Tafsir of Ta-Ha 20:65-69

Tā-Hā (20:65-69)

{They said, "O Moses, either you throw first, or we will be the first to throw."}

It is noted that since the appointed time (the Day of the Gathering) and the instruction {Then come forth in ranks} (20:64) were previously mentioned, there was no need to explicitly state, "So they came to this place."

Their statement, {Either you throw first, or we will be the first to throw}, means: either you cast down what you have before us, or we cast down what we have before you. This offering of choice is a sign of good manners and humility on their part. Consequently, God Almighty blessed them with faith through the virtue of Moses (peace be upon him).

Moses (peace be upon him) responded to their good manners with equal courtesy, saying: {Rather, you throw.}

Regarding the phrase {Rather, you throw}, there are two questions:

The answer comes in several ways:

1. We do not concede that the act of throwing itself is disbelief or disobedience. If they threw, and their goal was to reveal the difference between their casting and the miracle of the Messenger (Moses), then that casting was an act of faith. Disbelief lies only in the intention to deny Moses. Moses (peace be upon him) commanded the act of throwing, not the intention to deny. Thus, the question is resolved.
2. That command was conditional. The meaning is: {Cast down what you are going to cast down} (26:43), if you are truthful, just as in the verse {Then bring forth a Sūrah like it, if you are truthful} (2:23), meaning, if you are capable.
3. Since that act became the means to uncover the doubt, it became permissible. This is like a truth-seeker who knows someone harbors a doubt, and if he does not demand that person articulate and present that doubt to the fullest extent possible, the doubt will remain in their heart, potentially leading them out of faith. In such a case, the truth-seeker is permitted to demand its articulation in the strongest manner, with the goal of answering it and removing its effect from the heart. Thus, demanding the articulation of the doubt for this purpose is permissible, and so it is here.
4. It was not a command, but rather meant: If you wish to do it, there is no physical impediment, so that the truth may be revealed.
5. Moses (peace be upon him) undoubtedly disliked that action, and he certainly forbade them from it by saying, {Woe to you! Do not invent a lie against God, lest He destroy you with punishment} (20:61). Since this is the case, it is impossible that his statement is a command for them to do it, as combining prohibition and command for the same action is impossible. Therefore, we know that his statement is not to be taken at its apparent meaning, and the difficulty is removed.

It is not permissible for someone to say that Moses (peace be upon him) did this because they preceded him by offering themselves first. Such reciprocity is appropriate in matters concerning personal interest, but not in matters concerning evidence and doubt.

The answer is: Moses (peace be upon him) had already displayed the miracle once, so there was no need to display it again. The people came only to challenge him. Moses (peace be upon him) said: If I had started by displaying the miracle first, I would have been the cause of their proceeding to display magic and intending to invalidate the miracle, which is impermissible. Rather, I leave the matter to them so that, by their own choice, they display that magic, and then I display the miracle that invalidates their magic. In this scenario, my action becomes the cause for removing the doubt. However, in the first scenario, my action would have been the cause for the doubt arising. Therefore, the latter approach was preferable.

{Then behold, their ropes and their staffs appeared to him, from their magic, as if they were moving serpents.}

Regarding this verse, there are several issues:

Ibn Abbas (may God be pleased with him) said: {They threw their ropes and their staffs}—a mile in this direction and a mile in that direction. It was made to appear to Moses (peace be upon him) as if the entire earth were snakes moving. He became afraid. When he was told: {Throw what is in your right hand; it will swallow what they have made}, Moses threw his staff. It immediately became larger than their snakes, and it continued to grow until it filled the valley. Then it rose up until its tail reached the edge of the dome. Then it descended and ate everything they had made in those two miles. The people watched it, thinking it was still magic. Then it turned toward Pharaoh, opening its mouth eighty cubits wide to swallow him. Pharaoh cried out to Moses (peace be upon him), so Moses took it, and it returned to being a staff as it was. The magicians looked and saw that nothing remained of their ropes and staffs. If it had not been magic, their ropes and staffs would have remained. They fell down prostrating and said: {We believe in the Lord of the worlds, the Lord of Moses and Aaron} (7:121-122).

