7-109 The chiefs of Pharaoh’s people said: Surely this is a skilful enchanter!a
قالَ المَلَأُ مِن قَومِ فِرعَونَ إِنَّ هٰذا لَساحِرٌ عَليمٌ (۱۰۹)
7-109a: ساحِر – One who does سِحر and for سِحر see 2:102c. According to Lisan al Arab, سِحر is a spell that possesses the eyes so that it appears that the actual matter is as the person is seeing it although in reality it is not. Further it is stated that سِحر is enchantment and everything whose source or origin is subtle and abstruse is enchantment. It is also stated that سِحر requires a high degree of intelligence and the hadith اِنَّ من البیان لسحرا is presented as an example, explained by Abu Ubaidah as a person who praises somebody to the extent that people believe him to be true and then censures that person to the extent that again people believe him to be true. Ibn Kathir has given its meaning as someone who captures the hearts of the audience with his speech even if what he is saying is not true (LA). Another definition of ساحِر is الساحر العالم الفطن (A very intelligent scholar is called ساحِر ) (T).
The prophets’ opponents often called the prophets as ساحِر because their preaching had an impact on the hearts and minds of people who then became their followers.
7-110 He intends to turn you out of your land. What do you advise?
يُريدُ أَن يُخرِجَكُم مِن أَرضِكُم ۖ فَماذا تَأمُرونَ (۱۱۰)
7-110a: تَأمُرونَ – It is derived from امر andائتمار means advise. Here تَأمُرونَ is in the sense of advice. As is apparent from the context, فَماذا تَأمُرونَ ( What do you advise) is the statement of Pharaoh which is in response to the comment of his chiefs: He intends to turn you out of your land.
7-111 They said: Put him off and his brother, and send summoners into the cities,
قالوا أَرجِه وَأَخاهُ وَأَرسِل فِي المَدائِنِ حاشِرينَ (۱۱۱)
7-112 To bring to thee every skilful enchanter.a
يَأتوكَ بِكُلِّ ساحِرٍ عَليمٍ (۱۱۲)
7-112a: أَرجِه – This takes the place of ارجئه , and ارجاء means to delay or postpone an affair. The purport is that the matter should not be decided immediately and those who are expert in this knowledge should be gathered to hold a competition.
7-113 And the enchanters came to Pharaoh, saying: We must surely have a reward if we prevail.
وَجاءَ السَّحَرَةُ فِرعَونَ قالوا إِنَّ لَنا لَأَجرًا إِن كُنّا نَحنُ الغالِبينَ (۱۱۳)
7-114 He said: Yes, and you shall certainly be of those who are near (to me).
قالَ نَعَم وَإِنَّكُم لَمِنَ المُقَرَّبينَ (۱۱۴)
7-115 They said: O Moses, wilt thou cast, or shall we (be the first to) cast?
قالوا يا موسىٰ إِمّا أَن تُلقِيَ وَإِمّا أَن نَكونَ نَحنُ المُلقينَ (۱۱۵)
7-116 He said: Cast. So when they cast, they deceived the people’s eyes and overawed them, and they produced a mighty enchantment.a
قالَ أَلقوا ۖ فَلَمّا أَلقَوا سَحَروا أَعيُنَ النّاسِ وَاستَرهَبوهُم وَجاءوا بِسِحرٍ عَظيمٍ (۱۱۶)
7-116a: Moses’ competition with enchanters and the enchanter’s cords and rods: What was it that the enchanters cast? In another place, it is stated that they were حِبالَهُم وَعِصِيَّهُم (cords and their rods) (26:44). Were they actual cords and rods? Every means and recourse is called جل and so the purport by it may only be whatever they could do. عصا is often used in a metaphorical sense, as in: قرعه بعصا الملامة which literally means he was beaten with the rod of rebuke, but the actual meaning is he was strongly rebuked. Similarly, the literal meaning of قشرت له العصا is to peel the rod, but the actual meaning is that I spoke what was in my heart. In Taj al-Arus the meaning of العصا is also given as اللسان (language). So, it is possible that the enchanters may have brought with them some cords and rods which they cast, or the meaning could be that they gave false speeches and showed materials in support of falsehood. What comes after ما يَأفِكونَ (up their lies) (7:117) supports the second supposition. In another place, the same events are described in the following words: فَحَشَرَ فَنادىٰ فَقالَ أَنا رَبُّكُمُ الأَعلىٰ (So he gathered and called out. Then he said: I am your Lord, the most High) (79:23-24). This statement is of the same period immediately after the contest. It appears that Pharaoh got the enchanters to declare that he was the biggest deity and there is no other deity besides Pharaoh ما عَلِمتُ لَكُم مِن إِلٰهٍ غَيري (I know no god for you besides myself) (28:38). In contrast, Moses says as follows: فَلَمّا أَلقَوا قالَ موسىٰ ما جِئتُم بِهِ السِّحرُ ۖ إِنَّ اللَّهَ سَيُبطِلُهُ ۖ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يُصلِحُ عَمَلَ المُفسِدينَ وَيُحِقُّ اللَّهُ الحَقَّ بِكَلِماتِهِ وَلَو كَرِهَ المُجرِمونَ (So when they had cast down, Moses said: What you have brought is deception. Surely Allah will make it naught. Surely Allah allows not the work of mischief-makers to thrive. And Allah will establish the truth by His words, though the guilty be averse) (10:81-82). All these events reinforce the strategy of the two sides, on the one hand there is great emphasis on the divinity of Pharaoh and on the other side the emphasis of Moses is on expounding rational arguments for the existence of God. Even if a literal interpretation is made and Pharaoh had gotten some crafty men to impress the masses with the idea that there is some divinity in Pharaoh, then this idea is also entirely conceivable because the eastern nations are often impressed by charlatans. It is easy to attract people who are willing to bow before wind, lightning, rain, fire, trees, stones, and animals with this kind of fraudulent acts. So, Pharaoh gathered some wise men and made them perform some fraudulent act. They probably chose this way because the miracle of the serpent Moses had performed before Pharaoh had garnered a lot of publicity. The party of Pharaoh thought this was some trickery and they would be able to accomplish their end with trickery as well. However, Moses exposed them, the details of which are in the next verse.
