Surah TaHa ayat 60 Tafsir Quran 20:60

﴿فَتَوَلَّىٰ فِرْعَوْنُ فَجَمَعَ كَيْدَهُ ثُمَّ أَتَىٰ﴾
[ طه: 60]

20:60 So Pharaoh went away, put together his plan, and then came [to Moses].

Then Pharaoh withdrew retreated and summoned up his guile that is to say those human elements of his guile from among the sorcerers and then came with them to the tryst.

There, Pharaoh drew himself away and concerted an insurrection of necromancers and came back

The Meeting of the Two Parties, Musa's Propagation of the Message and the Magicians Allah, the Exalted informs that when Fir`awn and Musa agreed to an appointed meeting at a specified place and time, Fir`awn began to gather some magicians from the cities of his kingdom.
Every person who had any affiliation with magic at that time was summoned, and magic was very widespread and in demand at that time.
This is as Allah says, وَقَالَ فِرْعَوْنُ ائْتُونِى بِكُلِّ سَـحِرٍ عَلِيمٍ ( And Fir`awn said: "Bring me every well-versed sorcerer." ) 10:79 Then, the day came.
It was the day when all of the people gathered, which was well-known, being the day of the festival.
Fir`awn was there sitting upon his throne surrounded by the elite officials of his kingdom.
The subjects were all standing on his right and his left.
Then, Musa came forward leaning upon his stick accompanied by his brother Harun.
The magicians were standing in front of Fir`awn in rows and he was prodding them, inciting them and encouraging them to do their best on this day.
They wanted to please him and he was promising them and inspiring them.
They said, فَلَمَّا جَآءَ السَّحَرَةُ قَالُواْ لِفِرْعَوْنَ أَإِنَّ لَنَا لاّجْراً إِن كُنَّا نَحْنُ الْغَـلِبِينَ - قَالَ نَعَمْ وَإِنَّكُمْ إِذاً لَّمِنَ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ ( Will there surely be a reward for us if we are the winners He (Fir`awn ) said: "Yes, and you shall then verily be of those brought near ( to myself ).") 26:41-42 قَالَ لَهُمْ مُّوسَى وَيْلَكُمْ لاَ تَفْتَرُواْ عَلَى اللَّهِ كَذِباً ( Musa said to them: "Woe unto you! Invent not a lie against Allah..." ) This means, "Do not make an illusion before the people of something that is not real, making it appear as if it were a creature, when it is not really a creature.
If you do this, then you would be lying on Allah." فَيُسْحِتَكُم بِعَذَابٍ ( lest He (Allah ) should destroy you completely by a torment.) This means, `He will destroy you with a destructive punishment that will not spare anything, or anyone.' وَقَدْ خَابَ مَنِ افْتَرَىفَتَنَـزَعُواْ أَمْرَهُمْ بَيْنَهُمْ ( "...And surely, he who invents a lie will fail miserably." Then they debated one with another what they must do, ) It has been said that this means that they argued among themselves.
So one of them said, "This is not the speech of a magician, but it is the speech of a Prophet." Another said, "No, he is only a magician." There are other opinions that have been mentioned about what they discussed.
And Allah knows best.
Allah's statement, وَأَسَرُّواْ النَّجْوَى ( and they kept their talk secret. ) means, they held secret counsel among themselves about this matter. قَالُواْ إِنْ هَـذَنِ لَسَاحِرَنِ ( They said: "Verily, these are two Hadhan magicians..." ) This is a way of speaking with some of the Arabs and this Ayah has been recited according to the grammar of their dialect.
There are also others who recite it as, ( إِنَّ هَذَيْنِ لَسَاحِرَانِ ) Which carries the same meaning, "Verily, these are two Hadhayn magicians." This is the popular style of language in Arabic grammar.
The grammarians have extensive discussions in reply to the first recitation and its grammatical explanation, but this is not the place for such a discussion.
The main point is that the magicians said among themselves, "You all know that this man and his brother ( Musa and Harun ) are two knowledgeable magicians who are quite aware of the skill of magic.
They want to defeat you and your people today and conquer the people, causing the masses to follow them.
They want to fight against Fir`awn and his armies, and they are seeking victory over him.
And their ultimate goal is to expel you from your land." Concerning Allah's statement, وَيَذْهَبَا بِطَرِيقَتِكُمُ الْمُثْلَى ( and to take you away from your exemplary way. ) This means, `they want to expose this way ( of yours ) openly, which is magic.' For verily, they were considered great because of their magic.
They had wealth and sustenance because of this magic.
They were actually saying, "If these two ( Musa and Harun ) are victorious, they will destroy you and expel you from your land.
In doing so, they will be the first individuals to do so, and they will be given great power of leadership without you." Ibn `Abbas mentioned concerning Allah's statement, وَيَذْهَبَا بِطَرِيقَتِكُمُ الْمُثْلَى ( and to take you away from your exemplary way.
) "This means their kingdom, which they were in, and their livelihood." `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd said, "This superior way means that which they were upon." فَأَجْمِعُواْ كَيْدَكُمْ ثُمَّ ائْتُواْ صَفّاً ( So devise your plot, and assemble in line. ) This means, "All of you come together in one row, and throw that which is in your hands at one time in order to dazzle the eyes ( of the people ) and defeat this man and his brother." وَقَدْ أَفْلَحَ الْيَوْمَ مَنِ اسْتَعْلَى ( And whoever overcomes this day will be indeed successful. ) meaning "Between you and us.
As for us ( the magicians ), we have been promised to be given an abundance of power and sovereignty.
And in reference to him ( Musa ), He will gain great leadership."

