Sura 20, Ta ha (O Man) Mecca 45

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:

اذْهَبْ أَنتَ وَأَخُوكَ بِآيَاتِي وَلَا تَنِيَا فِي ذِكْرِي ﴿٤٢﴾

20: 42.  "Go, thou and thy brother, with My Signs, and slacken not, either of you, in keeping Me in remembrance.

C2565. We may suppose that Moses had fled alone to the land of Midian, and that he had now come alone (with his family but not with his brother) to Tuwa, as described in n. 2542 above.

When he was honoured with his mission, and was granted his request that his brother Aaron should accompany him, we may suppose that he took steps to get Aaron to come to him, and their meeting was in Tuwa. Some time may be supposed to have elapsed before they were in Egypt, and then they prayed, and received these directions in their Egyptian home.

Aaron was either an elder or a younger brother, we are not told which. In either case he was born when the ban on Israelite new-born babes was not in operation. Moses had been out of touch with him, and it speaks greatly for his family affection that he remembered him and prayed for his comradeship in the most serious spiritual work of his life.

اذْهَبَا إِلَى فِرْعَوْنَ ...

20: 43.  "Go, both of you, to Pharaoh,

C2566. Their mission was in the first instance to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians, and then to lead Israel out of Egypt.

... إِنَّهُ طَغَى ﴿٤٣﴾

for he has indeed transgressed all bounds;

C2567. Compare the same phrase in 20:24.

Having glanced at the early life of Moses we come back now to the time when Moses' actual ministry begins. The earlier personal story of Moses is rounded off.

فَقُولَا لَهُ قَوْلًا لَّيِّنًا لَّعَلَّهُ يَتَذَكَّرُ أَوْ يَخْشَى ﴿٤٤﴾

20: 44.  "But speak to him mildly; perchance he may take warning or fear (Allah)."

C2568. So far Pharaoh in his inordinate vanity had forgotten himself and forgotten how small a creature he was before Allah. This was to be brought to his recollection, so that he might perhaps repent and believe, or at least be deterred by fear from "transgressing all bounds".

Some men eschew wrong from sincere love of Allah and understanding of their fellow-men, and some (of coarser minds) from the fear of consequences. Even the latter conduct may be a step to the former.

قَالَا رَبَّنَا إِنَّنَا نَخَافُ أَن يَفْرُطَ عَلَيْنَا أَوْ أَن يَطْغَى ﴿٤٥﴾

20: 45.  They (Moses and Aaron) said:

"Our Lord! we fear lest he hasten with insolence against us, or lest he transgress all bounds."

C2569. They were now in Egypt (see n. 2565 above) and therefore in the power of the Pharaoh. The local atmosphere called for the greatest courage and firmness on their part to carry out the dangerous mission which had been entrusted to them.

قَالَ لَا تَخَافَا...   

20: 46.  He said:

"Fear not: for I am with you:

...إِنَّنِي مَعَكُمَا أَسْمَعُ وَأَرَى ﴿٤٦﴾

I hear and see (everything).

فَأْتِيَاهُ فَقُولَا إِنَّا رَسُولَا رَبِّكَ...   

20: 47.  "So go ye both to him, and say,

'Verily we are Messengers sent by thy Lord:

...فَأَرْسِلْ مَعَنَا بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ وَلَا تُعَذِّبْهُمْ...

send forth, therefore, the Children of Israel with us, and afflict them not:

C2570. The Children of Israel were subjected to all sorts of oppression and indignities. They were given hard tasks; their leaders were unjustly beaten; they were forced to make bricks without straw; and they "groaned in bondage" (Exod. 5:6-19. 6:5).

...قَدْ جِئْنَاكَ بِآيَةٍ مِّن رَّبِّكَ...

with a Sign, indeed, have we come from thy Lord!

...وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى مَنِ اتَّبَعَ الْهُدَى ﴿٤٧﴾

And peace to all who follow guidance!

C2571. Allah, in His infinite Mercy, always offers Peace to the most hardened sinners, even those who are warring against Him.

