What Was Pharaoh’s Reaction to His Biggest Loss and That of His Magicians?
ما هو موقف فرعون من الخسارة المدوية التي مني بها هو ومن معه؟
Pharaoh was in a rage, and his accusations shifted from Moses to the sorcerers. He accused them of plotting against the homeland, saying to them: How did you believe in Moses before you took my permission to do so? Faith is the work of the heart, and it is the heart’s concern that no one but its owner can control it.
The magicians were accused of two charges: The first, conspiring with Moses against the homeland.
(Pharaoh threatened, “How dare you believe in him before I give you permission? This must be a conspiracy you devised in the city to drive out its people, but soon you will see. I will certainly cut off your hands and feet on opposite sides, then crucify you all.”) Al-A’raf 7:123-124
The second accusation: learning magic from the Prophet of Allah, Moses.
Accordingly, he immediately issued an order to cut off the magicians’ right hand and left leg on opposite sides, and to kill and crucify them on palm trees to frighten people, so they would not believe in Moses, peace be upon him.
(Pharaoh threatened, “How dare you believe in him before I give you permission? He must be your master who taught you magic. I will certainly cut off your hands and feet on opposite sides, and crucify you on the trunks of palm trees. You will really see whose punishment is more severe and more lasting.”) Ta-Ha 20:71
Pharaoh was angry that the magicians believed in Allah and prostrated to Him without getting his permission, so he threatened to crucify them on the trees and cut off their hands and feet on opposite sides.
(Pharaoh threatened, “How dare you believe in him before I give you permission? He must be your master who taught you magic, but soon you will see. I will certainly cut off your hands and feet on opposite sides, then crucify you all.”) Ash-Shu’ara 26:49 [corrected: the original site text labeled this “26:46,” but verse 46 is the account of the magicians falling in prostration; the quoted threat itself matches verse 49, independently verified]
خرج فرعون عن صوابه فحول تهمته للسحرة بعد أن كان يتهم موسى بالجنون والتآمر على الوطن. قال للسحرة: كيف آمنتم بموسى قبل أن تأخذوا إذنًا بذلك؟! مع أن الإيمان عمل قلبي وشأن القلب ألا يسيطر عليه أحد إلا صاحبه.
اتهم السحرة بتهمتين: الأولى، التآمر مع موسى على الوطن.
(قَالَ فِرْعَوْنُ آمَنتُم بِهِ قَبْلَ أَنْ آذَنَ لَكُمْ إِنَّ هَـٰذَا لَمَكْرٌ مَّكَرْتُمُوهُ فِي الْمَدِينَةِ لِتُخْرِجُوا مِنْهَا أَهْلَهَا فَسَوْفَ تَعْلَمُونَ لَأُقَطِّعَنَّ أَيْدِيَكُمْ وَأَرْجُلَكُم مِّنْ خِلَافٍ ثُمَّ لَأُصَلِّبَنَّكُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ) الأعراف 7: 123-124
الثانية، أنهم أخذوا السحر من نبي الله موسى.
وبناء على ذلك أصدر حكمًا فوريًا بتقطيع أيدي السحرة اليمنى وأرجلهم اليسرى، وقتلهم وصلبهم وتعليقهم على النخل لتخويف الناس من الإيمان بموسى عليه السلام.
(قَالَ آمَنتُمْ لَهُ قَبْلَ أَنْ آذَنَ لَكُمْ إِنَّهُ لَكَبِيرُكُمُ الَّذِي عَلَّمَكُمُ السِّحْرَ فَلَأُقَطِّعَنَّ أَيْدِيَكُمْ وَأَرْجُلَكُم مِّنْ خِلَافٍ وَلَأُصَلِّبَنَّكُمْ فِي جُذُوعِ النَّخْلِ وَلَتَعْلَمُنَّ أَيُّنَا أَشَدُّ عَذَابًا وَأَبْقَىٰ) طه 20: 71
غضب فرعون أن السحرة آمنوا وسجدوا لله دون إذنه فتوعد أن يصلبهم على الأشجار ويقطع أيديهم والأرجل المعاكسة.
