binding on every human being as a member of the human fraternity. Nor are men generally faithful to the commitments which they make to God in hours of distress or in moments when their moral instincts are awake and astir. Violation of any of these covenants has been termed fisq (transgression).

83. The stories narrated in the Qur'an bring home unmistakenly the point that people who reject God's Message are not spared; rather they are destroyed. In narrating at length the story of Moses, Pharaoh and the Israelites, the Qur'an provides some important lessons for the unbelieving Quraysh, the Jews, and also the believers.

The Quraysh are advised that the apparently large differences in the numerical strength of the forces of truth and falsehood in the early phase of the Islamic movement should not lead them to entertain any, kind of illusion. History, provides ample testimony that the Message of truth has always had a very humble beginning. That its proponent, initially, is in the hopelessly small minority of one; in fact, one in the whole world. He then proceeds, despite his resource lessness, to challenge the hegemony of falsehood, to declare war against it, despite the fact that falsehood is backed by powerful states and empires. And ultimately the truth triumphs. The Quraysh are also reminded that all conspiracies hatched against the Prophets and all the means employed to suppress the Message of truth are ultimately foiled. They are further told that God grants long terms of respite to the evil-doing nations so that they might mend their ways and reform themselves. But when they persistently disregard all warnings and learn no lesson from instructive events, He smites them with an exemplary punishment.

Some further lessons are meant to be conveyed to those who believed in the Prophet (peace be on him). First, that they should not feel disheartened by the paucity of resources, nor be overawed by the impressive numerical strength, pomp and grandeur of their enemies. Nor should they lose heart if they find that God's help does not come at the expected hour. Second, that those who follow in the footsteps of the Jews are bound, ultimately, to be seized by the same curse which afflicted the Jews.

As for the Israelites, they are warned against the evil effects of clinging to falsehood. Illustrations of this were provided by important events in their own history. They are also asked to purge the Message of the earlier Prophets of all accretions and distortions and to restore it to its original purity.

84. 'They dealt with Our signs unjustly' refers to their rejection of God's signs and to the fact that they dismissed them as sheer sorcery. If a person scoffs at a beautiful couplet, and dubs it as amateurish rhyming, this amounts to committing an offence against poetry itself. Likewise, to brand those extraordinary acts of God as sorcery and magic - even though magicians declared that those acts were beyond their ability - constitutes a serious offence not only against God's signs but also against common sense and truth.

85. 'Pharaoh' literally means 'the offspring of the sun-god'. The ancient Egyptians called the sun 'Ra', worshipped it as their supreme deity', and Pharaoh - Ra's physical manifestation and representative - was named after it. It was for this reason that all Egyptian rulers claimed their authority on the basis of their association with Ra, and every ruler who mounted the Egyptian throne called himself Pharaoh, trying thereby to assure his people that he was their supreme deity.

It may be noted that the Qur'anic narrative regarding Moses refers to two Pharaohs. The first of these was one during whose reign Moses was born and in whose palace he was brought up. The second Pharaoh to Whorn reference is made is the one whom Moses invited to Islam and who was asked to liberate the Israelites. It is this latter Pharaoh who was finally drowned. Modern scholarship is inclined to the view that the first Pharaoh was Rameses 11 who ruled over Egypt from 1292 B.C. to 1225 B.C. while the second Pharaoh was Minpetah, his son, who had become a co-sharer in his father's authority during the latter's lifetime and who, after his death, became the fully-fledged ruler of Egypt. This, however, is not fully established since Moses, according to the Egyptian calendar, died in 1272 B.C. In any case these are merely historical conjectures. It is quite difficult to establish a clear chronological framework owing to discrepancies in the Egyptian, Israeli and Christian calendars.

86. Moses was sent to Pharaoh to invite him to two things; first, to surrender himself to God (i.e. Islam); and second, to release the Israelites - who were already Muslims - from his oppressive bondage. The Qur'an refers occasionally to both these objectives, and occasionally confines itself to mentioning either of the two.

87. Moses was granted these two miraculous signs in order to provide testimony to his being a Messenger of God, the creator and sovereign of the universe. As we have mentioned earlier, whenever the Prophets introduced themselves as God's Message-bearers, people asked them to produce some miraculous sign, to perform something supernatural. In response to those demands the Prophets produced what the Qur'an terms as 'signs', and which are called 'miracles' by theologians.

Those who tend to play down the supernatural character of such signs or miracles, and who try to explain them in terms of natural laws of causation, in fact attempt to build a mid-way house between believing and disbelieving in the statements of the Qur'an. Such an approach can hardly be considered reasonable. What it does demonstrate, however, is how such people can be pulled in two opposite directions. On the one hand, they are not inclined to believe in a Book which abounds in narrations of a supernatural kind. On the other hand, being born followers of their ancestral religion, they are not inclined to reject the Book which carries supernatural narrations.

With regard to miracles, there are two basic questions that people should ask themselves. Did God, after creating the universe and establishing a system of natural causations therein, suspend Himself such that it is no longer possible for Him to interfere in the workings of the universe? Or does He still hold the reins to His realm in His owns Hands so that His command is enforced every moment, and He does retain the power to alter the shape of things and the normal course of events - either partially or fully, - as and when He wills?

