20:60 Taa-Haa (Taa-Haa)

فقال موسى: { مَوْعِدُكُمْ يَوْمُ الزِّينَةِ } وهو عيدهم، الذي يتفرغون فيه ويقطعون شواغلهم، { وَأَنْ يُحْشَرَ النَّاسُ ضُحًى } أي: يجمعون كلهم في وقت الضحى، وإنما سأل موسى ذلك، لأن يوم الزينة ووقت الضحى فيه يحصل فيه من كثرة الاجتماع، ورؤية الأشياء على حقائقها، ما لا يحصل في غيره، { فَتَوَلَّى فِرْعَوْنُ فَجَمَعَ كَيْدَهُ } أي: جميع ما يقدر عليه، مما يكيد به موسى، فأرسل في مدائنه من يحشر السحرة الماهرين في سحرهم، وكان السحر إذ ذاك، متوفرا، وعلمه علما مرغوبا فيه، فجمع خلقا كثيرا من السحرة، ثم أتى كل منهما للموعد، واجتمع الناس للموعد.فكان الجمع حافلا، حضره الرجال والنساء، والملأ، والأشراف، والعوام، والصغار، والكبار، وحضوا الناس على الاجتماع، وقالوا للناس: { هَلْ أَنْتُمْ مُجْتَمِعُونَ* لَعَلَّنَا نَتَّبِعُ السَّحَرَةَ إِنْ كَانُوا هُمُ الْغَالِبِينَ }

يقول تعالى مخبرا عن فرعون أنه لما تواعد هو وموسى إلى وقت ومكان معلومين تولى أي شرع في جمع السحرة من مدائن مملكته كل من ينسب إلى السحر في ذلك الزمان وقد كان السحر فيهم كثيرا نافقا جدا كما قال تعالى" وقال فرعون ائتوني بكل ساحر عليم" ثم أتي أي اجتمع الناس لميقات يوم معلوم وهو يوم الزينة وجلس فرعون على سرير مملكته واصطف له أكابر دولته ووقفت الرعايا يمنة ويسرة وأقبل موسى متوكئا على عصاه ومعه أخوه هارون ووقف السحرة بين يدي فرعون صفوفا وهو يحرضهم ويحثهم ويرغبهم في إجادة عملهم في ذلك اليوم ويتمنون عليه وهو يعدهم ويمنيهم يقولون" أئن لنا لأجرا إن كنا نحن الغالبين قال نعم وإنكم إذا لمن المقربين".

The Meeting of the Two Parties, Musa's Propagation of the Message and the Magicians

Allah, the Exalted informs that when Fir`awn and Musa agreed to an appointed meeting at a specified place and time, Fir`awn began to gather some magicians from the cities of his kingdom. Every person who had any affiliation with magic at that time was summoned, and magic was very widespread and in demand at that time. This is as Allah says,

وَقَالَ فِرْعَوْنُ ائْتُونِى بِكُلِّ سَـحِرٍ عَلِيمٍ

(And Fir`awn said: "Bring me every well-versed sorcerer.") 10:79 Then, the day came. It was the day when all of the people gathered, which was well-known, being the day of the festival. Fir`awn was there sitting upon his throne surrounded by the elite officials of his kingdom. The subjects were all standing on his right and his left. Then, Musa came forward leaning upon his stick accompanied by his brother Harun. The magicians were standing in front of Fir`awn in rows and he was prodding them, inciting them and encouraging them to do their best on this day. They wanted to please him and he was promising them and inspiring them. They said,

فَلَمَّا جَآءَ السَّحَرَةُ قَالُواْ لِفِرْعَوْنَ أَإِنَّ لَنَا لاّجْراً إِن كُنَّا نَحْنُ الْغَـلِبِينَ - قَالَ نَعَمْ وَإِنَّكُمْ إِذاً لَّمِنَ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ

(Will there surely be a reward for us if we are the winners He (Fir`awn) said: "Yes, and you shall then verily be of those brought near (to myself).") 26:41-42

قَالَ لَهُمْ مُّوسَى وَيْلَكُمْ لاَ تَفْتَرُواْ عَلَى اللَّهِ كَذِباً

(Musa said to them: "Woe unto you! Invent not a lie against Allah...") This means, "Do not make an illusion before the people of something that is not real, making it appear as if it were a creature, when it is not really a creature. If you do this, then you would be lying on Allah."