But, as stated in the next verse, their defiance cannot go on with impunity indefinitely. The punishment must inevitably come for sin, whether the sinner is great or small.

إِنَّا قَدْ أُوحِيَ إِلَيْنَا أَنَّ الْعَذَابَ عَلَى مَن كَذَّبَ وَتَوَلَّى ﴿٤٨﴾

20: 48.  "'Verily it has been revealed to us that the Penalty (awaits) those who reject and turn away.'"

قَالَ فَمَن رَّبُّكُمَا يَا مُوسَى ﴿٤٩﴾

20: 49.  (When this message was delivered), (Pharaoh) said: "Who, then, O Moses, is the Lord of you two?"

C2572. Notice how subtly Pharaoh rejects the implication in Moses' speech, in which Moses had referred to "thy Lord" (verse 47).

Pharaoh implicitly repudiates the suggestion that the God who had sent Moses and Aaron could possibly be Pharaoh's Lord. He asks insolently, "Who is this Lord of yours, of Whom ye speak as having sent you?"

قَالَ رَبُّنَا الَّذِي أَعْطَى كُلَّ شَيْءٍ خَلْقَهُ ثُمَّ هَدَى ﴿٥٠﴾

20: 50.  He said: "Our Lord is He Who gave to each (created) thing its form and nature, and further, gave (it) guidance."

C2573. The answer of Moses is straightforward, dignified, and illuminating. He will not dispute about "my Lord" or "your Lord," the God of Israel, or the God of Egypt. He and his brother were proud to serve "our Lord," but He was the universal Lord and Cherisher, the One and Only God, Who had created all beings and all things.

It was from Him that each created thing derived its form and nature, including such free-will and power as man had got.

He, Pharaoh, was subject to the same condition. In order that the free-will should be rightly exercised, Allah had given guidance through His Messengers, and His Signs. Moses and Aaron stood as such Messengers, with such Signs. Will Pharaoh now understand and do right?

قَالَ فَمَا بَالُ الْقُرُونِ الْأُولَى ﴿٥١﴾

20: 51.  (Pharaoh) said: "What then is the condition of previous generations?"

C2574. But Pharaoh was not the man to accept teaching from the despised Israelite- one, too, who in his eyes was a renegade from the higher Egyptian civilisation.

"If," he says in effect, "there is only one God, to Whom all things are referred, this is a new religion.

What of the religion of our ancestors?

Were they wrong in worshipping the Egyptian gods?

And if they were wrong, are they in misery now?

He wanted to trap Moses into a scathing denunciation of his ancestors, which would at once have deprived him of the sympathy or the hearing of the Egyptian crowd.

قَالَ عِلْمُهَا عِندَ رَبِّي فِي كِتَابٍ...   

20: 52.  He replied:

"The knowledge of that is with my Lord, duly recorded:

C2575. Moses did not fall into the trap. He remembered the injunction given to him to speak mildly (20:44). He speaks mildly, but does not in any way whittle down the truth.

He said in effect: 'Allah's knowledge is perfect, as if, with men, it were a record. For men may make mistakes or may not remember, but Allah never mistakes and never forgets.

But Allah is not only All-Knowing: He is also All-Good. Look around you: the whole earth is spread out like a carpet. Men go to and fro in it freely. He sends abundance of water from the skies, which comes down in Nile floods and fertilizes the whole soil of Egypt, and feeds men and animals.'

...لَّا يَضِلُّ رَبِّي وَلَا يَنسَى ﴿٥٢﴾

my Lord never errs, nor forgets --

الَّذِي جَعَلَ لَكُمُ الْأَرْضَ مَهْدًا وَسَلَكَ لَكُمْ فِيهَا سُبُلًا...   

20: 53.  "He Who has made for you the earth like a carpet spread out; has enabled you to go about therein by roads (and channels);

C2576. Sabil means not only a road, but would include water-roads or channels, and in modern conditions, airways- in fact all means of communication.

وَأَنزَلَ مِنَ السَّمَاء مَاء ...

and has sent down water from the sky."

C2577. This seems to be outside the speech of Moses, and connects itself with the following verses 54-56, as part of the Word of Allah, expanding the speech of Moses and explaining the working of Allah's Providencein nature.