There is disagreement regarding the number of magicians. Al-Qāsim ibn Sallām said: They were seventy thousand, and each one had a staff and a rope. Al-Suddī said: They were thirty-odd thousand, each with a staff and a rope. Wahb said: They were fifteen thousand. Ibn Jurayj and 'Ikrimah said: They were nine hundred: three hundred from Persia, three hundred from Rome, and three hundred from Alexandria. Al-Kalbī said: They were seventy-two magicians; two were Copts, and seventy were Israelites whom Pharaoh forced to do this. It is known that differences and variations exist in many numbers, and the apparent meaning of the Qur'an does not indicate any specific number. When accounts conflict, they cancel each other out.

The author of Al-Kashshāf said: The idhā (when) here is the idhā of suddenness (mufāja'ah). The verification is that it is the idhā that signifies time, requiring a following accusative verb (nāṣib), and the clause it modifies is added to it. In some instances, it is specified to take an accusative verb, which is the verb of suddenness, and the clause itself is merely an initial statement. Thus, the meaning of {Then behold, their ropes and their staffs} is: Then Moses was suddenly confronted with their ropes and staffs, which appeared to him to be moving. This is a metaphor. The meaning is that their ropes and staffs were made to appear to him as moving.

{And their staffs} ('iṣiyyuhum) was read with a ḍammah (vowel 'u'), which is the origin, and with a kasrah (vowel 'i') as an echo, like dalī and dalī, or qisī and qisī. {They appeared} (yukhayyal) was read with a tā' dotted from above, attributing the action to the ropes and staffs. It was also read with a yā' dotted from below, attributing the action to the trickery (kayd) and magic. Al-Farrā' interpreted it as: their movement appeared to him.

The pronoun hā in {it appeared to him} (yukhayyal ilayhi) refers back to Moses (peace be upon him). The intent is that they reached such a level in their magic that it appeared to Moses (peace be upon him) as if they were moving like living snakes, not that they were actually alive. It is said that they stuffed them with something that, when the sun struck it, caused them to writhe and move. Since they were numerous and connected, whoever saw them thought they were moving.

As for what is narrated from Wahb—that they enchanted the eyes of the people, including the eyes of Moses (peace be upon him), causing him to perceive this illusion—this is impermissible. This is because that moment was for displaying the miracle, presenting evidence, and removing doubt. If he had reached a state where he could not distinguish what was real from corrupt illusion, he would not have been able to display the miracle, and the objective would have been defeated. Therefore, the meaning is that he witnessed something that, had he not known it lacked reality, he would have assumed was moving.

{And Moses felt within himself a fear.}

Al-Ījās means sensing fear; he found fear within himself.

If it is asked: Is there any greater removal of fear than what God Almighty did for Moses (peace be upon him)? He first spoke to him and presented him with clear miracles like the staff and the hand. Then, God turned them back to what they were after they had become like the greatest serpent. Then, He granted him the eight requests and mentioned the eight previous favors bestowed upon him. After all this, He said to him: {Indeed, I am with you; I hear and I see} (20:46). Given these many preliminaries, how did fear enter his heart?

The answer comes in several ways:

1. That fear was due to the inherent weakness of the human heart, even though Moses (peace be upon him) knew they could not harm him and that God was his supporter. This is the view of Al-Hasan.
2. He feared that doubt might enter the minds of the people regarding what they saw, leading them to think they were equal to Moses (peace be upon him). This interpretation is supported by the subsequent statement: {Do not fear; indeed, you are the superior}. This is the view of Muqātil.
3. He feared that since they started first and his casting was delayed, some people might leave before witnessing what he would cast, thus remaining in their false belief.
4. Perhaps (peace be upon him) was commanded not to do anything except by revelation. When the revelation was delayed at that moment, he feared that revelation might not come at that time, leaving him in embarrassment.
5. Perhaps (peace be upon him) feared that if he nullified the magic of those present, Pharaoh might have prepared other groups to bring against him, requiring him to nullify their magic again, continuously, without a clear end, meaning the matter would not be concluded and the objective would not be achieved.

Then, the Almighty removed that fear first generally and then specifically.

