who shall assemble before thee all sorcerers of great knowl­edge"

Said they: “Thou art but one of the be­witched!

Said they: “Thou art but one of the be­witched,

those who are patient in adversity, and true to their word, and truly devout, and who spend [in God's way], and pray for forgiveness from their innermost hearts.*

and would pray for forgiveness from their innermost hearts;*

[and so,] behold, We let loose upon them a deadly tempest;* and only Lot 's kinsfolk did We save at the break of dawn,

He answered: "You throw [first]." And when they threw down [their staffs], they cast a spell upon the people's eyes, and struck them with awe, and produced mighty sorcery.

And they said [unto Moses]: "Whatever sign thou mayest produce before us in order to cast a spell upon us thereby, we shall not believe thee!"

[And] they will reply: “[All this power belongs] to God." Say: 'How, then, can you be so deluded?"*

they would surely have said, "It is only our eyes that are spellbound! Nay, we have been bewitched!,*

We are fully aware of what they are listening for when they listen to thee:* for when they are secluded among themselves, lo! these wrongdoers say [unto one another], "If you were to follow [Muhammad, you would follow] only a man bewitched!"

AND, INDEED, We gave unto Moses nine clear messages.* Ask, then, the children of Israel* [to tell thee what happened] when he came unto them, [and appealed to Pharaoh,* ] and Pharaoh said unto him, "Verily, O Moses, I think that thou art full of sorcery!"*

Or: “[Why has not] a treasure been granted to him [by God]?" Or: “He should [at least] have a [bountiful] garden, so that he could eat thereof [without effort]!"* And so these evildoers say [unto one another], “If you were to follow [Muhammad, you would follow] but a man bewitched!"

The great ones among Pharaoh's people said: "Verily, this is indeed a sorcerer of great knowledge,

who shall bring before thee every sorcerer of great knowledge."

And the sorcerers came unto Pharaoh [and] said: "Verily, we ought to have a great reward* if it is we who prevail."

And down fell the sorcerers,* prostrating themselves

Do people deem it strange that We should have inspired a man from their own midst [with this Our message]:* "Warn all mankind, and give unto those who have attained to faith the glad tiding that in their Sustainer's sight they surpass all others in that they are completely sincere-?* [Only] they who deny the truth say, "Behold. he is clearly but a spellbinder!"*

Said Moses: "Do you speak thus of the truth after it has been brought to you? Can this be sorcery? But sorcerers can never come to a happy end!"*

And Pharaoh commanded: "Bring before me every sorcerer of great knowledge!"

And when the sorcerers came, Moses said unto them: "Throw whatever you may [wish to] throw!"

saying [to one another]: "These two are surely sorcerers intent on driving you from your land* by their sorcery, and on doing away with your time-honoured way of life.*

And [now] throw that [staff] which is in thy right hand -it shall swallow up all that they have wrought: [for] they have wrought only a sorcerer's artifice, and the sorcerer can never come to any good, whatever he may aim at!"*

[And so it happened* and down fell the sorcerers, prostrating themselves in adoration,* [and] exclaimed: "We have come to believe in the Sustainer of Moses and Aaron!"

Said [pharaoh] unto the great ones around him: “Verily, this is indeed a sorcerer of great knowledge

And so the sorcerers were assembled at a set time on a certain day,

so that we might follow [in the footsteps of] the sorcerers if it is they who prevail?"*

Now when the sorcerers came, they said unto Pharaoh: “Verily, we ought to have a great reward if it is we who prevail.*

And down fell the sorcerers, prostrating them­selves in adoration,

Now these [people] deem it strange that a warner should have come unto them from their own midst - and [so] the deniers of the truth are saying: “A [mere] spellbinder is he, a liar!*

unto Pharaoh, and Haman, and Qarun;* but they [only] said, “A spellbinder is he, a liar!"

And [every time] they exclaimed: “O thou sorcerer! Pray for us to thy Sustainer on the strength of the covenant [of prophethood] which He has made with thee: for, verily, we shall now follow the right way!"

and he turned away in [the pride of] his power and said, “A sorcerer [is this Moses], or a madman!" –

[But] thus it is: never yet came any apostle to those who lived before their time but they said, “A spel1binder*

and follow [instead] that which the evil ones used to practice during Solomon's reign - for it was not Solomon who denied the truth, but those evil ones denied it by teaching people sorcery* -; and [they follow] that which has come down through the two angels in Babylon, Hurut and Marut-although these two never taught it to anyone without first declaring, "We are but a temptation to evil: do not, then, deny [God's] truth!"* And they learn from these two how to create discord between a man and his wife; but whereas they can harm none thereby save by God's leave, they acquire a knowledge that only harms themselves and does not benefit them - although they know; indeed, that he who acquires this [knowledge] shall have no share in the good of the life to come.* For, vile indeed is that [art] for which they have sold their own selves -had they but known it!

Lo!* God will say: "O Jesus, son of Mary! Remember the blessings which I bestowed upon thee and thy mother-how I strengthened thee with holy inspiration,* so that thou couldst speak unto men in thy cradle, and as a grown man; and how I imparted unto thee revelation and wisdom, including the Torah and the Gospel;* and how by My leave thou didst create out of clay, as it were, the shape of [thy followers'] destiny, and then didst breathe into it, so that it might become, by My leave, [their] destiny ;* and how thou didst heal the blind and the leper by My leave, and how thou didst raise the dead by My leave;* and how I prevented the children of Israel from harming thee when thou camest unto them with all evidence of the truth, and [when] those of them who were bent on denying the truth were saying, `This is clearly nothing but deception!"'

