Tafsir of Surah Al-A'raf - Verse 116

إِمَّآ أَن تُلْقِىَ وَإِمَّآ أَن نَّكُونَ نَحْنُ الْمُلْقِينَ

(Either you throw (first), or shall we have the (first) throw) before you. In another Ayah, they said,

وَإِمَّآ أَن نَّكُونَ أَوَّلَ مَنْ أَلْقَى

(Or we be the first to throw) 20:65. Musa said to them, you throw first. It was said that the wisdom behind asking them to throw first, is that - Allah knows best - the people might witness the magicians' sorcery first. When the magicians had cast their spell and captured the eyes, the clear and unequivocal truth came, at a time when they all anticipated and waited for it to come, thus making the truth even more impressive to their hearts. This is what happened. Allah said,

فَلَمَّآ أَلْقُوْاْ سَحَرُواْ أَعْيُنَ النَّاسِ وَاسْتَرْهَبُوهُمْ

(So when they threw, they bewitched the eyes of the people, and struck terror into them,) meaning, they deceived the eyes and made them think that thet trick was real, when it was only an illusion, just as Allah said,

فَأَوْجَسَ فِى نَفْسِهِ خِيفَةً مُّوسَى - قُلْنَا لاَ تَخَفْ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ الاٌّعْلَى - وَأَلْقِ مَا فِى يَمِينِكَ تَلْقَفْ مَا صَنَعُواْ إِنَّمَا صَنَعُواْ كَيْدُ سَاحِرٍ وَلاَ يُفْلِحُ السَّـحِرُ حَيْثُ أَتَى

(So Musa conceived fear in himself. We (Allah) said: "Fear not! Surely, you will have the upper hand. And throw that which is in your right hand! It will swallow up that which they have made. That which they have made is only a magician's trick, and the magician will never be successful, to whatever amount (of skill) he may attain") 20:67-69. Ibn `Abbas commented that the magicians threw, "Thick ropes and long sticks, and they appeared to be crawling, an illusion that they created with their magic."

Ibn Kathir has said that the prophet Musa (علیہ السلام) behaved with them politely by inviting them to have their turn first. The effect of this behaviour was that they accepted the faith after their defeat. Here we are faced with a question. The sorcery is an impermissible act, especially when it is used to oppose a prophet sent by Allah it becomes an act of infidelity. How then the prophet Musa (علیہ السلام) gave permission of magic to the sorcerers by saying 'you drop'? With a little thought we can find the answer. It was certain that the sorcerers will show their magic by all means. The point of conversation was to decide who should start the contest. The prophet Musa (علیہ السلام) allowed them to begin. Another advantage of this strategy was that the people could see their performance and the sorcerers had all the time to show their art and turn the staves into snakes. Then the staff of the prophet Musa (علیہ السلام) should turn into a serpent and eat up all the snakes, thus the open defeat of magic should be exhibited before the people. (Bayan- al- Qur'an)

فَلَمَّا أَلْقَوْا سَحَرُ‌وا أَعْيُنَ النَّاسِ وَاسْتَرْ‌هَبُوهُمْ وَجَاءُوا بِسِحْرٍ‌ عَظِيمٍ

So, when they threw, they bewitched the eyes of the people, and made them frightened, and came out with great sorcery. (116)

This verse indicates that this demonstration of their magic was just a bewitching of the eyes of the people which made them see the staffs and strings as snakes leaping on the ground, while the strings and the staffs did not change physically. It was a kind of mesmerism hypnotising the minds of the onlookers. This does not mean that sorcery is confined only in this kind and that it cannot change some-thing into another, as we do not have any proof against it. On the contrary, many forms and kinds of magic have been taken as being reality. The terms magic and sorcery are usually applied for all the acts that seem to be happening in unusual way. Sleight of hand, telepathic influences and mesmerism are sometimes called magic. Trans-formation of one thing into another through magic may be a possibility but we have no valid reason or proof for or against it.

Prophet’s are given miracles according to the mindset of their contemporaries. In ancient Egypt magic captivated the minds of the people, so Moses was given the miracle of magic. As planned by Pharaoh, on the occasion of the national festival, all their great magicians assembled. The magicians asked Moses whether they should perform their feat first, or whether he would like to start the proceedings. Moses asked them to demonstrate their magic first, and they accepted. This shows that a prophet never takes the initiative in taking action against his enemy. Till the last moment he gives his opponents the opportunity to open hostilities. When his opponents, in this way, have already taken upon themselves the responsibility of initiating action, at that time the prophet uses all the powers at his command to subdue them. Presenting the ideology of Islam theoretically, a prophet takes the first step, but he never takes the initiative when it could lead to an offensive action.