What Are the Magicians’ Options in the Face of Pharaoh’s Threats of Cutting, Killing, and Crucifixion?
ما موقف السحرة من تهديد فرعون لهم بالتقطيع والقتل والصلب؟
They announced to Pharaoh immediately that they would not choose Pharaoh as a god other than Allah the Almighty, and that they would not prefer him to the Lord of the Worlds, the Lord of Moses and Harun, because He is the true Lord Whom they should obey and worship. They said: We will never choose you over the One Who created us. Do to us whatever you wish; we will hold firmly to our belief.
In response to his threat of killing, they said: You will kill us in this worldly life, because you have control over us in it, but you have no control over us in the Hereafter, because absolute control belongs to the Lord of the Worlds. They declared their belief in Allah hoping He would forgive their sins, since faith is an expiation for sins, saying, “May Allah forgive us for the sins you forced us to commit when you ordered us to reject the truth Moses brought from Allah.”
In response to Pharaoh’s threat, “You will really see whose punishment is more severe and more lasting” (Ta-Ha 20:71), they said to him, “And Allah is far superior ˹in reward˺ and more lasting ˹in punishment˺.” Ta-Ha 20:73. Meaning: what Allah has is better and more enduring in reward and kindness than what Pharaoh had promised them in reward, status, and prestige.
The magicians preached to Pharaoh and reminded themselves of a very serious matter: “Whoever comes to their Lord as an evildoer,” Ta-Ha 20:74, committing a crime against himself by corrupting it with polytheism and disobedience, his punishment is to be admitted to Hellfire, where he can neither live nor die. On the other hand, whoever comes to his Lord as a believer who acts upon Allah’s commands and refrains from His prohibitions will have high ranks in Allah’s sight and will enjoy the Gardens forever, as the reward for faith and righteous deeds after abandoning polytheism and sin.
Beneficial piece of knowledge: Where did the magicians get this knowledge from? They got it through the call of Moses and Harun, since they had stayed among them for a long time.
Beneficial piece of knowledge: Did Pharaoh force the magicians to perform magic tricks, and did they ask for a reward and high position if they won? The answer: When Moses warned them, saying, “Woe to you! Do not fabricate a lie against Allah, or He will wipe you out with a torment. Whoever fabricates ˹lies˺ is bound to fail” (Ta-Ha 20:61), it affected them greatly, causing them to quarrel afterward. But Pharaoh obliged and coerced them into the trick they performed, which is why they had earlier said, “These two are only magicians who want to drive you out of your land with their magic, and do away with your most cherished traditions” (Ta-Ha 20:63), words prescribed and forced upon them by Pharaoh.
أعلنوا لفرعون قرارًا فوريًا: إنهم لن يختاروا فرعون ربًا وإلهًا من دون الله ولن يفضلوه على رب العالمين، رب موسى وهارون؛ لأنه الرب الحق الذي تجب عبادته وطاعته. قالوا: لن نختارك على الذي خلقنا، افعل ما شئت بنا فنحن لن نتزحزح عما نحن فيه.
وجوابًا عن تهديدهم بالقتل، قالوا له: إن قضاءك علينا في هذه الحياة الدنيا لأن لك سلطانًا فيها، أما الآخرة فلا سلطان لك، بل السلطان لله رب العالمين. وأعلنوا إيمانهم بالله رغبة منهم في تكفير خطاياهم، فقالوا: “ربنا اغفر لنا خطايانا وما أكرهتنا عليه من السحر.”
جوابًا عن قوله وتهديده: “وَلَتَعْلَمُنَّ أَيُّنَا أَشَدُّ عَذَابًا وَأَبْقَىٰ” (طه 20: 71)، قالوا له: (إِنَّا آمَنَّا بِرَبِّنَا لِيَغْفِرَ لَنَا خَطَايَانَا وَمَا أَكْرَهْتَنَا عَلَيْهِ مِنَ السِّحْرِ وَاللَّـهُ خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَىٰ) طه 20: 73، أي ما عند الله خير مما وعدهم فرعون من الأجر والمنزلة والجاه، وأبقى ثوابًا.
كما وعظ السحرةُ فرعونَ وذكّروا أنفسهم بقضية في غاية الخطورة، وهي: (إِنَّهُ مَن يَأْتِ رَبَّهُ مُجْرِمًا فَإِنَّ لَهُ جَهَنَّمَ لَا يَمُوتُ فِيهَا وَلَا يَحْيَىٰ) طه 20: 74، أي مرتكبًا للجرم في حق نفسه بإفسادها بالشرك والمعاصي، فعقوبته أن يدخل النار لا يموت فيستريح ولا يحيا حياة السعداء. ومن أتى ربه مؤمنًا كافرًا بالطاغوت، عاملًا بشرائع الله، فأولئك لهم درجات عالية عند الله وهم يتنعمون في الجنات مقيمين فيها أبدًا.
فائدة: من أين حصل السحرة على هذا العلم؟ حصل لهم من طريق دعوة موسى وهارون، إذ أقاموا بينهم زمنًا طويلًا.
فائدة: هل أكره فرعون السحرة على السحر، وكانوا قد طلبوا أجرًا ورفعة عند فرعون إن حققوا الغلبة؟ الجواب: إن موسى لما وعظهم بقوله: “وَيْلَكُمْ لَا تَفْتَرُوا عَلَى اللَّـهِ كَذِبًا فَيُسْحِتَكُمْ بِعَذَابٍ”، أثّر معهم ووقع منهم موقعًا كبيرًا، ولهذا تنازعوا بعد هذا الكلام، ثم إن فرعون ألزمهم وأكرههم على المكر الذي أجروه، ولهذا تكلموا بكلامه السابق قبل إتيانهم: “إِنْ هَـٰذَانِ لَسَاحِرَانِ يُرِيدَانِ أَنْ يُخْرِجَاكُم مِّنْ أَرْضِكُم بِسِحْرِهِمَا”، فجروا على ما سنه لهم وأكرههم عليه.