فَيُسْحِتَكُم بِعَذَابٍ

(lest He (Allah) should destroy you completely by a torment.) This means, `He will destroy you with a destructive punishment that will not spare anything, or anyone.'

وَقَدْ خَابَ مَنِ افْتَرَىفَتَنَـزَعُواْ أَمْرَهُمْ بَيْنَهُمْ

("...And surely, he who invents a lie will fail miserably." Then they debated one with another what they must do,) It has been said that this means that they argued among themselves. So one of them said, "This is not the speech of a magician, but it is the speech of a Prophet." Another said, "No, he is only a magician." There are other opinions that have been mentioned about what they discussed. And Allah knows best. Allah's statement,

وَأَسَرُّواْ النَّجْوَى

(and they kept their talk secret.) means, they held secret counsel among themselves about this matter.

قَالُواْ إِنْ هَـذَنِ لَسَاحِرَنِ

(They said: "Verily, these are two Hadhan magicians...") This is a way of speaking with some of the Arabs and this Ayah has been recited according to the grammar of their dialect. There are also others who recite it as, (إِنَّ هَذَيْنِ لَسَاحِرَانِ) Which carries the same meaning, "Verily, these are two Hadhayn magicians." This is the popular style of language in Arabic grammar. The grammarians have extensive discussions in reply to the first recitation and its grammatical explanation, but this is not the place for such a discussion. The main point is that the magicians said among themselves, "You all know that this man and his brother (Musa and Harun) are two knowledgeable magicians who are quite aware of the skill of magic. They want to defeat you and your people today and conquer the people, causing the masses to follow them. They want to fight against Fir`awn and his armies, and they are seeking victory over him. And their ultimate goal is to expel you from your land." Concerning Allah's statement,

وَيَذْهَبَا بِطَرِيقَتِكُمُ الْمُثْلَى

(and to take you away from your exemplary way.) This means, `they want to expose this way (of yours) openly, which is magic.' For verily, they were considered great because of their magic. They had wealth and sustenance because of this magic. They were actually saying, "If these two (Musa and Harun) are victorious, they will destroy you and expel you from your land. In doing so, they will be the first individuals to do so, and they will be given great power of leadership without you." Ibn `Abbas mentioned concerning Allah's statement,

وَيَذْهَبَا بِطَرِيقَتِكُمُ الْمُثْلَى

(and to take you away from your exemplary way. ) "This means their kingdom, which they were in, and their livelihood." `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd said, "This superior way means that which they were upon."

فَأَجْمِعُواْ كَيْدَكُمْ ثُمَّ ائْتُواْ صَفّاً

(So devise your plot, and assemble in line.) This means, "All of you come together in one row, and throw that which is in your hands at one time in order to dazzle the eyes (of the people) and defeat this man and his brother."

وَقَدْ أَفْلَحَ الْيَوْمَ مَنِ اسْتَعْلَى

(And whoever overcomes this day will be indeed successful.) meaning "Between you and us. As for us (the magicians), we have been promised to be given an abundance of power and sovereignty. And in reference to him (Musa), He will gain great leadership."

Then Pharaoh withdrew retreated and summoned up his guile that is to say those human elements of his guile from among the sorcerers and then came with them to the tryst.

Commentary

The words فَجَمَعَ كَيْدَهُ (and put his plot together) in verse 60 indicate that the Pharaoh assembled his magicians and their tools. According to Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ there were seventy two magicians but others have put their number at figures which vary from four hundred to nine hundred thousand. Their leader was a blind man whose name was Sham` un (شمعُون).