What Made the Magicians Hold Firmly to Their Belief in Allah Despite Pharaoh’s Threat?
ما الذي جعل السحرة يثبتون على الإيمان بالله على الرغم من التهديد الفرعوني؟
What made them hold firmly to their belief in Allah was the certainty of meeting with Allah the Almighty, in addition to believing that whoever remained with Allah would always be the winner, and that the big loss would not be leaving the worldly life and moving to the Hereafter, but rather meeting with Allah as a grave sinner. Whoever commits a sin but regrets it and turns to Allah with repentance will be elevated high.
(“They said, ‘We will never prefer you over the clear proofs that have come to us, nor over the One Who created us. So do whatever you want! Your authority only covers the ˹fleeting˺ life of this world. Indeed, we have believed in our Lord so He may forgive our sins and that magic you have forced us to practice. And Allah is far superior ˹in reward˺ and more lasting ˹in punishment˺. Whoever comes to their Lord as an evildoer will certainly have Hell, where they can neither live nor die. But whoever comes to Him as a believer, having done good, they will have the highest ranks, the Gardens of Eternity, under which rivers flow, where they will stay forever. That is the reward of those who purify themselves.'”) Ta-Ha 20:72-76
Second: they asked Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, to grant them patience for what Pharaoh would do to them and to let them die while submitting to Him.
(“Our Lord! Shower us with perseverance, and let us die while submitting ˹to You˺.”) Al-A’raf 7:126
اليقين بلقاء الله عز وجل، وأن من كان معه فهو المنتصر، وأن الخسارة الحقيقية ليست خسارة الدنيا والانتقال منها إلى الدار الآخرة، إنما الخسارة هي أن يأتي العبد إلى ربه مرتكبًا الآثام والعظائم ولم يتب منها، فإن ارتكبها وتاب فذلك له الدرجات العُلَى.
(قَالُوا لَن نُّؤْثِرَكَ عَلَىٰ مَا جَاءَنَا مِنَ الْبَيِّنَاتِ وَالَّذِي فَطَرَنَا فَاقْضِ مَا أَنتَ قَاضٍ إِنَّمَا تَقْضِي هَـٰذِهِ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا إِنَّا آمَنَّا بِرَبِّنَا لِيَغْفِرَ لَنَا خَطَايَانَا وَمَا أَكْرَهْتَنَا عَلَيْهِ مِنَ السِّحْرِ وَاللَّـهُ خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَىٰ إِنَّهُ مَن يَأْتِ رَبَّهُ مُجْرِمًا فَإِنَّ لَهُ جَهَنَّمَ لَا يَمُوتُ فِيهَا وَلَا يَحْيَىٰ وَمَن يَأْتِهِ مُؤْمِنًا قَدْ عَمِلَ الصَّالِحَاتِ فَأُولَـٰئِكَ لَهُمُ الدَّرَجَاتُ الْعُلَىٰ جَنَّاتُ عَدْنٍ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا وَذَٰلِكَ جَزَاءُ مَن تَزَكَّىٰ) طه 20: 72-76
ثانيًا: سألوا الله عز وجل أن يرزقهم الصبر على فعل فرعون وأن يتوفاهم على الإسلام.
(رَبَّنَا أَفْرِغْ عَلَيْنَا صَبْرًا وَتَوَفَّنَا مُسْلِمِينَ) الأعراف 7: 126
1. Certainty of Meeting Allah as the Root of Their Firmness | اليقين بلقاء الله جذر ثباتهم
Beyond the specific words they spoke to Pharaoh, the deeper cause the tafsir identifies for their steadfastness is certainty about meeting Allah, a conviction that whoever remains with Him is the true winner regardless of what happens in this life. This underlying certainty is what made their earlier defiant response to Pharaoh possible in the first place.
أبعد من الكلمات المحددة التي وجهوها لفرعون، يحدد التفسير السبب الأعمق لثباتهم بأنه اليقين بلقاء الله، وهو اعتقاد بأن من بقي معه فهو المنتصر الحقيقي أيا كان ما يحدث في هذه الحياة. وهذا اليقين الكامن هو ما جعل ردهم التحدي السابق لفرعون ممكنا في المقام الأول.