... فَأَخْرَجْنَا بِهِ أَزْوَاجًا مِّن نَّبَاتٍ شَتَّى ﴿٥٣﴾

With it have We produced diverse pairs of plants each separate from the others.

C2578. Azwaj. - we might translate here (as in 15:88) by "classes" instead of "pairs"; but as sex in plants seems to be referred to elsewhere (see 13:3, and n. 1804), 1 translate "pairs".

كُلُوا وَارْعَوْا أَنْعَامَكُمْ...   

20: 54.  Eat (for yourselves) and pasture your cattle:

...إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِّأُوْلِي النُّهَى ﴿٥٤﴾

verily, in this are Signs for men endued with understanding.

مِنْهَا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ وَفِيهَا نُعِيدُكُمْ...   

20: 55.  From the (earth) did We create you, and into it shall We return you,

...وَمِنْهَا نُخْرِجُكُمْ تَارَةً أُخْرَى ﴿٥٥﴾

and from it shall We bring you out once again.

C2579. The verse ought really to go into the last Section.

وَلَقَدْ أَرَيْنَاهُ آيَاتِنَا كُلَّهَا فَكَذَّبَ وَأَبَى ﴿٥٦﴾

20: 56.  And We showed Pharaoh all Our Signs, but he did reject and refuse.

C2580. This is a sort of general introduction to the confrontation between Moses and Pharaoh.

The Signs are not only the countering of the fraudulent magic of Egypt with real miracles, but the subsequent Plagues (not mentioned here) and the Crossing of the Red Sea by Israel. (R).

قَالَ أَجِئْتَنَا لِتُخْرِجَنَا مِنْ أَرْضِنَا بِسِحْرِكَ يَا مُوسَى ﴿٥٧﴾

20: 57.  He said: "Hast thou come to drive us out of our land with thy magic, O Moses?

C2581. The Egyptians accused Moses of a design to deprive them of their land, and of exercising black magic.

Both charges were palpably false.

What Moses wanted to do was to free his people from bondage. The Egyptians had all the power in their possession.

As to magic, the Egyptians judged Moses by themselves. They accused the Prophet of Allah of doing the same, though both his outlook and the source of his strength were altogether different.

فَلَنَأْتِيَنَّكَ بِسِحْرٍ مِّثْلِهِ فَاجْعَلْ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَكَ مَوْعِدًا...   

20: 58.  "But we can surely produce magic to match thine!

So make a tryst between us and thee,

...لَّا نُخْلِفُهُ نَحْنُ وَلَا أَنتَ مَكَانًا سُوًى ﴿٥٨﴾

which we shall not fail to keep -- neither we nor thou -- in a place where both shall have even chances."

C2582. Suwan: literally, 'equal, even'.

It has been construed to mean:

-         a place equally distant for both sides, a central place, or

-         equally convenient to both sides, or

-        an open level plain, where the people can collect with ease.

All these are possible meanings, but the one I have adopted is more comprehensive, and includes the others, viz.:

a place where both sides shall have even chances. "a fair place," as Palmer Laconically translates it.

قَالَ مَوْعِدُكُمْ يَوْمُ الزِّينَةِ وَأَن يُحْشَرَ النَّاسُ ضُحًى ﴿٥٩﴾

20: 59.  Moses said: "Your tryst is the Day of the Festival, and let the people be assembled when the sun is well up."

C2583. A great day of a Temple Festival, when the temples and streets were decorated, and people were on holiday, free from work.

Moses makes this appointment in order to collect as large a number as possible, for his first duty is to preach the Truth. And he apparently did it with some effect with some Egyptians (20:70, 72-76), though the Pharaoh and his high and mighty officers rejected the Truth and afterwards paid the Penalty.

فَتَوَلَّى فِرْعَوْنُ فَجَمَعَ كَيْدَهُ ثُمَّ أَتَى ﴿٦٠﴾

20: 60.  So Pharaoh withdrew: he concerted his plan, and then came (back).

