Surah Al-A'raf 7:123

Fir`awn threatens the Magicians after They believed in Musa and Their Response to Him

Allah mentions the threats that the Fir`awn - may Allah curse him - made to the magicians after they believed Musa, peace be upon him, and the deceit and cunning that Fir`awn showed the people. Fir`awn said,

(Surely, this is a plot which you have plotted in the city to drive out its people,) meaning Fir`awn proclaimed, `Musa's defeating you today was because you plotted with him and agreed to that.' Fir`awn also said,

(He (Musa) is your chief who has taught you magic.) 20:71 However, Fir`awn and all those who had any sense of reason knew for sure that what Fir`awn said was utterly false. As soon as Musa came from Madyan, he called Fir`awn to Allah and demonstrated tremendous miracles and clear proofs for the Truth that he brought. Fir`awn then sent emissaries to various cities of his kingdom and collected magicians who were scattered throughout Egypt. Fir`awn and his people chose from them, summoned them, and Fir`awn promised them great rewards. These magicians were very eager to prevail over Musa in front of Fir`awn, so that they might become closer to him. Musa neither knew any of them nor saw or met them before. Fir`awn knew that, but he claimed otherwise to deceive the ignorant masses of his kingdom, just as Allah described them,

(Thus he Fir`awn fooled his people, and they obeyed him.) 43:54 Certainly, a people who believed Fir`awn in his statement,

("I am your lord, most high.") 79:24, are among the most ignorant and misguided creatures of Allah. In his Tafsir, As-Suddi reported that Ibn Mas`ud, Ibn `Abbas, and several other Companions, commented,

("Surely, this is a plot which you have plotted in the city...") "Musa met the leader of the magicians and said to him, `If I defeat you, will you believe in me and bear witness that what I brought is the truth' The magician said, `Tomorrow, I will produce a type of magic that cannot be defeated by another magic. By Allah! If you defeat me, I will believe in you and testify to your truth.' Fir`awn was watching them, and this is why he said what he said." His statement,

("to drive out its people"), means, so that you all cooperate to gain influence and power, replacing the chiefs and masters of this land. In this case, power in the state will be yours,

("but you shall come to know"), what I will do to you. He then explained his threat,

("Surely, I will cut off your hands and your feet from opposite sides.") by cutting the right hand and the left leg or the opposite,

("then I will crucify you all.") just as he said in another Ayah,

("Fi the trunks of date palms") 20:71, Fi in this Ayah means "on". Ibn `Abbas said that Fir`awn was the first to crucify and cut off hands and legs on opposite sides. The magicians said,

("Verily, we are returning to our Lord.") They said, `We are now sure that we will go back to Allah. Certainly, Allah's punishment is more severe than your punishment and His torment for what you are calling us to, this day, and the magic you forced us to practice, is greater than your torment. Therefore, we will observe patience in the face of your punishment today, so that we are saved from Allah's torment.' They continued,

("Our Lord! pour out on us patience"), with your religion and being firm in it,

("and cause us to die as Muslims."), as followers of Your Prophet Musa, peace be upon him. They also said to Fir`awn,

("So decide whatever you desire to decree, for you can only decide for the life of this world. Verily, we have believed in our Lord, that He may forgive us our faults, and the magic to which you did compel us. And Allah is better to reward and more lasting in punishment. Verily, whoever comes to his Lord as a criminal, then surely, for him is Hell, wherein he will neither die nor live. But whoever comes to Him (Allah) as a believer, and has done righteous good deeds, for such are the high ranks (in the Hereafter).) 20:72-75. The magicians started the day as sorcerers and ended as honorable martyrs! Ibn `Abbas, `Ubayd bin `Umayr, Qatadah and Ibn Jurayj commented, "They started the day as sorcerers and ended it as martyrs."

Dalam ayat ini diceritakan bahwa Firaun dengan sangat murka berkata kepada pesihir yang telah menyatakan iman kepada Tuhan Nabi Musa, "Mengapa kamu beriman kepadanya sebelum aku izinkan?" Maksudnya mengapa mereka menyatakan iman kepada Musa dan kepada agama yang dibawanya yang berdasarkan kepercayaan tauhid kepada Allah, padahal ia belum memberi izin atau memerintahkan kepada mereka. Mengapa mereka tunduk menjadi pengikut Nabi Musa sebelum meminta izin kepada Firaun lebih dahulu.

Ucapan Firaun ini menunjukkan bahwa ia masih belum menyadari, bahwa apa yang diperlihatkan Nabi Musa di hadapannya adalah mukjizat pemberian Allah yang tidak akan dikalahkan oleh siapa pun. Dan ia belum menyadari bahwa orang-orang yang menyaksikan kemenangan Nabi Musa itu sudah tidak mempunyai rasa hormat lagi terhadap dirinya, dan bahwa dia tidak lagi merupakan orang yang dipertuan dan dipertuhan. Di samping itu, ia menuduh ahli-pesihir itu sudah berkomplot dengan Nabi Musa lebih dahulu, sehingga kekalahan mereka ketika berhadapan dengan Nabi Musa telah direncanakan sebelumnya. Sebab itu ia melanjutkan ancamannya terhadap mereka dengan ucapannya sebagai berikut: "Sesungguhnya perbuatan ini adalah suatu tipu muslihat yang telah kamu rencanakan di dalam kota ini, untuk mengusir penduduk aslinya dari Mesir; maka kelak kamu akan mengetahui akibat dari perbuatan ini".

Dalam ayat yang lain Allah menyebutkan bahwa Firaun menuduh Nabi Musa sebagai guru sihir yang telah mengajarkan sihirnya kepada para pesihir tersebut, untuk bersama-sama memperdayakan Firaun untuk dan para pengikutnya untuk mengusirnya dari negeri Mesir, agar mereka kemudian dapat memegang kekuasaan di negeri Mesir, dan Firaun pun mengatakan:

Sesungguhnya dia itu pemimpinmu yang mengajarkan sihir kepadamu. (thaha/20: 71)