Tafsir of Al-A'raf 7:115

"They said, 'O Moses...'"

Their giving him the choice was a refined etiquette they observed with him, just as practitioners of crafts do when they meet, like debaters before they engage in argument, or wrestlers before they grapple for the match.

Their saying, "Or shall we be the ones to throw?" contains evidence of their desire to throw before him, indicated by the emphasis of the attached pronoun with the detached one, and the definiteness of the predicate, or the definiteness of the predicate and the insertion of the faṣl (pronoun of separation). Moses permitted what they desired out of disdain for their status and lack of concern for them, trusting in the heavenly support he possessed, and knowing that a miracle would never be overcome by sorcery.

"They bewitched the eyes of the people" They showed them [the people] things through tricks and sleight of hand, making them imagine things contrary to reality, as in the Almighty’s saying: "It seemed to him from their magic that they were moving" (Ṭā Hā: 66). It is narrated that they threw thick ropes and long pieces of wood, and suddenly they were like snakes, filling the earth and piling upon one another.

"And they terrified them" They struck them with intense terror, as if they had summoned their fear.

"With a great magic" In the realm of sorcery. It is narrated that they colored their ropes and wood and placed within them that which suggested movement. It is said they placed mercury inside them.

"What they were fabricating" Mā (what) is either relative or acts as a verbal noun, meaning: what they fabricate—that is, what they turn from truth to falsehood and what they forge, naming the forged object by the term for the forgery itself. It is narrated that when [Moses' staff] swallowed them, the valley was filled with the wood and ropes. Moses lifted it, or their magic was undone, and they returned to being sticks as they were before. God, by His power, annihilated those great bodies or dispersed them into fine particles. The sorcerers said: "If this were magic, our ropes and sticks would have remained."

"So the truth was established" It occurred and was confirmed. Among the novel interpretations is: "It fell upon their hearts," meaning it affected them, from the expression qāsa waqīʿ (it struck and had an effect).

"And they turned back, humbled" They became abased and bewildered.

"And the sorcerers fell down" They prostrated themselves. It is as if a force cast them down due to the intensity of their falling. It is said they could not control themselves because of what they saw, so it was as if they were cast down.

Qatādah said: "They were at the beginning of the day disbelieving sorcerers, and at the end of it, righteous martyrs."

Al-Ḥasan said: "You see a man born into Islam, raised among Muslims, selling his religion for such and such, while these were disbelievers raised in disbelief who sacrificed themselves for God."

"Pharaoh said, 'You believed in him before I gave you permission? Indeed, this is a conspiracy you have conspired in the city to drive its people out of it. But you will soon know. I will surely cut off your hands and your feet on opposite sides; then I will surely crucify you all.'"