C2584. Pharaoh was apparently taken aback at Moses appointing a solemn day of public Festival, when there would be a large concourse and there would be sure to be some people not in the Court clique, who might be critical of Pharaoh's own sorcerers.

But probably there was something more in their dark counsels, something unfair and wicked, to which Moses refers in his speech in the next verse.

قَالَ لَهُم مُّوسَى...   

20: 61.  Moses said to him:

...وَيْلَكُمْ لَا تَفْتَرُوا عَلَى اللَّهِ كَذِبًا فَيُسْحِتَكُمْ بِعَذَابٍ...

"Woe to you! forge not ye a lie against Allah, lest He destroy you (at once) utterly by chastisement:

...وَقَدْ خَابَ مَنِ افْتَرَى ﴿٦١﴾

the forger must suffer frustration!"

C2585. Moses had some idea of their trickery and deceit. They would palm off their fraudulent magic as coming from Allah or from their gods!

He warns them that their tricks will stand exposed, and their hopes will be defeated.

فَتَنَازَعُوا أَمْرَهُم بَيْنَهُمْ وَأَسَرُّوا النَّجْوَى ﴿٦٢﴾

20: 62.  So they disputed, one with another, over their affair, but they kept their talk secret.

C2586. They knew that they had here to deal with no ordinary man, but a man with powers above what they could conceive of.

But evil always thinks evil. Judging Moses and Aaron by their own standards, they thought that these two were also tricksters, with some tricks superior to their own. All they had to do was to stand together, and they must win.

I construe 20:63-64 to be private talk among themselves, followed by their open challenge to Moses in 20:65.

قَالُوا إِنْ هَذَانِ لَسَاحِرَ...

20: 63.  They said:

"These two are certainly (expert) magicians:

...انِ يُرِيدَانِ أَن يُخْرِجَاكُم مِّنْ أَرْضِكُم بِسِحْرِهِمَا...

their object is to drive you out from your land with their magic,

...وَيَذْهَبَا بِطَرِيقَتِكُمُ الْمُثْلَى ﴿٦٣﴾

and to do away with your most cherished institutions.

C2587. Cf. 20:104.

'Your most cherished institutions,' i.e., 'your ancestral and time- honoured religion and magic'.

Muthla, feminine of Amthal, most distinguished, honoured, cherished.

Tariqat: way of life, institutions, conduct.

فَأَجْمِعُوا كَيْدَكُمْ ثُمَّ ائْتُوا صَفًّا...   

20: 64.  "Therefore concert your plan. And then assemble in (serried) ranks:

...وَقَدْ أَفْلَحَ الْيَوْمَ مَنِ اسْتَعْلَى ﴿٦٤﴾

he wins (all along) today who gains the upper hand."

C2588. Presumably Pharaoh was in this secret conference, and he promises the most lavish rewards to the magicians if they overcome Moses. See 7:114. That-but I think more than that-is implied.

That day was to be the crisis: if they won then, they would win all along, and Moses and his people would be crushed.

قَالُوا يَا مُوسَى إِمَّا أَن تُلْقِيَ وَإِمَّا أَن نَّكُونَ أَوَّلَ مَنْ أَلْقَى ﴿٦٥﴾

20: 65.  They said:

"O Moses! whether wilt thou that thou throw (first) or that we be the first to throw?"

قَالَ بَلْ أَلْقُوا...   

20: 66.  He said, "Nay, throw ye first!"

...فَإِذَا حِبَالُهُمْ وَعِصِيُّهُمْ يُخَيَّلُ إِلَيْهِ مِن سِحْرِهِمْ أَنَّهَا تَسْعَى ﴿٦٦﴾

Then behold their ropes and their rods -- so it seemed to him on account of their magic -- began to be in lively motion!

C2589. Their bag of tricks was so clever that it imposed upon all beholders.

Their ropes and their rods were thrown, and seemed to move about like snakes. So realistic was the effect that even Moses felt the least bit of doubt in his own mind. He of course had no tricks, and he relied entirely on Allah.