But even if we had sent down unto thee [O Prophet] a writing on paper, and they had touched it with their own hands - those who are bent on denying the truth would indeed have said, "This is clearly nothing but a deception!"

He answered: "You throw [first]." And when they threw down [their staffs], they cast a spell upon the people's eyes, and struck them with awe, and produced mighty sorcery.

And so, when the truth came to them from Us, they said, "Behold, this is clearly nothing but sorcery!"*

Said Moses: "Do you speak thus of the truth after it has been brought to you? Can this be sorcery? But sorcerers can never come to a happy end!"*

And when they threw down [their staffs and cast a spell upon the people's eyes* ], Moses said unto them: "What you have contrived is [but] sorcery which, verily, God will bring to nought! Verily, God does not further the works of spreaders of corruption -

And He it is who has created the heavens and the earth in six aeons; and [ever since He has willed to create life,] the throne of His almightiness has rested upon water.* [God reminds you of your dependence on Him] in order to test you [and thus to make manifest] which of you is best in conduct. For thus it is: if* thou sayest [unto men], "Behold, you shall be raised again after death!" - they who are bent on denying the truth are sure to answer, "This is clearly nothing but an enchanting delusion"*

He said: "Hash thou come to drive us out of our land* by thy sorcery, O Moses?

In that case, we shall most certainly produce before thee the like thereof! Appoint, then, a tryst between us and thee - which we shall not fail to keep, nor [mayest] thou -at a suitable place!"

saying [to one another]: "These two are surely sorcerers intent on driving you from your land* by their sorcery, and on doing away with your time-honoured way of life.*

He answered: "Nay, you throw [first]." And lo! by virtue of their sorcery, their [magic] ropes and staffs seemed to him to be moving rapidly:

Said [Pharaoh]: "Have you come to believe in him* ere I have given you permission? Verily, he must be your master who has taught you magic! But I shall most certainly cut off your hands and feet in great numbers, because of [your] perverseness, and I shall most certainly crucify you in great numbers on trunks of palm-trees:* and [I shall do this] so that you might come to know for certain as to which of us [two]* can inflict a more severe chastisement, and [which] is the more abiding!"

As for us, behold, we have come to believe in our Sustainer, [hoping] that He may forgive us our faults and all that magic unto which thou hast forced us:* for God is the best [to look forward to], and the One who is truly abiding."*

their hearts set on passing ­delights; yet they who are [thus] bent on wrongdoing conceal their innermost thoughts* [when they say to one another], “Is this [Muhammad] anything but a mortal like yourselves? Will you, then, yield to [his] spellbinding eloquence with your eyes open?''*

who wants to drive you out of your land by his sorcery.* What, then, do you advise?"

Said [Pharaoh]: “Have you come to believe in him* ere I have given you permission? Verily, he must be your master who has taught you magic!* But in time you shall come to know [my revenge]: most certainly shall I cut off your hands and your feet in great numbers, because of [your] perverseness, and shall most certainly crucify you in great numbers, all together!"*

But when Our light-giving messages came unto them, they said, “This is clearly [but] spellbinding deception!"*

But as soon as Moses came unto them with Our clear messages [Pharaoh and his great ones] said: “All this is nothing but spellbinding eloquence devised [by man]:* and never did we hear [the like of] this, [nor has it ever been heard of] in the time of our forebears of old!"

And yet, now that the truth has come unto them from Us, they say, “Why has he not been vouch­safed the like of what Moses was vouchsafed?"* But did they not also, before this, deny the truth of what Moses was vouchsafed? [For] they do say, “Two examples of delusion, [seemingly] supporting each other!"* And they add, “Behold, we refuse to accept either of them as true!"

For [thus it is:] whenever Our messages are conveyed unto them in all their clarity, they [who are bent on denying the truth] say [to one another], “This [Muhammad] is nothing but a man who wants to turn you away from what your forefathers were wont to worship!" And they say, “This [Qur'an] is nothing but a falsehood invented [by man]!" And [finally,] they who are bent on denying the truth speak thus of the truth when it comes to them: “This is clearly nothing but spellbinding eloquence!"*

and say: “This is clearly nothing but [a mortal's] spellbinding eloquence!

but now that the truth has come to them, they say, “All this is mere spellbinding eloquence" - and, behold, we deny that there is any truth in it!"*

But whenever Our messages are conveyed to them in all their clarity, they who are bent on denying the truth speak thus of the truth as soon as it is brought to them: “This is clearly nothing but spell­binding eloquence!"*

Was it, then, a delusion* or is it that you failed to see [its truth]?

But if they [who reject all thought of the Last Hour] were to see a sign [of its approach], they would turn aside and say, “An ever-recurring delusion!" –

And [this happened, too,] when Jesus, the son of Mary, said: "O children of Israel! Behold, I am an apostle of God unto you, [sent] to confirm the truth of whatever there still remains* of the Torah, and to give [you] the glad tiding of an apostle who shall come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad."* But when he [whose coming Jesus had foretold] came unto them* with all evidence of the truth, they said: "This [alleged message of his] is [nothing but] spellbinding eloquence!"*

and says, "All this is mere spellbinding eloquence handed down [from olden times]!*