1. An Immediate, Unshakable Declaration | إعلانٌ فوري لا يتزحزح
Facing Pharaoh’s threat of mutilation and crucifixion, the magicians answer without hesitation: they will not choose him over Allah, whatever he chooses to do to them. This is a striking reversal, men recruited hours earlier purely for reward now stand entirely unmoved by the harshest threats their recruiter can offer.
أمام تهديد فرعون بالتقطيع والصلب، يجيب السحرة دون تردد: لن يختاروه على الله، مهما اختار أن يفعله بهم. وهذا انقلاب لافت، فرجال جُندوا قبل ساعات لمجرد المكافأة يقفون الآن دون أي تأثر بأقسى تهديدات من جندهم.
2. Worldly Power Against the Power That Actually Matters | سلطان الدنيا مقابل السلطان الحقيقي
The magicians directly reframe Pharaoh’s authority, telling him he controls only their fate in this world, while the Hereafter belongs entirely to the Lord of the Worlds. This response strips Pharaoh’s threat of the total power it was meant to project, reducing it to a limited, temporary reach against an eternal, unlimited one.
يعيد السحرة تأطير سلطة فرعون مباشرة، مخبرين إياه أنه يتحكم فقط بمصيرهم في هذه الدنيا، بينما الآخرة كلها لرب العالمين. ويجرد هذا الرد تهديد فرعون من القوة المطلقة التي قُصد أن يعرضها، مختزلا إياها إلى نفوذ محدود ومؤقت أمام نفوذ أبدي غير محدود.
3. Seeking Forgiveness for What They Were Forced to Do | طلب المغفرة عما أُكرهوا عليه
Rather than defending their earlier performance, the magicians ask Allah’s forgiveness specifically for the magic Pharaoh had forced them to carry out. This request acknowledges genuine wrongdoing on their part while also naming the coercion behind it, seeking mercy rather than excusing themselves entirely.
بدلا من الدفاع عن أدائهم السابق، يطلب السحرة مغفرة الله تحديدا عن السحر الذي أكرههم فرعون على تنفيذه. ويعترف هذا الطلب بخطأ حقيقي من جانبهم مع تسمية الإكراه وراءه، طالبين الرحمة لا تبرئة أنفسهم كليا.
4. Turning Pharaoh’s Own Words Back on Him | ردّ كلام فرعون نفسه عليه
When Pharaoh warns they will see whose punishment is more severe and lasting, the magicians answer using almost identical language, “Allah is far superior and more lasting,” directly echoing his own phrasing back at him. This deliberate mirroring turns Pharaoh’s own words into the very argument that defeats his threat.
حين يحذر فرعون بأنهم سيرون من أشد عذابا وأبقى، يجيب السحرة بلغة شبه مطابقة: “والله خير وأبقى”، رادين صياغته نفسها عليه مباشرة. وتحول هذه المحاكاة المتعمدة كلمات فرعون نفسها إلى الحجة التي تهزم تهديده.
5. A Theological Lesson the Magicians Now Deliver Themselves | درسٌ عقدي يقدمه السحرة أنفسهم
Newly converted, the magicians articulate a full picture of judgment, the criminal who meets Allah unrepentant faces Hellfire, neither dying to escape it nor living in comfort, while the believer who obeys Allah’s commands enjoys eternal high ranks in Paradise. This detailed teaching, coming from men who had been sorcerers only hours before, reflects the depth of what they absorbed simply from being present among Musa and Harun’s own community.
يصوغ السحرة، وهم مسلمون حديثا، صورة كاملة للحساب: المجرم الذي يأتي الله دون توبة يواجه جهنم، لا يموت فيها ولا يحيا، بينما المؤمن الذي يطيع أوامر الله ينعم بدرجات عالية أبدية في الجنة. ويعكس هذا التعليم المفصل، الصادر عن رجال كانوا سحرة قبل ساعات فقط، عمق ما استوعبوه لمجرد وجودهم بين قوم موسى وهارون.
6. Coercion, Not Free Collaboration | إكراهٌ لا تعاونٌ حر
The tafsir clarifies that Musa’s own warning had already unsettled the magicians deeply before the contest, and that the accusatory words they spoke about Musa and Harun wanting to seize the land were words Pharaoh had scripted and forced upon them, not their own genuine belief. This context matters for understanding their swift, sincere conversion, they had never truly opposed the truth by conviction, only under compulsion.
يوضح التفسير أن تحذير موسى نفسه كان قد أزعج السحرة بعمق قبل المباراة، وأن كلمات الاتهام التي قالوها عن رغبة موسى وهارون في الاستيلاء على الأرض كانت كلمات صاغها فرعون وأكرههم عليها، لا اعتقادا حقيقيا منهم. ولهذا السياق أهميته لفهم تحولهم السريع والصادق، فهم لم يعارضوا الحق قط عن قناعة، بل تحت الإكراه فقط.
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
How did the magicians respond to Pharaoh’s threats?
They declared they would never choose him over Allah, whatever he did to them.
How did they reframe Pharaoh’s power over them?
By pointing out his authority reached only this life, while the Hereafter belonged entirely to Allah.
What did they ask forgiveness for?
The magic Pharaoh had forced them to perform.
Where did the magicians gain this theological understanding?
From having lived for a long time among the community reached by Moses and Harun’s call.
Were the magicians’s earlier accusations against Moses their own genuine belief?
No, according to the tafsir, Pharaoh had scripted and coerced those words from them.