فَأَوْجَسَ فِي نَفْسِهِ خِيفَةً مُّوسَى ﴿٦٧﴾

20: 67.  So Moses conceived in his mind a (sort of) fear.

C2590. The concerted attack of evil is sometimes so well contrived from all points that falsehood appears and is acclaimed as the truth. The believer of truth is isolated, and a sort of moral dizziness creeps over his mind.

But by Allah's grace Faith asserts itself, gives him confidence, and points out the specific truths which will dissipate and destroy the teeming brood of falsehood.

قُلْنَا لَا تَخَفْ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ الْأَعْلَى ﴿٦٨﴾

20: 68.  We said: "Fear not! for thou hast indeed the upper hand:

وَأَلْقِ مَا فِي يَمِينِكَ تَلْقَفْ مَا صَنَعُوا...   

20: 69.  "Throw that which is in thy right hand: quickly will it swallow up that which they have faked.

...إِنَّمَا صَنَعُوا كَيْدُ سَاحِرٍ...

What they have faked is but a magician's trick:

...وَلَا يُفْلِحُ السَّاحِرُ حَيْثُ أَتَى ﴿٦٩﴾

and the magician thrives not (no matter) where he goes."

C2591. The meaning may be either

-        that falsehood and trickery may have their day, but they cannot win everywhere, especially in the presence of Truth, or

-        that trickery and magic must come to an evil end.

فَأُلْقِيَ السَّحَرَةُ سُجَّدًا قَالُوا آمَنَّا بِرَبِّ هَارُونَ وَمُوسَى ﴿٧٠﴾

20: 70.  So the magicians were thrown down to prostration: they said,

"We believe in the Lord of Aaron and Moses."

C2592. Cf. this passage with 7:120-126 and n. 1082, and n. 1083.

قَالَ آمَنتُمْ لَهُ قَبْلَ أَنْ آذَنَ لَكُمْ...   

20: 71.  (Pharaoh) said:

"Believe ye in Him before I give you permission?

...إِنَّهُ لَكَبِيرُكُمُ الَّذِي عَلَّمَكُمُ السِّحْرَ...

Surely this must be your leader, who has taught you magic!

C2593. Pharaoh accuses his sorcerers who have been converted, of having been in league with Moses all the time, and in fact of having been led and taught by him!

So arrogance and evil cannot conceive of Allah's worlds and worlds of beauty and truth beyond its own narrow vision! It is truly blind and its very cleverness deludes it to wander fat from the truth.

...فَلَأُقَطِّعَنَّ أَيْدِيَكُمْ وَأَرْجُلَكُم مِّنْ خِلَافٍ وَلَأُصَلِّبَنَّكُمْ فِي جُذُوعِ النَّخْلِ...

Be sure I will cut off your hands and feet on opposite sides, and I will have you crucified on trunks of palm-trees:

...وَلَتَعْلَمُنَّ أَيُّنَا أَشَدُّ عَذَابًا وَأَبْقَى ﴿٧١﴾

So shall ye know for certain, which of us can give the more severe and the more lasting Punishment!"

قَالُوا لَن نُّؤْثِرَكَ عَلَى مَا جَاءنَا مِنَ الْبَيِّنَاتِ وَالَّذِي فَطَرَنَا...   

20: 72.  They said:

"Never shall we regard thee as more than the Clear Signs that have come to us, or than Him Who created us!

C2594. Clear Signs:

-         the miracles,

-         the personality of the Messengers of Allah,

-         the logic of events as they unfolded themselves, and

-         the light of inner conviction in their own conscience.

There are in addition the Signs and Proofs of Allah in nature, which are referred to in many places, e.g.,20:53-54.

...فَاقْضِ مَا أَنتَ قَاضٍ...

So decree whatever thou desirest to decree:

...إِنَّمَا تَقْضِي هَذِهِ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا ﴿٧٢﴾

for thou canst only decree (touching) the life of this world.

C2595. Thus was the first part of the mission of Moses- that to the Egyptians- fulfilled.

See n. 1083 to 7:126; also Appendix V.

إِنَّا آمَنَّا بِرَبِّنَا لِيَغْفِرَ لَنَا خَطَايَانَا...   

