Tafsir of Az-Zukhruf 43:49

"And they said, 'O you magician'": The majority stated: This is an address of exaltation. They used to call a skillful scholar a "magician" to express their veneration for his mastery. This is narrated in Majma' al-Bayan from al-Kalbi and al-Jubba'i. It is said: The meaning is "O you who overcame the one who practiced magic against you, and thus defeated him," similar to khasamahu fa-khasamahu (he contended with him and defeated him); this too is an address of exaltation. It is also said: "Magician" is used in its well-known sense, as they had become accustomed to calling him—peace be upon him—by that title. Although the nature of their request for supplication from him—peace be upon him—would necessitate that they not address him as such, the intensity of their distress caused their tongues to slip into what they were accustomed to saying. It is also said: It is an address of mockery and disparagement, dictated by their stubbornness and increased foolishness; this has been narrated from al-Hasan.

Az-Zamakhshari refuted the contradiction between this address and their subsequent statement, "Indeed, we are guided," by arguing that the latter statement was a promise they intended to break, a covenant they resolved to violate, and one made conditional upon his supplicating for them and the torment being lifted from them. The problem with this is that even if the promise were intended to be broken, manifesting that breach while pleading to him—peace be upon him—contradicts their goal of softening his heart.

It is said: The most apparent view is that they said "O Musa," as stated in al-A'raf, but Allah the Exalted narrated their speech here according to their state of mind and in line with what was in their hearts, as a way to disparage it and to console His Beloved—may Allah bless him and grant him peace. This would be the inverse of His saying—the Almighty—: "Indeed, we have killed the Messiah, 'Isa the son of Maryam, the Messenger of Allah." Under this interpretation, their subsequent statement is a summary of the faith and the sending of the Children of Israel which was detailed there. Thus, there is no need to commit to the idea that these two statements were made in two separate sessions to reconcile the two accounts; this [reconciliation] is not devoid of far-fetchedness, whereas the aforementioned commitment [to their words reflecting their hearts] does not contain any harm. It has been recited as "O you (the) magician" (ya ayyuha-s-sahir) with a damma on the ha.

"Call upon your Lord for us to lift the torment from us by that which He has covenanted with you": That is, by His covenant with you. The intent behind it is Prophethood, which is termed a "covenant" either because Allah the Exalted covenanted with His Prophet—peace be upon him—to honor him with it, and the Prophet covenanted with his Lord—the Almighty—to bear its burdens; or because of the hardship involved in bearing its burdens and the distinction [granted] as is the case between two parties in a covenant; or because it has rights that must be preserved just as a covenant is preserved; or [it is derived] from the "covenant" ('ahd) which is written for governors, as if Prophethood is a royal decree from Allah the Exalted appointing the one whom He honored with it.

The ba (in bi-ma 'ahida) is either connected to "call upon," or it relates to a suppressed state (hal) from the pronoun within it—meaning, while seeking a means of approach to Him—the Exalted—through that which He has covenanted, or [it relates to] a suppressed element indicated by their plea, such as "Aid us in what we request." Alternatively, it may be for swearing an oath, in which case the response follows later. In this case, it is an oath in reality; on the previous interpretation, it is a "supplicatory oath." On the first view, it is for causation—though including it under "supplicatory" is a deviation from technical terminology. It is permissible that "covenant" means "supplication," as if it were said: "By that which He has covenanted to you, honoring you through the answering of your prayer," or "a covenant to lift the torment from whoever is guided." The issue of the ba in both views follows what has already been mentioned. It is also possible that "covenant" means faith and obedience—that is, "by that which you have covenanted/pledged with yourself, and you have fulfilled it," based on the [form] "He made a covenant with him that he would do such and such," i.e., he took a pledge from him to do it; from this comes the "covenant" written for governors. "With you" ('indaka) dispenses with the need to mention the sila (relative clause) while conveying that it is preserved and stored with the addressee. The best [reading] in this case is for "what" (ma) to be a relative pronoun (mawsuul), and this interpretation—as in al-Kashshaf—is sound in wording, meaning, and context, as is not hidden from those with insight.

"Indeed, we are guided": [meaning] We are believers, firm in faith. This is either conditional upon the lifting of the torment, as in their statement narrated in Surat al-A'raf: "If you lift the plague from us, we will surely believe in you," or it is unconditional. In that case, it is necessary that this [statement] occurred in another session. If we say they did not request the prayer except once, or more than once but in the same style, it is said here: They intended by "guidance" the faith and the sending of the Children of Israel, as you heard just now.