(20:60) Pharaoh then withdrew and gathered together all his devices, and came to the encounter. *32

So Pharaoh went away, put together his meaning

*32) Pharaoh and his courtiers considered the coming encounter as a decisive one as far as their own future was concerned and, therefore, they attached the utmost importance to it.
Courtiers were sent throughout the country to muster round all the magicians wherever available.
People were especially encouraged to come in the largest numbers to witness the magic skills so as to keep them immune From the awe inspired by the staff of Moses.
It was openly said that the fate of their religion hinged on the skill of their magicians: their religion could survive only if they won; otherwise the religion of Moses would have its sway ( see XXVI: 34-51 ).

Here one should bear in mind the fact that the religion of the royal family and the elite of Egypt was much different from that of the common people.
They had separate gods and temples and different creeds and concepts about the life after death.
They also differed in the practice of religion as well as in the ideologies.
( Toynbee: A Study of History: Somervell's Abridgment Vols.
I-VI, pp.
31-32 ).
Moreover, there were sufficiently strong pockets of the population, who under the influence of various religious upheavels, were prone to prefer Monotheism to a creed of polytheism.
Besides this, there was also a fairly large element of the worshippers of One God for the Israelites and their fellow believers were at least ten per cent of the total population.
Pharaoh also remembered that about 150 years earlier a religious revolution had been brought about by Pharaoh Amenophis IV or Akhenaton ( 1377-1360 B.C. ) by military force, which had abolished all deities except Aton, a single, universal god, which was worshipped by the king and his family.
Though this religious revolution had been reversed later by another king, yet its influence retrained, and Pharaoh dreaded that Moses might bring about yet another revolution.

 