20: 73.  "For us, we have believed in our Lord: may He forgive us our faults,

...وَمَا أَكْرَهْتَنَا عَلَيْهِ مِنَ السِّحْرِ...

and the magic to which thou didst compel us:

C2596. The magic mummery, and deceptions which pertained to Egyptian Pagan religion became a creed, a State article of faith, to which all citizens were compelled to bow, and which its priests were compelled actively to practice. And Pharaoh was at the head of the whole system-the high priest or the supreme god. With justice, therefore, do the converted magicians lay the blame on Pharaoh, effectively negativing Pharaoh's disingenuous charge that they had been in league with Moses.

These falsehoods and deceptions-combined in many cases with horrid cruelties, open and secret,-were common to many Pagan systems. Some of them have been investigated in detail in Sir John G. Frazer' Golden Bough.

...وَاللَّهُ خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَى ﴿٧٣﴾

for Allah is Best and Most Abiding."

إِنَّهُ مَن يَأْتِ رَبَّهُ مُجْرِمًا فَإِنَّ لَهُ جَهَنَّمَ...   

20: 74.  Verily he who comes to his Lord as a sinner (at judgment) -- for him is Hell:

C2597. The verses 20:74-76 are best construed as comments on the story of the converted Egyptians who had "purified themselves (from evil)".

But some construe them as a continuation of their speech.

...لَا يَمُوتُ فِيهَا وَلَا يَحْيى ﴿٧٤﴾

therein shall he neither die nor live.

وَمَنْ يَأْتِهِ مُؤْمِنًا قَدْ عَمِلَ الصَّالِحَاتِ فَأُوْلَئِكَ لَهُمُ الدَّرَجَاتُ الْعُلَى ﴿٧٥﴾

75.  But such as comes to Him as Believers who have worked righteous deeds -- for them are ranks 20: exalted --

جَنَّاتُ عَدْنٍ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا...   

20: 76.  Gardens of Eternity, beneath which flow rivers:

they will dwell therein for aye:

...وَذَلِكَ جَزَاء مَن تَزَكَّى ﴿٧٦﴾

such is the reward of those who purify themselves (from evil).

C2598. As the Egyptian magicians had done when they confessed the One True God.

Asad’s Version:

20:42 [Ta’ha, Mecca 45]

"Go forth, [then,] thou and thy brother, with My messages, and never tire of remembering Me:

(20:43) go forth, both of you, unto Pharaoh: for, verily, he has transgressed all bounds of equity!

(20:44) But speak unto him in a mild manner, so that he might bethink himself or [at least] be filled with apprehension." 28

20:45 The two [brothers] said: "O our Sustainer! Verily, we fear lest he act hastily with regard to us, 29 or lest he [continue to] transgress all bounds of equity."

20:46 Answered He: "Fear not! Verily, I shall be with you two, hearing and seeing [all].

(20:47) Go,then; you two unto him and say, 'Behold, we are apostles sent by thy Sustainer: let, then, the children of Israel go with us, and cause them not to suffer [any longer]. 30 We have now come unto thee with a message from thy Sustainer; and [know that His] peace shall be [only] on those who follow [His] guidance:

(20:48) for, behold, it has been revealed to us that [in the life to come] suffering shall befall all who give the lie to the truth and turn away [from it]!'"

20:49 [Ta’ha, Mecca 45]

[But when God's message was conveyed unto Pharaoh,] he said: "Who, now, is this Sustainer of you two, O Moses?"

20:50

20:51

Said [Pharaoh]: "And what of all the past generations?" 32

20:52 [Ta’ha, Mecca 45]

[[Asad’s notes:

29 I.e., "lest he prevent us, by banishing or killing us outright, from delivering Thy message fully".

30 Cf. 2:49, 7:141 and 14:6. For a more detailed description of this Pharaonic oppression of the Israelites, see Exodus i, 8-22.

