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
وَإِذْ قَالَتْ أُمَّةٌ مِّنْهُمْ لِمَ تَعِظُونَ قَوْمًا ۙ ٱللَّهُ مُهْلِكُهُمْ أَوْ مُعَذِّبُهُمْ عَذَابًا شَدِيدًا ۖ قَالُوا۟ مَعْذِرَةً إِلَىٰ رَبِّكُمْ وَلَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَّقُونَ
And when a community among them said, "Why do you advise [or warn] a people whom Allāh is [about] to destroy or to punish with a severe punishment?" they [the advisors] said, "To be absolved before your Lord and perhaps they may fear Him."
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا۟ بِـَٔايَـٰتِنَا وَٱسْتَكْبَرُوا۟ عَنْهَا لَا تُفَتَّحُ لَهُمْ أَبْوَٰبُ ٱلسَّمَآءِ وَلَا يَدْخُلُونَ ٱلْجَنَّةَ حَتَّىٰ يَلِجَ ٱلْجَمَلُ فِى سَمِّ ٱلْخِيَاطِ ۚ وَكَذَٰلِكَ نَجْزِى ٱلْمُجْرِمِينَ
Indeed, those who deny Our verses and are arrogant toward them - the gates of Heaven will not be opened for them, nor will they enter Paradise until a camel enters into the eye of a needle [i.e., never]. And thus do We recompense the criminals.
قَالُوٓا۟ أُوذِينَا مِن قَبْلِ أَن تَأْتِيَنَا وَمِنۢ بَعْدِ مَا جِئْتَنَا ۚ قَالَ عَسَىٰ رَبُّكُمْ أَن يُهْلِكَ عَدُوَّكُمْ وَيَسْتَخْلِفَكُمْ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ فَيَنظُرَ كَيْفَ تَعْمَلُونَ
They said, "We have been harmed before you came to us and after you have come to us." He said, "Perhaps your Lord will destroy your enemy and grant you succession in the land and see how you will do."
وَمَا كَانَ جَوَابَ قَوْمِهِۦٓ إِلَّآ أَن قَالُوٓا۟ أَخْرِجُوهُم مِّن قَرْيَتِكُمْ ۖ إِنَّهُمْ أُنَاسٌ يَتَطَهَّرُونَ
But the answer of his people was only that they said, "Evict them from your city! Indeed, they are men who keep themselves pure."