The Meeting of the Two Parties, Musa's Propagation of the Message and the Magicians Allah, the Exalted informs that when Fir`awn and Musa agreed to an appointed meeting at a specified place and time, Fir`awn began to gather some magicians from the cities of his kingdom.
Every person who had any affiliation with magic at that time was summoned, and magic was very widespread and in demand at that time.
This is as Allah says, وَقَالَ فِرْعَوْنُ ائْتُونِى بِكُلِّ سَـحِرٍ عَلِيمٍ ( And Fir`awn said: "Bring me every well-versed sorcerer." ) 10:79 Then, the day came.
It was the day when all of the people gathered, which was well-known, being the day of the festival.
Fir`awn was there sitting upon his throne surrounded by the elite officials of his kingdom.
The subjects were all standing on his right and his left.
Then, Musa came forward leaning upon his stick accompanied by his brother Harun.
The magicians were standing in front of Fir`awn in rows and he was prodding them, inciting them and encouraging them to do their best on this day.
They wanted to please him and he was promising them and inspiring them.
They said, فَلَمَّا جَآءَ السَّحَرَةُ قَالُواْ لِفِرْعَوْنَ أَإِنَّ لَنَا لاّجْراً إِن كُنَّا نَحْنُ الْغَـلِبِينَ - قَالَ نَعَمْ وَإِنَّكُمْ إِذاً لَّمِنَ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ ( Will there surely be a reward for us if we are the winners He (Fir`awn ) said: "Yes, and you shall then verily be of those brought near ( to myself ).") 26:41-42 قَالَ لَهُمْ مُّوسَى وَيْلَكُمْ لاَ تَفْتَرُواْ عَلَى اللَّهِ كَذِباً ( Musa said to them: "Woe unto you! Invent not a lie against Allah..." ) This means, "Do not make an illusion before the people of something that is not real, making it appear as if it were a creature, when it is not really a creature.
If you do this, then you would be lying on Allah." فَيُسْحِتَكُم بِعَذَابٍ ( lest He (Allah ) should destroy you completely by a torment.) This means, `He will destroy you with a destructive punishment that will not spare anything, or anyone.' وَقَدْ خَابَ مَنِ افْتَرَىفَتَنَـزَعُواْ أَمْرَهُمْ بَيْنَهُمْ ( "...And surely, he who invents a lie will fail miserably." Then they debated one with another what they must do, ) It has been said that this means that they argued among themselves.
So one of them said, "This is not the speech of a magician, but it is the speech of a Prophet." Another said, "No, he is only a magician." There are other opinions that have been mentioned about what they discussed.
And Allah knows best.
Allah's statement, وَأَسَرُّواْ النَّجْوَى ( and they kept their talk secret. ) means, they held secret counsel among themselves about this matter. قَالُواْ إِنْ هَـذَنِ لَسَاحِرَنِ ( They said: "Verily, these are two Hadhan magicians..." ) This is a way of speaking with some of the Arabs and this Ayah has been recited according to the grammar of their dialect.
There are also others who recite it as, ( إِنَّ هَذَيْنِ لَسَاحِرَانِ ) Which carries the same meaning, "Verily, these are two Hadhayn magicians." This is the popular style of language in Arabic grammar.
The grammarians have extensive discussions in reply to the first recitation and its grammatical explanation, but this is not the place for such a discussion.
The main point is that the magicians said among themselves, "You all know that this man and his brother ( Musa and Harun ) are two knowledgeable magicians who are quite aware of the skill of magic.
They want to defeat you and your people today and conquer the people, causing the masses to follow them.
They want to fight against Fir`awn and his armies, and they are seeking victory over him.
And their ultimate goal is to expel you from your land." Concerning Allah's statement, وَيَذْهَبَا بِطَرِيقَتِكُمُ الْمُثْلَى ( and to take you away from your exemplary way. ) This means, `they want to expose this way ( of yours ) openly, which is magic.' For verily, they were considered great because of their magic.
They had wealth and sustenance because of this magic.
They were actually saying, "If these two ( Musa and Harun ) are victorious, they will destroy you and expel you from your land.
In doing so, they will be the first individuals to do so, and they will be given great power of leadership without you." Ibn `Abbas mentioned concerning Allah's statement, وَيَذْهَبَا بِطَرِيقَتِكُمُ الْمُثْلَى ( and to take you away from your exemplary way.
) "This means their kingdom, which they were in, and their livelihood." `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd said, "This superior way means that which they were upon." فَأَجْمِعُواْ كَيْدَكُمْ ثُمَّ ائْتُواْ صَفّاً ( So devise your plot, and assemble in line. ) This means, "All of you come together in one row, and throw that which is in your hands at one time in order to dazzle the eyes ( of the people ) and defeat this man and his brother." وَقَدْ أَفْلَحَ الْيَوْمَ مَنِ اسْتَعْلَى ( And whoever overcomes this day will be indeed successful. ) meaning "Between you and us.
As for us ( the magicians ), we have been promised to be given an abundance of power and sovereignty.
And in reference to him ( Musa ), He will gain great leadership."

( Then Pharaoh went ) to his folk ( and gathered his strength ) he gathered his advisers and magicians who were 72 in number ( and came (to the appointed tryst )) to the appointed time of the gathering.

So Fir'aun (Pharaoh) withdrew, devised his plot and then came back.

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