3 1 In the original, this sentence appears in the past tense ("has given" and "has guided"); but as it obviously relates to the continuous process of God's creation, it is independent of the concept of time and denotes, as in so many other places in the Qur'an. an unceasing present. The term khalq signifies in this context not merely the inner nature of a created thing or being but also the outward form in which this nature manifests itself; hence my composite rendering of khalqahu as "its true nature and form". The idea underlying the above sentence is expressed for the first time in 87:2-3, i.e., in a surah which belongs to the earliest period of Qur'anic revelation.

32 Sc, "who used to worship a plurality of deities: are they, in thy view, irretrievably doomed?"

33 I.e., He alone decrees their destiny in the life to come, for He alone knows their motives and

understands the cause of their errors, and He alone can appreciate their spiritual merits and demerits.

34 According to Razi, the dialogue between Moses and Pharaoh ends here for the time being, with verses 53-55 representing a direct Qur'anic discourse addressed to man in general. ]]

20:53 HE IT IS who has made the earth a cradle for you, and has traced out for you ways [of livelihood] thereon, 35 and [who] sends down waters from the sky: and by this means We bring forth various kinds 36 of plants.

(20:54) Eat, [then, of this produce of the soil,] and pasture your cattle [thereon]. In all this, behold, there are messages indeed for those who are endowed with reason:

(20:55)

out of this [earth] have We created you, and into it shall We return you, and out of it shall We bring you forth once again. 37

20:56 [Ta ha (O Man) Mecca 45]

(20:57) He said: "Hast thou come to drive us out of our land 40 by thy sorcery, O Moses?

(20:58) In that case, we shall most certainly produce before thee the like thereof! Appoint, then, a tryst between us and thee - which we shall not fail to keep, nor [mayest] thou - at a suitable place!"

20:59

Answered [Moses]: "Your tryst shall be the day of the Festival;" and let the people assemble when the sun is risen high."

(20:60) Thereupon Pharaoh withdrew [with his counsellors] and decided upon the scheme which he would pursue; 42 and then he came [to the tryst].

20:61 [Ta ha (O Man) Mecca 45]

[[Asad’s notes:

35 I.e., "has provided you with ways and means - both material and intellectual - to gain your

livelihood on earth and from it" .

36 Lit., "pairs" (azwaj), a term which in this context apparently denotes "kinds"; but see also

13:3 and the corresponding note 7.

37 Regarding the creation of man's body "out of the earth", see the second half of note 47 on 3:59,

as well as note 24 on 15:26; its "return into it" signifies the dissolution of this body, after

death, into the elementary organic and inorganic substances of which it was composed; and all

these facts - creation, subsistence and dissolution - contain the message of God's almightiness,

of the ephemeral nature of man's life on earth, and of his future resurrection.

38 Lit, We showed him" (araynahu), i.e., Pharaoh. According to Zamakhshari, Razi and

Baydawi, this

verb has here the meaning of "We made him acquainted with" or "aware of".

39 Lhe messages alluded to here are both those entrusted directly to Moses and the intangible

"messages" forthcoming from God's creation and referred to in the preceding passage.

40 I.e., "deprive us of our rule" (cf. 7:110).

41 Lit., "the day of adornment" - possibly the Egyptian New Year's Day. The expression "your

tryst"

has the connotation of "the tryst proposed by you".

42 Lit., "he decided upon his artful scheme" (jama'a kaydahu): evidently an allusion to his

summoning

all the greatest sorcerers of Egypt (cf. 7:111-1 14).

43 I.e., by deliberately denying the truth of His messages. ]]

20:62

So they debated among themselves as to what to do; but they kept their counsel secret,

(20:63) saying [to one another]: "These two are surely sorcerers intent on driving you from your land 44 by their sorcery, and on doing away with your time-honoured way of life. 45

[ Ruby’s notes – this is a tactic that is being used in different forms or shape down through time to arouse unnecessary fear, hatred and antagonism to act vehemently against others and fight others to procue a lose-lose outcome. In most of the cases the process of exchange or engagements instead could produce a win-win situation. The leaders often use a nagative conctext and people’s weaknesses – insecurity, fear, prejudices, etc – to convince the people to act in the negative way to help the leaders interests, to reinforce and retain the hold of power. Here the threat of being driven out and dishonored has been used to arouse anger, distrust and hatred against Moses and his companies so that the group and then the entire community could aggressively oppose and fight against them. Human society must remain aware about this eveil process through much wrong was done and much evil perpetrated. Here all the parties could have seen the merit of what Moses was saying without taking a preconceived hardline position agsinst him. And there could have been a win-win outcome. ]]

