Tafseer of The Heights · Al-A'raaf · 7:116
He said, "Throw," and when they threw, they bewitched the eyes of the people and struck terror into them, and they presented a great [feat of] magic.
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.
The statement concerning the explanation of His saying: قَالَ أَلْقُوا فَلَمَّا أَلْقَوْا سَحَرُوا أَعْيُنَ النَّاسِ وَاسْتَرْهَبُوهُمْ وَجَاءُوا بِسِحْرٍ عَظِيمٍ ("He said: Cast! And when they cast, they bewitched the eyes of the people and struck terror into them, and they came with a tremendous sorcery") (116)
Abū Jaʿfar said: He, exalted be His mention, says: Mūsā said to the sorcerers: "Cast!" whatever you wish to cast! Then the sorcerers cast what they had with them, and when they cast that — سَحَرُوا أَعْيُنَ النَّاسِ ("they bewitched the eyes of the people"), they deluded the eyes of the people with the deception and the trickery which they produced, so that it appeared as though it [the staffs and ropes] was gliding along — وَاسْتَرْهَبُوهُمْ ("and struck terror into them"), He says: and they struck the people with terror through what they bewitched in their eyes, until they became afraid of the staffs and the ropes, supposing them to be serpents — وَجَاءُوا ("and they came"), as Allah said, — بِسِحْرٍ عَظِيمٍ ("with a tremendous sorcery"), with a tremendous, great deception, of delusion and trickery. And that is like the following:
14938 - Mūsā ibn Hārūn related to us, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, who said: Mūsā said to them: Cast whatever you wish to cast! Then they cast their ropes and their staffs! And they were upwards of thirty-three thousand men, and there was not among them a man who did not have with him a rope and a staff — فَلَمَّا أَلْقَوْا سَحَرُوا أَعْيُنَ النَّاسِ وَاسْتَرْهَبُوهُمْ ("and when they cast, they bewitched the eyes of the people and struck terror into them"), He says: they struck them with fright, and Mūsā felt fear arise within himself.
14939 - ʿAbd al-Karīm related to me, saying: Ibrāhīm ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, saying: Abū Saʿd related to us, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: They cast thick, long ropes and long pieces of wood, and he said: Then it came toward him, and it appeared to him through their sorcery as though it was gliding along.
14940 - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, who said: Fifteen thousand sorcerers arranged themselves in rows, each sorcerer with his ropes and his staffs. And Mūsā came out, with him his brother who was leaning on his staff, until he reached the multitude, while Firʿawn was in his seat with the notables of his kingdom. Then the sorcerers said: يَا مُوسَى إِمَّا أَنْ تُلْقِيَ وَإِمَّا أَنْ نَكُونَ أَوَّلَ مَنْ أَلْقَى * قَالَ بَلْ أَلْقُوا فَإِذَا حِبَالُهُمْ وَعِصِيُّهُمْ يُخَيَّلُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ سِحْرِهِمْ أَنَّهَا تَسْعَى ("O Mūsā, either you cast, or we shall be the first to cast. * He said: Rather, cast! And behold, their ropes and their staffs appeared to him through their sorcery as though they were gliding along") [Ṭā Hā: 65-66]. And the first thing they took away with their sorcery was the sight of Mūsā and the sight of Firʿawn, and after that the sight of the people. Then each of them cast the staffs and ropes that he had in his hand, and behold, they were serpents as huge as mountains, which had filled the valley, some crawling over others — فَأَوْجَسَ فِي نَفْسِهِ خِيفَةً مُوسَى ("Then Mūsā felt fear arise within himself") [Ṭā Hā: 67], and he said: By Allah, they were truly staffs in their hands, and they have become serpents! And my staff here will do no differently! — or as he spoke to himself.
14941 - Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of Hishām al-Dastawāʾī, who said: al-Qāsim ibn Abī Bazza related to us, saying: Firʿawn gathered seventy thousand sorcerers, and they cast seventy thousand ropes and seventy thousand staffs, until it appeared to him through their sorcery as though they were gliding along.
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Footnotes:
(37) See the explanation of "al-siḥr" (sorcery) in what preceded, p. 19, note 2, and the references there.
(38) See the explanation of "al-siḥr" (sorcery) in what preceded, p. 19, note 2, and the references there.
(39) "Farraqūhum" (with doubling of the rāʾ): they brought upon them "al-faraq" (with fatḥa on the fāʾ and the rāʾ), which is fright.
(40) In the printed edition and the manuscript it reads "as huge as the ropes" with a ḥāʾ, and the correct reading is taken from the Taʾrīkh [of Ṭabarī].
(41) In the printed edition and the manuscript it reads "as huge as the ropes" with a ḥāʾ, and the correct reading is taken from the Taʾrīkh.
(42) In the printed edition and the manuscript it reads "and this will do no differently", with the omission of "my staff"; I have taken it from the Taʾrīkh.
(43) The narration 14940 — this is a part of a long narration which Abū Jaʿfar related in his Taʾrīkh 1:210, 211, and it connects to the preceding narration no. 14934, with a chapter of [other] text in between.
