Transliteration:( Qaala alqoo falam maaa alqaw saharooo a'yunannaasi wastarhaboohum wa jaaa'oo bisihrin 'azeem )
Musa said: "You throw." When they threw, they enchanted the eyes of the people and frightened them, and they brought forth a great magic.
Musa (peace be upon him) allowed the magicians to throw first, not to endorse magic, but to expose and nullify falsehood openly. This shows that it is not forbidden to permit an act temporarily when the aim is to defeat disbelief or sin publicly. Interestingly, the magicians only gained true faith after showing respect to Musa by seeking his permission—this reverence became their path to guidance and testimony.
The magic performed was not real; it was a visual deception that tricked the eyes and stirred fear. Magic lacks true substance—it manipulates perception. In contrast, divine miracles and saintly wonders (karamat) are real and actual, not illusions. Allah clearly differentiates miracles from tricks, as He said: “Now We shall restore it to its former condition” (Surah Taha, 20:21).
According to Tafseer traditions, the magicians brought with them so many ropes and sticks that they filled three hundred camels. Their performance turned the entire ground into a terrifying sea of writhing serpents, overwhelming the people with a grand display of illusion—a spectacle unmatched in Egypt until that moment.
The tafsir of Surah Al-A’raf verse 116 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah A’raf ayat 115 which provides the complete commentary from verse 115 through 116.
(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.
There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.
[394]- Their staffs and ropes appeared as writhing snakes.
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