(20:64) Hence, [O

sorcerers of Egypt,] decide upon the scheme which you will pursue, and then come forward in one single body:" for, indeed, he who prevails today shall prosper indeed!" 47

20:65

Said [the sorcerers]: "O Moses! Either thou throw (thy staff first], or we shall be the first to throw."

(20:66) He answered: "Nay, you throw [first]."

And lo! by virtue of their sorcery, their [magic] ropes and staffs seemed to him to be moving rapidly:

(20:67) and in his heart Moses became apprehensive. 48

20:68 [Ta’ha, Mecca 45]

[But] We said: "Fear not! Verily, it is thou who shalt prevail!

(20:69) And [now] throw that [staff] which is in thy right hand - it shall swallow up all that they have wrought: [for] they have wrought only a sorcerer's artifice, and the sorcerer can never come to any good, whatever he may aim at!" 49 '

[[ Ruby’s note – This process of vindication and victory in different ways plays out all the time in human affairs. First the evil ones play dirty trics to defeat but if the good ones trusting God go ahead and fact the challenges –and not give up – ultimately win.]]

20:70

[And so it happened 50 - ] and down fell the sorcerers, prostrating themselves in adoration, 51 [and] exclaimed: "We have come to believe in the Sustainer of Moses and Aaron!"

20:71 Said [Pharaoh]: "Have you come to believe in him 52 ere I have given you permission? Verily, he must be your master who has taught you magic! But I shall most certainly cut off your hands and feet in great numbers, because of [your] perverseness, and I shall most certainly crucify you in great numbers on trunks of palm-trees: 53 and [I shall do this] so that you might come to know for certain as to which of us [two] 54 can inflict a more severe chastisement, and [which] is the more abiding!"

[[Asad’s notes:

44 See note 40 above. The dual form refers to Moses and Aaron.

45 Lit., "your exemplary [or "ideal"] way of life (tarigah)".

46 Lit., "in one [single] line", i.e., in unison.

47 Cf. 7:113-114.

48 Lit., "conceived fear within himself". The implication is that the feat of the sorcerers was

based on mass-hallucination (cf. 7:116 - "they cast a spell upon the people's eyes"), a

hallucination to which even Moses succumbed for a while.

49 Lit., "wherever he may come" - i.e., irrespective of whether he aims at a good or at an evil end (Razi). The above statement implies a categorical condemnation of all endeavours which fall under the heading of "magic", whatever the intention of the person who devotes himself to it.(In this connection, see also surah 2, note 84.)

50 Cf. 7:117-119.

51 See note 90 on 7:120.

52 I.e., Moses (cf. note 91 on 7:123).

53 Regarding the meaning of the stress on "great numbers", forthcoming from the grammatical

form of

the verbs employed by Pharaoh, see surah 7, note 92.

54 Sc, "I or the God in whom you now believe". ]]

==========================

20:72 They answered: "Never shall we prefer thee to all the evidence of the truth that has come unto us, nor to Him who has brought us into being! Decree, then, whatever thou art going to decree: thou canst decree only [something that pertains to] this worldly life! 55

(20:73)

[[ Asad’s note - 57 Lit., "and the most abiding", i.e., eternal: cf 55:26-27.]]

20:74

VERILY, as for him who shall appear before his Sustainer [on Judgment Day] lost in sin - his [portion], behold, shall be hell: he will neither die therein nor live; 58

20:75

[[ Adad note -

59 Thus the Qur'an implies - here as well as in many other places - that the spiritual value of a person's faith depends on his doing righteous deeds as well: cf. the statement in 6:158 that on Judgment Day "believing will be of no avail to any human being... who, while believing, did no good works".]]

(20:76) [Ta’ha, Mecca 45]