Tafsir of Ta-Ha 20:61

61. Moses said to them...

The Almighty did not mention the coming of Moses (peace be upon him), but said—Exalted and Majestic is He—“Moses said to them,” to indicate that it is a realized matter, dispensing with the need to explicitly state it. The sentence is an isti’naf bayani (explanatory resumption), as if it were asked: "What did Moses (peace be upon him) do when Pharaoh brought forth those he had gathered of the sorcerers?" Thus, it is said: He spoke to them by way of admonition, “Woe to you! Do not fabricate a lie against Allah,” by claiming that the signs which will appear at my hands are sorcery, as Pharaoh has done, “lest He extirpate you with a punishment,” meaning: that He might utterly destroy you because of that “with a punishment” so overwhelming that its magnitude cannot be measured. A group of the seven [reciters] and Ibn Abbas read “faysahatukum” with a fatha on the ya and the ha from the triliteral root, according to the dialect of the people of Hejaz, while is-hat is the dialect of Najd and Tamim. The origin of this [word] is the complete shaving of hair, then it was used generally for destruction and extirpation. “And he has failed who has fabricated” [a lie] against Allah Almighty, whoever he may be and in whatever manner it may be. Thus, the fabrication that is forbidden enters into this primarily. Or, it means: Pharaoh, the fabricator, has failed, so do not be like him in failure and lack of success in obtaining your objective. The sentence is a parenthetical clause confirming the content of what preceded it.