The Heights, The Elevated Places — Verse 120
7:120 · al-A`raf
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وَأُلۡقِیَ ٱلسَّحَرَةُ سَـٰجِدِینَ ١٢٠
wa-ul'qiya l-saḥaratu sājidīn
The Heights, The Elevated Places / al-A`raf (7:120)
The sorcerers fell to their knee
wa-ul'qiya l-saḥaratu sājidīn
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Tafsir Commentary
Musa defeats the Magicians, Who believe in Him
Allah states that at that tremendous moment, in which Allah differentiated between Truth and Falsehood, He sent a revelation to His servant and Messenger Musa, peace be upon him, ordering him to throw the stick that he held in his right hand,
فَإِذَا هِىَ تَلْقَفُ
(It swallowed straight away) and devoured,
مَا يَأْفِكُونَ
(all the falsehood which they showed.) the magic that they caused the illusion with, of magic with which they caused making it appear real, whereas it was not real at all. Ibn `Abbas said that Musa's stick swallowed all the ropes and sticks that the magicians threw. The magicians realized that this was from heaven and was by no means magic. They fell in prostration and proclaimed,
قَالُواْ ءَامَنَّا بِرَبِّ الْعَـلَمِينَ - رَبِّ مُوسَى وَهَـرُونَ
("We believe in the Lord of all that exists. The Lord of Musa and Harun ). Muhammad bin Ishaq commented, "It followed the ropes and sticks one after another, until nothing that the sorcerers threw remained. Musa then held it in his hand, and it became a stick again just as it was before. The magicians fell in prostration and proclaimed, `We believe in the Lord of all that exists, the Lord of Musa and Harun. Had Musa been a magician, he would not have prevailed over us. "' Al-Qasim bin Abi Bazzah commented, "Allah revealed to Musa to throw his stick. When he threw his stick, it became a huge, manifest snake that opened its mouth and swallowed the magicians' ropes and sticks. On that, the magicians fell in prostration. They did not raise their heads before seeing the Paradise, the Fire, and the recompense of their inhabitants."
And the sorcerers fell down in prostration.
وخَرَّ السحرة سُجَّدًا على وجوههم لله رب العالمين لِمَا عاينوا من عظيم قدرة الله.
يخبر تعالى أنه أوحى إلى عبده ورسوله موسى عليه السلام في ذلك الموقف العظيم الذي فرق الله تعالى فيه بين الحق والباطل يأمره بأن يلقي ما في يمينه وهي عصاه "فإذا هي تلقف" أي تأكل "ما يأفكون" أي ما يلقونه ويوهمون أنه حق وهو باطل قال ابن عباس فجعلت لا تمر بشيء من حبالهم ولا من خشبهم إلا التقمته فعرفت السحرة أن هذا شيء من السماء ليس هذا بسحر فخروا سجدا وقالوا "آمنا برب العالمين رب موسى وهارون" وقال محمد بن إسحاق جعلت تتبع تلك الحبال والعصي واحدة واحدة حتى ما يرى بالوادي قليل ولا كثير مما ألقوا ثم أخذها موسى فإذا هي عصا في يده كما كانت ووقع السحرة سجدا "قالوا آمنا برب العالمين رب موسى وهارون" لو كان هذا ساحرا ما غلبنا وقال القاسم بن أبي برة: أوحى الله إليه أن ألق عصاك فألقى عصاه فإذا هي ثعبان مبين فاغر فاه يبتلع حبالهم وعصيهم فألقى السحرة عند ذلك سجدا فما رفعوا رءوسهم حتى رأوا الجنة والنار وثواب أهلهما.
والمراد أن ظهور بطلان سحرهم ، وإدراكهم بأن موسى على الحق ، قد حملهم على السجود لله - تعالى - وأن ور الحق قد بهرهم وجعلهم يسارعون إلى الإيمان حتى لكأن أحدا قد دفعهم إليه دفعا ، وألقاهم إليه إلقاء .
القول في تأويل قوله : وَأُلْقِيَ السَّحَرَةُ سَاجِدِينَ (120)
( وألقي السحرة ساجدين ) لله تعالى . قال مقاتل : ألقاهم الله . وقيل : ألهمهم الله أن يسجدوا فسجدوا . وقال الأخفش : من سرعة ما سجدوا كأنهم ألقوا .
