Tafsir of Surah Ash-Shu'ara' - Verse 49

Between Fir`awn and the Sorcerers

His threats against them resulted only in an increase in their faith and submission to Allah, for the veil of disbelief had been lifted from their hearts and the truth became clear to them because they knew something that their people did not: that what Musa had done could not have been done by any human being unless Allah helped him, making it proof and an evidence of the truth of what he had brought from his Lord. Then Fir`awn said to them:

ءَامَنتُمْ لَهُ قَبْلَ أَنْ ءَاذَنَ لَكُمْ

(You have believed in him before I give you leave.) meaning, `you should have asked my permission for what you did, and you did not consult with me; if I had given you permission you could have done it, and if I did not allow you, you should not have done it, for I am the ruler and the one to be obeyed.'

إِنَّهُ لَكَبِيرُكُمُ الَّذِى عَلَّمَكُمُ السِّحْرَ

(Surely, he indeed is your chief, who has taught you magic!) This is stubborn talk, and anyone can see that it is nonsense, for they had never met Musa before that day, so how could he have been their chief who taught them how to do magic No rational person would say this. Then Fir`awn threatened to cut off their hands and feet, and crucify them. They said:

لاَ ضَيْرَ

(No harm!) meaning, `no problem, that will not harm us and we do not care.'

إِنَّآ إِلَى رَبِّنَا مُنقَلِبُونَ

(Surely, to our Lord we are to return.) means, `the return of us all is to Allah, may He be glorified, and He will never allow the reward of anyone who has done good to be lost. What you have done to us is not hidden from Him, and He will reward us in full for that.' So they said:

إِنَّا نَطْمَعُ أَن يَغْفِرَ لَنَا رَبُّنَا خَطَـيَـنَآ

(Verily, we really hope that our Lord will forgive us our sins,) `the sins we have committed and the magic you forced us to do.'

أَن كُنَّآ أَوَّلَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ

(as we are the first of the believers,) means, because we are the first of our people, the Egyptians, to believe. So he killed them all.

بِعِزَّةِ فِرْ‌عَوْنَ (By the majesty of the Pharaoh - 26:44). This was an expression of pledge from the magicians, which was in vogue in the olden times. It is unfortunate that similar oaths have now become common among the Muslims as well, which are even more evil and vile, for instance, 'by the king,' 'by the head of yours,' 'by the beard of yours,' 'by the grave of your father' etc. It is not permitted to make an oath of this nature under the Islamic law (because swearing in the name of someone other than Allah is a sin). Rather, it will not be wrong to say that swearing a true oath in this way is as much sinful as swearing a false oath in the name of Allah. (Ruh)

The embracing of the Faith by the magicians was a cause of great disgrace to Pharaoh. So, in order to salvage his position, he dubbed the whole incident a conspiracy. He alleged that they had colluded with Moses and that they had intentionally pretended to be defeated by him, so that Moses’s greatness could be impressed on the people’s hearts. Pharaoh announced his decision to the magicians that they would be punished for sedition; that their hands and legs would be cut off at random and they would be publicly crucified. In spite of these draconian orders, the magicians were not discouraged. Those very same magicians who had earlier pledged their allegiance to Pharaoh (verse 41) and asked to be rewarded, now fearlessly proclaimed that whatever Pharaoh did, they were not going to be dissuaded from accepting Moses’s religion. The reason for this high morale of theirs was the discovery of Faith. A man bears a loss when, by this loss, he expects to find something greater. Before embracing the faith, the greatest things the magicians could hope to have now were Pharaoh’s approval and his reward. But on embracing true religion, God and His Paradise now appeared to them to be greater than all else. That is why they were now ready to bear the losses of those very things which, prior to embracing the Faith, they had held too dear to part with.