وَأَلْقِ مَا فِى يَمِينِكَ تَلْقَفْ مَا صَنَعُوٓا۟ ۖ إِنَّمَا صَنَعُوا۟ كَيْدُ سَـٰحِرٍ ۖ وَلَا يُفْلِحُ ٱلسَّاحِرُ حَيْثُ أَتَىٰ 69
Translations
And throw what is in your right hand; it will swallow up what they have crafted. What they have crafted is but the trick of a magician, and the magician will not succeed wherever he is."
Transliteration
Wa alqi maa fee yamineeka talqaf maa sana'oo, innama sana'oo kaydu sahirin wa la yuflihu as-sahiru haythu ata
Tafsir (Explanation)
Allah commands Musa (Moses) to cast down his staff, which will miraculously swallow up the magical ropes and staffs produced by Pharaoh's sorcerers. This ayah demonstrates the absolute superiority of divine truth over human deception and sorcery. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Qurtubi emphasize that this miracle serves as irrefutable proof of Musa's prophethood and that sorcery, regardless of its apparent power, ultimately fails and brings no success to those who practice it.
Revelation Context
This ayah is part of the narrative of Musa's confrontation with Pharaoh and his magicians at the court. The context involves Pharaoh's challenge to Musa to demonstrate his signs, leading to the famous contest where the magicians cast down their ropes and staffs. This scene illustrates the climax of their magical display before being overcome by Musa's staff, a sign from Allah. The surah emphasizes divine guidance triumphing over human artifice and disbelief.
Related Hadiths
While no specific hadith directly addresses this verse, Sahih Muslim contains reports about the Prophet's warnings against magic and practitioners of sorcery, reinforcing the Quranic theme that magic is deception without real power. The broader principle is reflected in hadith collections concerning the superiority of divine signs over false claims.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches believers that no form of deception or false power—whether sorcery, cunning schemes, or worldly manipulation—can ultimately succeed against the truth and signs of Allah. In our modern context, it reminds us to trust in divine guidance and recognize that temporary appearances of success by those practicing deception are ultimately hollow and destined to fail.
Related Ayahs
أَفَلَا يَرَوْنَ أَلَّا يَرْجِعُ إِلَيْهِمْ قَوْلًا وَلَا يَمْلِكُ لَهُمْ ضَرًّا وَلَا نَفْعًا
Did they not see that it could not return to them any speech [i.e., response] and that it did not possess for them any harm or benefit?
قَالَ ءَامَنتُمْ لَهُۥ قَبْلَ أَنْ ءَاذَنَ لَكُمْ ۖ إِنَّهُۥ لَكَبِيرُكُمُ ٱلَّذِى عَلَّمَكُمُ ٱلسِّحْرَ ۖ فَلَأُقَطِّعَنَّ أَيْدِيَكُمْ وَأَرْجُلَكُم مِّنْ خِلَـٰفٍ وَلَأُصَلِّبَنَّكُمْ فِى جُذُوعِ ٱلنَّخْلِ وَلَتَعْلَمُنَّ أَيُّنَآ أَشَدُّ عَذَابًا وَأَبْقَىٰ
[Pharaoh] said, "You believed him [i.e., Moses] before I gave you permission. Indeed, he is your leader who has taught you magic. So I will surely cut off your hands and your feet on opposite sides, and I will crucify you on the trunks of palm trees, and you will surely know which of us is more severe in [giving] punishment and more enduring."
قَالُوا۟ لَن نَّبْرَحَ عَلَيْهِ عَـٰكِفِينَ حَتَّىٰ يَرْجِعَ إِلَيْنَا مُوسَىٰ
They said, "We will never cease being devoted to it [i.e., the calf] until Moses returns to us."
فَتَنَـٰزَعُوٓا۟ أَمْرَهُم بَيْنَهُمْ وَأَسَرُّوا۟ ٱلنَّجْوَىٰ
So they disputed over their affair among themselves and concealed their private conversation.