عَطْف على { فغُلبوا وانقَلبوا } [ الأعراف : 119 ] ، فهو في حيز فاء التعقيب ، أي : حصل ذلك كله عقب تلقف العصا ما يأفكون ، أي : بدون مهلة ، وتعقيب كل شيء بحسبه ، فسجود السحرة متأخر عن مصيرهم صاغرين ، ولكنه متأخر بزمن قليل وهو زمن انقداح الدليل على صدق موسى في نفوسهم ، فإنهم كانوا أعلم الناس بالسحر فلا يخفى عليهم ما هو خارج عن الأعمال السحرية ، ولذلك لما رأوا تلقف عصا موسى لحبالهم وعصيهم جزموا بأن ذلك خارج عن طوق الساحر ، فعلموا أنه تأييد من الله لموسى وأيقنوا أن ما دعاهم إليه موسى حق ، فلذلك سجدوا ، وكان هذا خاصاً بهم دون بقية الحاضرين ، فلذلك جيء بالاسم الظاهر دون الضمير لئلا يلتبس بالضمير الذي قبله الذي هو شامل للسحرة وغيرهم .والإلقاء : مستعمل في سرعة الهُوِي إلى الأرض ، أي : لم يتمالكوا أن سجدوا بدون تريث ولا تردد .وبُني فعل الإلقاء للمجهول لظهور الفاعل ، وهو أنفسُهم ، والتقدير : وألقَوْا أنفسهم على الأرض .و { ساجدين } حال ، والسجود هيئة خاصة لإلقاء المرء نفسه على الأرض يقصد منها الإفراط في التعظيم ، وسجودهم كان لله الذي عرفوه حينئذٍ بظهور معجزة موسى عليه السلام والداعي إليه بعنوان كونه رب العالمين .
تفسير الآيات من 120 الى 122 :ـ وَأُلْقِيَ السَّحَرَةُ سَاجِدِينَ * قَالُوا آمَنَّا بِرَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ * رَبِّ مُوسَى وَهَارُونَ أي: وصدقنا بما بعث به موسى من الآيات البينات.
فأما السحرة فقد آمنوا .
In Egypt, the mission of Moses continued for about forty years. This competition with the magicians took place in the last stage of this period. We can imagine from this that the magicians must have been aware of Moses’ message. However, the veil covering their eyes had not fallen away. When they saw Moses’ superiority in the field in which they specialised, then all the veils were torn apart. They could see that this was not a case of magic but of Divine prophethood. They voluntarily and spontaneously prostrated themselves before God. When the sticks and ropes were thrown down by the magicians, they appeared to the people to be moving snakes, due to an optical illusion. But when Moses’ staff turned into a snake and started moving along the ground, the magician’s sticks and ropes turned back into sticks and ropes. The magicians knew the limits of magic. In this event, the magicians realised actually how insignificant were man’s devices, even in their most perfect forms, and how Great and all-Powerful was God. Thereafter, Pharaoh—with all his authority—appeared valueless to them. The same magicians who, before witnessing God’s greatness, were desirous of rewards from Pharaoh, ignored Pharaoh’s threat of the worst punishment as if it were of no account.
Next, the verse said:
فَوَقَعَ الْحَقُّ وَبَطَلَ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ ﴿118﴾ فَغُلِبُوا هُنَالِكَ وَانقَلَبُوا صَاغِرِينَ ﴿119﴾ وَأُلْقِيَ السَّحَرَةُ سَاجِدِينَ ﴿120﴾قَالُوا آمَنَّا بِرَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ ﴿121﴾ رَبِّ مُوسَىٰ وَهَارُونَ ﴿122﴾
"So, the truth prevailed and what they were doing became a nullity. So there they were overcome and turned humiliated. And the sorcerers were constrained to fall in prostration. They said, "We believe in the Lord of the worlds, the Lord of Musa and Harun."
The sorcerers were so overawed by the miracle of the prophet Musa (علیہ السلام) that they fell in prostration. This may also imply that Allah blessed them with favour and put them in prostration. They added the phrase, the Lord of Musa and Harun (علیہما السلام) after saying, the Lord of the worlds, to make it clear that the Lord worshipped by Musa (علیہ السلام) and Harun (علیہ السلام) is, in fact, the Lord of the Universe, and not the Pharaoh as he pretended to be.
(And the wizards fell down prostrate) to Allah; it is also said that they prostrated themselves so fast, that it seemed as if they had fallen prostrate,