As for the general removal: It is in His saying: {We said, "Do not fear; indeed, you are the superior"}. This indicates that his fear related to a matter concerning his command not being apparent to the people. So, God reassured him by saying: {Indeed, you are the superior}, which contains several forms of emphasis:

1. The use of the emphatic particle inna.
2. The repetition of the pronoun (anta).
3. The definite article (al-).
4. The word al-'Uluww (superiority), which signifies clear dominance.

As for the specific removal: It is in His saying: {And throw what is in your right hand}.

There is a question here: Why did He not say, "And throw your staff"?

The answer is: It could be to belittle it, meaning: Do not be concerned by the multitude of their ropes and staffs; throw the single, small object in your right hand, for by God's power, it will swallow them all, despite its singularity, their multitude, its smallness, and their largeness. Or, it could be to magnify it, meaning: Do not be preoccupied with these numerous objects, for what is in your right hand is greater than all of them, and they, despite their quantity, are the least thing in comparison to it. So throw it, and by God's permission, it will swallow them and annihilate them.

{It will swallow what they have made.}

Talaqqaf means: If you throw it, it will swallow what they have made. The general reading is talqafu (with jazm and tashdīd), meaning: So throw it, and it will swallow them. Ibn 'Āmir read talqafu (with tashdīd and ḍammah on the fā') as a circumstantial clause, meaning: Throw it while it is swallowing, or with raf' (nominative case) as a new sentence. Hafs narrated from 'Āṣim with a sukūn on the lām and takhfīf (lightening), meaning: it takes them into its mouth by rapid swallowing. Both laqf and talaqquf refer to this meaning.

{What they have made} here means what they fabricated and falsified. The Arabs say of a lie: it is fabricated and constructed speech. The correctness of the statement {it will swallow} (talqafu) is that when that [staff] was thrown and became a serpent, it swallowed what they made. The verse {Then the magicians fell down in prostration} (20:70) indicates that the staff was thrown, became a serpent, and swallowed what they made. The swallowing implies that everything they threw was swallowed, which is only possible with a massive body and intense power.

It is narrated that when the swallowing occurred, the magicians became certain that what Moses (peace be upon him) brought was not within human capability, for several reasons:

1. The movement of the staff appeared in a manner that cannot be achieved by trickery.
2. Its growth in size occurred in a way that trickery cannot achieve.
3. The appearance of its organs—the eye, nostrils, mouth, etc.—which cannot be achieved by trickery.
4. The swallowing of everything they threw, despite its quantity, which cannot be achieved by trickery.
5. Its return to being a small stick as it was. None of these things can be achieved by trickery.

Then the Almighty clarified that what they made was {the plot of a sorcerer}. The meaning is that what you have, O Moses, is a divine miracle, and what they have are false deceptions. So how can there be a conflict?

{The plot of a sorcerer} (kayda sāḥir) was read with raf' (nominative) and naṣb (accusative).

• If read with raf', it is because mā (what) is a relative pronoun.
• If read with naṣb, it is because kāffa (the particle that stops the following verb from acting) is implied.

It was also read as {the plot of magic} (kayda siḥr), meaning possessing magic, or possessing magicians, or because they were so deeply involved in magic that they were magic itself, or to distinguish the plot (which can be magic or non-magic) from the specific term magic, similar to how one distinguishes "one hundred dirhams" from "the science of jurisprudence" or "the science of grammar."

There remain some questions:

The answer is that the intent in this statement is the concept of the genus, not the number. If it were pluralized, it might be assumed that the number was intended. Do you not see the verse {And the sorcerer will not succeed, however he comes} (20:69), meaning this type of person.

The answer is: It is as if He said: What they brought is one category of magic, and all categories of magic are useless. There is no doubt that this phrasing is more eloquent.

The answer is: The discussion about the nature of magic was already covered in Sūrat Al-Baqarah; there is no need to repeat it. And God knows best.

{Then the magicians fell down in prostration. They said, "We believe in the Lord of Aaron and Moses."}

{He said, "Do you believe in him before I give you permission? Indeed, he is your leader who taught you magic. So I will surely cut off your hands and your feet on opposite sides, and I will surely crucify you on the trunks of palm trees, and you will surely know which of us is more severe in punishment and more enduring."}