Tafseer of Taa-Haa · Taa-Haa · 20:72
They said, "Never will we prefer you over what has come to us of clear proofs and [over] He who created us. So decree whatever you are to decree. You can only decree for this worldly life.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
His saying قَالَ آمَنْتُمْ لَهُ قَبْلَ أَنْ آذَنَ لَكُمْ — Allah the Exalted says: Pharaoh said to the magicians: have you affirmed Mūsā and acknowledged what he called you to, before I gave you permission to do so? إِنَّهُ لَكَبِيرُكُمُ — He says: indeed, Mūsā is your foremost leader. الَّذِي عَلَّمَكُمُ السِّحْرَ .
As Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, who said: I was informed from Wahb ibn Munabbih, who said: when the magicians said آمَنَّا بِرَبِّ هَارُونَ وَمُوسَى — Pharaoh said to them, full of indignation, after he had seen the victory and the clear proof: آمَنْتُمْ لَهُ قَبْلَ أَنْ آذَنَ لَكُمْ إِنَّهُ لَكَبِيرُكُمُ الَّذِي عَلَّمَكُمُ السِّحْرَ — that is to say: the great master of the magicians who taught you.
His saying: فَلأُقَطِّعَنَّ أَيْدِيَكُمْ وَأَرْجُلَكُمْ مِنْ خِلافٍ — He says: I shall surely cut off your hands and your feet on alternate sides, and that is done by cutting off the right hand and the left foot, or the left hand and the right foot — so that the cutting is done on alternate sides (min khilāf). It is mentioned that Pharaoh was the first to do this, and we have already mentioned the report concerning this. His saying وَلأُصَلِّبَنَّكُمْ فِي جُذُوعِ النَّخْلِ — He says: I shall surely crucify you upon the trunks of the palm trees — as the poet said:
"They crucified the man of ʿAbd al-Qays upon the trunk of a palm tree — / may the nose of Šaybān be forever mutilated."
He means: upon the trunk of a palm tree. Here one says "fī judhūʿ" (in the trunks) because the crucified one is drawn up upon the wood along his full length and then rests upon it, so that one says: he is crucified upon it.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning وَلأُصَلِّبَنَّكُمْ فِي جُذُوعِ النَّخْلِ : when the magicians saw what Mūsā had brought, they knew that it was from Allah, and they fell down in sujūd and then believed. The enemy of Allah said: فَلأُقَطِّعَنَّ أَيْدِيَكُمْ وَأَرْجُلَكُمْ مِنْ خِلافٍ ... to the end of the verse.
Mūsā ibn Hārūn related to us, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: Pharaoh said فَلأُقَطِّعَنَّ أَيْدِيَكُمْ وَأَرْجُلَكُمْ مِنْ خِلافٍ وَلأُصَلِّبَنَّكُمْ فِي جُذُوعِ النَّخْلِ — he killed them and cut them off. As ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās said after they had said رَبَّنَا أَفْرِغْ عَلَيْنَا صَبْرًا وَتَوَفَّنَا مُسْلِمِينَ — and he said: they were at the beginning of the day magicians and at the end of the day martyrs (šuhadāʾ).
His saying وَلَتَعْلَمُنَّ أَيُّنَا أَشَدُّ عَذَابًا وَأَبْقَى — He says: you shall surely know, O magicians, which of us punishes you more severely and more enduringly — I or Mūsā.