(قَالَ آمَنتُمْ لَهُ قَبْلَ أَنْ آذَنَ لَكُمْ إِنَّهُ لَكَبِيرُكُمُ الَّذِي عَلَّمَكُمُ السِّحْرَ فَلَسَوْفَ تَعْلَمُونَ لَأُقَطِّعَنَّ أَيْدِيَكُمْ وَأَرْجُلَكُم مِّنْ خِلَافٍ وَلَأُصَلِّبَنَّكُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ) الشعراء 26: 49
1. Rage Redirected From Musa to His Own Magicians | غضبٌ يتحول من موسى إلى سحرته هو
Having failed to defeat Musa in the contest he himself had staged, Pharaoh’s fury turns not toward Musa but toward the very men he had recruited to defeat him. This redirection reveals how completely the outcome had backfired; the tool Pharaoh built to discredit Musa instead became evidence against Pharaoh himself.
بعد فشله في هزيمة موسى في المباراة التي دبرها بنفسه، لا يتجه غضب فرعون نحو موسى بل نحو الرجال أنفسهم الذين جندهم لهزيمته. ويكشف هذا التحويل مدى ارتداد النتيجة بالكامل على فرعون، فالأداة التي بناها لتشويه موسى أصبحت بدلا من ذلك دليلا ضد فرعون نفسه.
2. “You Believed Before I Gave You Permission” | “آمنتم قبل أن آذن لكم”
Pharaoh’s core objection is telling: he protested that they believed without his permission. This exposes the real nature of his claim to divinity, an insistence on controlling even his subjects’ inner conviction, something faith by its very nature cannot be subjected to.
اعتراض فرعون الجوهري دالٌّ: احتج بأنهم آمنوا دون إذنه. ويكشف هذا الطبيعة الحقيقية لادعائه الألوهية، إصرار على التحكم حتى في القناعة الداخلية لرعاياه، وهو أمر لا يمكن للإيمان بطبيعته أن يخضع له.
3. Two Accusations, One of Them Self-Contradicting | تهمتان إحداهما تناقض نفسها
Pharaoh accuses the magicians of conspiring with Musa against the homeland, and separately claims Musa was their secret teacher who had taught them magic. This second charge collapses under its own logic, since it was Pharaoh’s own court that had summoned these magicians from across the land in the first place, making a prior secret alliance with Musa implausible.
يتهم فرعون السحرة بالتآمر مع موسى ضد الوطن، ويدعي منفصلا أن موسى كان معلمهم السري الذي علمهم السحر. وتنهار هذه التهمة الثانية بمنطقها الخاص، إذ إن بلاط فرعون نفسه هو من استدعى هؤلاء السحرة من كل البلاد أصلا، مما يجعل تحالفا سريا سابقا مع موسى غير معقول.
4. Punishment Designed to Terrify, Not Simply to Punish | عقوبةٌ صُممت للترهيب لا للعقاب فقط
Amputating a hand and foot from opposite sides and crucifying the magicians on palm trunks was, by the tafsir’s own explanation, aimed specifically at frightening the wider population away from following Musa. All three surahs recording this threat repeat it almost identically, underscoring how central this act of intimidation was to Pharaoh’s response to a public loss he could not otherwise undo.
كان قطع يد ورجل من خلاف وصلب السحرة على جذوع النخل، بحسب تفسير الآية نفسها، موجها تحديدا لترهيب عامة الناس من اتباع موسى. وتكرر السور الثلاث التي سجلت هذا التهديد الصيغة نفسها تقريبا، مؤكدة مدى مركزية فعل الترهيب هذا في استجابة فرعون لخسارة علنية لم يستطع التراجع عنها بأي طريقة أخرى.
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
How did Pharaoh react to losing the contest?
He turned his rage on the very magicians he had recruited, accusing them of conspiracy and threatening brutal punishment.
What was Pharaoh’s stated objection to the magicians’ belief?
That they had believed without first obtaining his permission.
What two accusations did Pharaoh bring against the magicians?
That they had conspired with Moses against the homeland, and that Moses had secretly taught them magic.
What punishment did Pharaoh order?
Cutting off their hands and feet on opposite sides, and crucifying them on palm trunks.
What was the real purpose of this punishment?
To frighten the wider public away from believing in Moses, according to the tafsir.