قَالُوا۟ يَـٰمُوسَىٰٓ إِمَّآ أَن تُلْقِىَ وَإِمَّآ أَن نَّكُونَ نَحْنُ ٱلْمُلْقِينَ 115
Translations
They said, "O Moses, either you throw [your staff], or we will be the ones to throw [first]."
Transliteration
Qaalū yā Mūsā immā an tulqī wa immā an nakūna naḥnu al-mulqīn
Tafsir (Explanation)
The magicians of Pharaoh propose to Moses (peace be upon him) that either he should cast down his staff first, or they will be the ones to cast down their ropes and staffs. This statement reflects their confidence in their sorcery and their challenge to the miraculous power of Allah. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, the magicians were attempting to assert control over the contest, but Allah would ultimately expose the falsity of their magic when Moses's staff consumed their fabrications, demonstrating the superiority of divine truth over human deception.
Revelation Context
This ayah occurs within the narrative of Moses's confrontation with Pharaoh and his court magicians. The context describes the miraculous contest where Pharaoh gathered the best magicians of Egypt to challenge Moses's signs. This passage is part of the broader Meccan period account meant to strengthen the Prophet Muhammad and believers against opposition, by illustrating how Allah's truth triumphed over falsehood in previous nations.
Related Hadiths
While no hadith directly references this ayah, the theme of truth overcoming falsehood relates to: 'The truth has come and falsehood has vanished. Indeed, falsehood is ever bound to vanish' (Quran 17:81). Thematically related is the hadith in Sahih Muslim regarding the Prophet's reliance on Allah's support against his adversaries.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches believers that confidence in human abilities and deceptions is ultimately futile against the truth of Allah; those who rely on falsehood, however confident they appear, will be exposed and humiliated, while truth prevails through divine wisdom.
Related Ayahs
وَقَالَتْ أُولَىٰهُمْ لِأُخْرَىٰهُمْ فَمَا كَانَ لَكُمْ عَلَيْنَا مِن فَضْلٍ فَذُوقُوا۟ ٱلْعَذَابَ بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَكْسِبُونَ
And the first of them will say to the last of them, "Then you had not any favor over us, so taste the punishment for what you used to earn."
قَالَ فَٱهْبِطْ مِنْهَا فَمَا يَكُونُ لَكَ أَن تَتَكَبَّرَ فِيهَا فَٱخْرُجْ إِنَّكَ مِنَ ٱلصَّـٰغِرِينَ
[Allāh] said, "Descend from it [i.e., Paradise], for it is not for you to be arrogant therein. So get out; indeed, you are of the debased."
وَجَآءَ ٱلسَّحَرَةُ فِرْعَوْنَ قَالُوٓا۟ إِنَّ لَنَا لَأَجْرًا إِن كُنَّا نَحْنُ ٱلْغَـٰلِبِينَ
And the magicians came to Pharaoh. They said, "Indeed for us is a reward if we are the predominant."
ٱلَّذِينَ يَصُدُّونَ عَن سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ وَيَبْغُونَهَا عِوَجًا وَهُم بِٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ كَـٰفِرُونَ
Who averted [people] from the way of Allāh and sought to make it [seem] deviant while they were, concerning the Hereafter, disbelievers."