Ma'arif al-Qur'an · Tafsir · in English
Taha 20:55–60
20:55–57Page 315
۞ مِنۡهَا خَلَقۡنَٰكُمۡ وَفِيهَا نُعِيدُكُمۡ وَمِنۡهَا نُخۡرِجُكُمۡ تَارَةً أُخۡرَىٰ ٥٥
From it [i.e., the earth] We created you, and into it We will return you, and from it We will extract you another time.
وَلَقَدۡ أَرَيۡنَٰهُ ءَايَٰتِنَا كُلَّهَا فَكَذَّبَ وَأَبَىٰ ٥٦
And We certainly showed him [i.e., Pharaoh] Our signs - all of them - but he denied and refused.
قَالَ أَجِئۡتَنَا لِتُخۡرِجَنَا مِنۡ أَرۡضِنَا بِسِحۡرِكَ يَٰمُوسَىٰ ٥٧
He said, "Have you come to us to drive us out of our land with your magic, O Moses?
The composition of every human being contains, together with the seed, the earth of the place when he will be buried
The words مِنْهَا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ (From this We created you) in verse 55 means that Allah created you from the earth. This verse is addressed to all mankind although it is known that man is created from seed and not from earth, except Sayyidna 'Adam (علیہ السلام) who was created directly from earth. One possible explanation for this is that since Sayyidna 'Adam علیہ السلامٍ is the father of all mankind and was himself created from earth, therefore all his descendants have been similarly described. Others have said that the seed itself is made of earth therefore anything created from the seed is in fact created from the earth. According to Imam al-Qurtubi (رح) the text of the Qur'an clearly indicates that man is created from the earth.
20:58Page 315
فَلَنَأۡتِيَنَّكَ بِسِحۡرٖ مِّثۡلِهِۦ فَٱجۡعَلۡ بَيۡنَنَا وَبَيۡنَكَ مَوۡعِدٗا لَّا نُخۡلِفُهُۥ نَحۡنُ وَلَآ أَنتَ مَكَانٗا سُوٗى ٥٨
Then we will surely bring you magic like it, so make between us and you an appointment, which we will not fail to keep and neither will you, in a place assigned."1
By words مَكَانًا سُوًى(at an even place) in verse 58 the Pharaoh proposed that the contest between Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) and his own magicians should be held at a place which should, as far as possible, be within easy access of the Egyptians, Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) and the Bani Isra'il. The latter readily accepted this proposal and fixed the day and the time for the contest by suggesting۔
20:59Page 315
قَالَ مَوۡعِدُكُمۡ يَوۡمُ ٱلزِّينَةِ وَأَن يُحۡشَرَ ٱلنَّاسُ ضُحٗى ٥٩
[Moses] said, "Your appointment is on the day of the festival when the people assemble at mid-morning."1
مَوْعِدُكُمْ يَوْمُ الزِّينَةِ وَأَن يُحْشَرَ النَّاسُ ضُحًى (Your appointment is the festival day and that the people are assembled at forenoon - 20:59). يَوْمُ الزِّينَةِ has been explained differently by different authorities. Some say it was a special festival when the Egyptians, attired in beautiful dresses, gathered outside the towns, while others say that it was a Saturday (' یوم السَّبت), and according to some others it was the tenth day of Muharram (عاشُورا).
The great advantage in fixing for the contest
It was a wise move on the part of Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) to fix festival day as the day of contest when all Egyptians, high and low, were expected to assemble at an appointed place. There was also a point in fixing early forenoon as the time for the contest because this is the time when people, having finished their daily chores, are free to engage in other things. Also daylight and visibility are at their best in the early forenoon and people, while dispersing after witnessing a momentous event, spread the news far and wide. Thus when, with Allah's help, Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) inflicted a crushing defeat on the Egyptian magicians, the story became known the same day to people living in far flung places.
Magic - its truth, forms and the rules governing it
For a detailed discussion on this subject reference may be made to the story of Harut and Marut in Surah Al-Baqarah at page 265 to 278 of Ma'ariful Qur'an vol. I.
20:60Page 315
فَتَوَلَّىٰ فِرۡعَوۡنُ فَجَمَعَ كَيۡدَهُۥ ثُمَّ أَتَىٰ ٦٠
So Pharaoh went away, put together his plan, and then came [to Moses].
Commentary
The words فَجَمَعَ كَيْدَهُ (and put his plot together) in verse 60 indicate that the Pharaoh assembled his magicians and their tools. According to Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ there were seventy two magicians but others have put their number at figures which vary from four hundred to nine hundred thousand. Their leader was a blind man whose name was Sham` un (شمعُون).
Text: through the Quran Foundation. The ayahs: Quran Foundation. Sources and licences