It is impossible for those who respond in the affirmative to the first question to accept the idea of miracles. For clearly miracles do not fit in with their concept of God and the universe. Honesty demands that instead of indulging in far-fetched explanations of Qur'anic statements on miracles, such people should clearly declare that they do not believe in the Qur'an. For quite obviously the Qur'an is explicit, even quite emphatic in affirming the former concept of God.

As for those who, being convinced by Qur'anic arguments, respond in the affirmative to the second question regarding God and the universe, for them there is no difficulty in accepting miracles. Let us take the instance mentioned in verse 107, namely, that the rod of Moses turned into a serpent. Now, there are those who believe that serpents can come into being only through one process - the known biological process. Such people are bound to reject the statement that Moses' rod changed into a serpent and later reverted to its original shape. On the contrary, if you are fully convinced that it is God's command alone which causes life to arise from lifeless matter, and that God has full power to confer whichever kind of life He wills, the transformation of the rod into a serpent and its subsequent reversion to its original state is no stranger than the transformation of any other lifeless matter into a living entity. The fact that the latter happens virtually every day whereas the former took place only a few times in history is not enough to declare the first as incredibly, strange and the second as 'natural'.

88. The above account raises the question as to how a destitute member of the slave Israeli nation could pose such a serious threat to an emperor as mighty as Pharaoh. This is especially so when one considers that Pharaoh was not only an absolute ruler over territory which stretched in one direction from Syria to Libya and in the other from the Mediterranean coast to Ethiopia, but was even considered a deity deserving of worship,

One might also wonder how the transformation of Moses' rod into a serpent could he considered an event of such magnitude as to give rise to the fear that Moses would overthrow the entrenched empire and unseat the royal family as well as the entire ruling class. It might further seem strange that the mere declaration of prophethood and the demand to liberate the people of Israel caused such a furore even though no other political question had been touched upon.

The answer here lies in the fact that Moses' claim to prophethood implied the call to total change, obviously, including political change. For if a person lays claim to be God's Messenger, it implies that people obey him unreservedly. For God's Messengers are not sent to the world to obey other human beings and live in subordination to them; they rather ask others to accept them as their leaders and rulers. It is this which explains why Pharaoh and his coteric felt threatened by an all-out revolution -political, economic and social - when Moses came forth with his call.

There remains the question as to why the claim to prophethood was considered such a potential threat when Moses enjoyed the support of none except his brother, Aaron, and his claim was reinforced by only two miracles - those of the shining hand and the rod which turned into a serpent. This can be explained by two things. First, that Pharaoh and his courtiers knew very well about Moses. All were aware of his extraordinary abilities and his inherent calibre as a leader of men. Also, according to the traditions of the Talmud and Josephus - provided they are authentic -Moses had also learnt the martial arts and other skills which were available only exclusively to royalty and which were required in connection with their political and military leadership. Moreover, he had proved his mettle as a good general during the expedition to Ethiopia. Furthermore, during the course of his eight years of life in Midian - rigorous years in the desert working as a shepherd - he had purged himself of all his weaknesses because of his association with the Pharaonic svstern. Hence. when the Pharaonic court was confronted by a mature, serene and pious man who came forth with the claim of prophethood, it was obviously impossible for them to give short shrift to his claim. Second, the miracles of the rod and the shining hand overawed Pharaoh and his courtiers to such an extent they were almost convinced that Moses did indeed enjoy the support of some supernatural power. That they were unnerved by the very first proof of his prophethood is borne out by the contradictions in their charges against Moses. On the one hand they dubbed Moses a sorcerer, and on the other hand they accused him of plotting to banish them from their own land. It is clear that had they taken Moses for a mere sorcerer, they would not have expressed fears of political upheaval. For sorcery has never brought about any political change in the world.

89. The plan of Pharaoh's courtiers clearly suggests that they knew the difference between mere sorcery and a miracle. They were well aware that miracles are effective and have the capacity to bring about actual transformation whereas sorcery results merely in optic illusion. Hence, they dubbed Moses a sorcerer so as to refute his claim to prophethood. They claimed instead that the transformation of the rod into a serpent was not a miracle; that it was rather a magical performance which could be undertaken by any sorcerer. Therefore, they asked all the sorcerers of the land to come together and display how rods could be magically transformed into serpents. They believed that such a magical show would remove the awesome effect created by Moses' miracles on the people, or at least sow doubts in their minds about those miracles.

90. It would be a mistake to believe that the rod of Moses swallowed up the rods and ropes cast by the other sorcerers and which had looked like serpents. The Qur'anic statement means that the rod of Moses swallowed up the falsehood faked by them. This clearly shows that wherever Moses' rod moved, it destroyed the magical effect which had caused the transformation of their ropes and rods. One blow of Moses' rod caused every other rod to revert to a rod, and every rope to revert to a rope. (For further elaboration see Tafhim al-Qur'an, (Ta Ha 20, n. 42)