2. “We Will Never Prefer You Over the Clear Proofs” | “لن نؤثرك على ما جاءنا من البينات”
Ta-Ha 20:72 opens with the magicians naming exactly why they will not back down, the clear proofs they had witnessed firsthand, and their own Creator, neither of which Pharaoh could compete with. They add that his judgment covers only this fleeting worldly life, deliberately shrinking the scope of the very authority he was using to threaten them.
تفتتح آية طه 20: 72 بتسمية السحرة تحديدا لسبب عدم تراجعهم: البينات الواضحة التي شهدوها بأنفسهم، وخالقهم الذي فطرهم، وكلاهما لا يستطيع فرعون منافستهما. ويضيفون أن قضاءه لا يتجاوز هذه الحياة الدنيا الزائلة، مصغّرين عمدا نطاق السلطة نفسها التي كان يستخدمها لتهديدهم.
3. Redefining What Real Loss Actually Means | إعادة تعريف الخسارة الحقيقية
The tafsir draws out a principle from their stance: true loss is not leaving this world through death, but arriving before Allah unrepentant for grave sins. By this measure, Pharaoh’s threatened execution could not touch what actually mattered to them, since dying as sincere believers was the opposite of loss, not an instance of it.
يستخلص التفسير مبدأ من موقفهم: الخسارة الحقيقية ليست ترك الدنيا بالموت، بل الوصول إلى الله دون توبة عن الذنوب الكبيرة. وبهذا المقياس، لم يكن إعدام فرعون المهدَّد به قادرا على المساس بما كان يهمهم فعلا، إذ كان الموت كمؤمنين صادقين نقيض الخسارة لا مصداقا لها.
4. A Fuller Vision of the Reward Awaiting Them | رؤيةٌ أوسع للثواب المنتظر
Verses 75-76 extend the picture beyond simply avoiding Hellfire, describing the highest ranks and Gardens of Eternity with rivers flowing beneath, an eternal home explicitly named as the reward for anyone who purifies themselves. This fuller vision gave the magicians something concrete to hold onto beyond mere avoidance of punishment, an actual reward worth facing death for.
تمتد الآيتان 75 و76 بالصورة إلى ما هو أبعد من مجرد تجنب النار، واصفتين أعلى الدرجات وجنات عدن التي تجري من تحتها الأنهار، وهي دار أبدية سُمّيت صراحة جزاء لمن تزكى. وقد منحت هذه الرؤية الأوسع السحرة أمرا ملموسا يتشبثون به يتجاوز مجرد تجنب العقاب، ثوابا حقيقيا يستحق مواجهة الموت من أجله.
5. A Second Prayer: For Patience and a Death in Submission | دعاءٌ ثانٍ: الصبر والموت على الإسلام
Alongside their theological conviction, the magicians turn to Allah with a specific, practical request in Al-A’raf 7:126, “shower us with perseverance, and let us die while submitting to You.” This prayer acknowledges that conviction alone might not be enough to endure what was coming, so they explicitly asked for the strength to remain firm through it.
إلى جانب قناعتهم العقدية، يتوجه السحرة إلى الله بطلب محدد وعملي في آية الأعراف 7: 126: “ربنا أفرغ علينا صبرا وتوفنا مسلمين”. ويقر هذا الدعاء بأن القناعة وحدها قد لا تكفي لتحمل ما هو آت، فطلبوا صراحة القوة على الثبات خلاله.
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
What made the magicians hold firm despite Pharaoh’s threat?
Certainty of meeting Allah, and the understanding that real loss is meeting Him unrepentant, not leaving this world.
Why did they say Pharaoh’s judgment covered only this life?
To deliberately reduce the scope of his threatened authority against the eternal reward they now believed in.
What reward did the magicians describe awaiting believers?
The highest ranks and the eternal Gardens of Eden, with rivers flowing beneath.
What second prayer did the magicians make?
They asked Allah to shower them with perseverance and let them die while submitting to Him.
Why did they need to pray for patience if their conviction was already firm?
Because conviction alone might not be enough to endure what was coming, so they explicitly asked for the strength to remain steadfast.