7-117 And We revealed to Moses: Cast thy rod. Then lo! it swallowed up their lies.a
وَأَوحَينا إِلىٰ موسىٰ أَن أَلقِ عَصاكَ ۖ فَإِذا هِيَ تَلقَفُ ما يَأفِكونَ (۱۱۷)
7-117a: تَلقَفُ – The meaning of لقف is to take a thing intelligently whether by speech or by hand (R).
يَأفِكونَ – اِفۡك is to turn someone from truth to falsehood. Hence anything that is not in the condition it should be is called اِفۡك. For this reason, an absolute lie is called اِفۡك as in إِنَّ الَّذينَ جاءوا بِالإِفكِ (Surel those who concocted the lie) (24:11).
The rods of the enchanters and the staff of Moses: It is seen from here that the staff of Moses did not have the attribute of turning into a serpent every time it was thrown, and Moses never undertook the initiative himself to throw the staff until he received revelation from God. What was the result of throwing the staff. Whatever lies the enchanters had concocted or however they had turned the truth into falsehood, the staff negated it completely and left no confusion behind. How was this done. The Quran does not give any details of how this was done. There is no mention anywhere either that the staff became a serpent or that the enchanter’s sticks had become snakes. There is only mention that the enchantment made it appear that the cords and rods were running but when Moses threw his staff, it ate up the lies of the enchanters and the truth became apparent. The idea that the staff became a serpent and swallowed the enchanter’s rods is just a conjecture. This same staff when it came time to cross the sea did not become a serpent. The consequence of what happened at the contest was that the enchanters believed in Moses and their saying: آمَنّا بِآياتِ رَبِّنا (we believed in the message of our Lord) (7:126) shows that it was not just the miracle of the staff that convinced them because that would have been only one message or act. Further, one is called not to believe in a miracle but to believe in the commandments of God. It is conceivable that the hearts of an idol-worshipping nation may have become convinced of the Oneness of Allah.
7-118 So the truth was established, and that which they did became null.
فَوَقَعَ الحَقُّ وَبَطَلَ ما كانوا يَعمَلونَ (۱۱۸)
7-119 There they were vanquished, and they went back abased.
فَغُلِبوا هُنالِكَ وَانقَلَبوا صاغِرينَ (۱۱۹)
7-120 And the enchanters fell down prostrate —
وَأُلقِيَ السَّحَرَةُ ساجِدينَ (۱۲۰)
7-121 They said: We believe in the Lord of the worlds,
قالوا آمَنّا بِرَبِّ العالَمينَ (۱۲۱)
7-122 The Lord of Moses and Aaron.a
رَبِّ موسىٰ وَهارونَ (۱۲۲)
7-122a: The Bible and the enchanters’ belief: The Bible does not mention, where it narrates the contest, that the enchanters believed. However, it is mentioned in the Jewish tradition. This is also supported by Exodus 12:38 where the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt is mentioned: And a mixed multitude went up also with them. This shows that besides the Israelites, some other people had also believed in the message of Moses. Further it is stated in the Jewish Encyclopedia: For the Egyptians, when the time fixed for Moses descent from the mountain had expired, came in a body, forty thousand of them, accompanied by two Egyptian magicians, Yanos and Yambros, the same who imitated Moses in producing the signs and the plagues in Egypt. These are the same two magicians who had competed with Moses as is mentioned in 2. Timothy 3:8.
7-123 Pharaoh said: You believe in Him before I give you permission! Surely this is a plot which you have plotted in the city, to turn out of it its people, but you shall know!
قالَ فِرعَونُ آمَنتُم بِهِ قَبلَ أَن آذَنَ لَكُم ۖ إِنَّ هٰذا لَمَكرٌ مَكَرتُموهُ فِي المَدينَةِ لِتُخرِجوا مِنها أَهلَها ۖ فَسَوفَ تَعلَمونَ (۱۲۳)
7-124 I shall certainly cut off your hands and your feet on opposite sides, then I shall crucify you all together!
أُقَطِّعَنَّ أَيدِيَكُم وَأَرجُلَكُم مِن خِلافٍ ثُمَّ لَأُصَلِّبَنَّكُم أَجمَعينَ (۱۲۴)
7-125 They said: Surely to our Lord do we return.
قالوا إِنّا إِلىٰ رَبِّنا مُنقَلِبونَ (۱۲۵)
7-126 And thou takest revenge on us only because we believed in the messages of our Lord when they came to us. Our Lord, pour out on us patience and cause us to die in submission (to Thee)!a
وَما تَنقِمُ مِنّا إِلّا أَن آمَنّا بِآياتِ رَبِّنا لَمّا جاءَتنا ۚ رَبَّنا أَفرِغ عَلَينا صَبرًا وَتَوَفَّنا مُسلِمينَ (۱۲۶)
7-126a: The difference between a believer and a disbeliever is shown here. When the enchanters were in a state of disbelief, they were craving a monetary gift from Pharaoh but now they do not even care about losing their life because they have found God.
Bayan-ul-Quran 