The Light of the Holy Qur'an Interpretation of Sura Yusuf

Commentary : Verse 76

(76) فَلَمَّا جاءَهُمُ الْحَقُّ مِنْ عِنْدِنا قالُوا إِنَّ هذا لَسِحْرٌ مُبينٌ

  1. " So when the truth came to them from Us, they said: 'Verily, this is a manifest sorcery. '"

Commentary :

The Essence of Allah, the prophets, the divine laws, miracles and whatever is attributed to Him are all true and real.

People do not always go after the truth. The adherents of the truth must sometimes go after the people.

The Prophets entertain a direct link with the Lord and their miracles as well as their program have their origins in the Divine nature.

However, accusing someone to be a magician is the shrewdest, simplest and the most prevalent of the accusations leveled against the prophets. It is for this reason that Moses(a.s.)was personally accused of being a sorcerer.

The verse says:

" So when the truth came to them from Us, they said: 'Verily, this is a manifest sorcery.'"

Commentary : Verse 77

(77) قالَ مُوسى‏ أَ تَقُولُونَ لِلْحَقِّ لَمَّا جاءَكُمْ أَ سِحْرٌ هذا وَ لا يُفْلِحُ السَّاحِرُونَ

  1. " Said Moses: 'Do you say(this)about the Truth when it hath actually reached you Is this sorcery But sorcerers do not prosper. '"

Commentary :

Moses asked the disbelievers why it was that when the Signs of truth reached them they kept claiming it was sorcery. Moses rejects the allegations that the Signs accompanying him were the products of sorcery, for sorcery is not like this, these were Signs of the Truth and independent investigation could vouch for that. The verse says:

" Said Moses: 'Do you say(this)about the Truth when it hath actually reached you Is this sorcery ? ..."

However, they did not want to submit to the Truth, even if this truth had reached them from Allah. They claimed that the proofs that Moses brought was sorcery and simple- hearted people did not discriminate between sorcery and prophecy since both involved elements contrary to nature and habit. It was for this reason that they became confused, mixing the two which led many astray.

In such a case, people must be armed with knowledge so as to be able to distinguish miracle from magic and not to be so dominated by the confusion that sorcerers cause and reject the issue of prophecy. However this is a fact that sorcerers do not succeed. The verse says:

"... But sorcerers do not prosper. '"

Commentary : Verse 78

(78) قالُوا أَ جِئْتَنا لِتَلْفِتَنا عَمَّا وَجَدْنا عَلَيْهِ آباءَنا وَ تَكُونَ لَكُمَا الْكِبْرِياءُ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَ ما نَحْنُ لَكُما بِمُؤْمِنينَ

  1. " They said: '(O' Moses)have you come to turn us away from what we found our fathers upon, and that the greatness in the land may be for you two ?But we shall not believe you two. "

Commentary :

The people of Pharaoh continued their accusations against Moses, explicitly accusing him and Aaron of wanting them to abandon the ways of their ancestors.

They brought up the issues of ancestral traditions, and their fabulous glory to influence public opinion against Moses and Aaron, implying that they wanted to belittle and ridicule the sacred objects and symbols of their society and country.

They maintained then that Moses' call to Allah's religion and divinely inspired way was nothing but a lie. They claimed all of them were simply part of a stratagem of Moses and Aaron to seize power over the land and to put the reins of domination in their hands.

In fact, as they themselves made every effort to rule the earth oppressively, using all kinds of underhanded ways of seizing power, they ended up thinking of others as they thought of themselves, which included the struggles of the reformists and prophets. The verse says:

" They said: '(O' Moses)have you come to turn us away from what we found our fathers upon, and that the greatness in the land may be for you two ?

For this reason they said that they were never going to believe in Moses for they thought his message and proofs were only but the act of sorcery in the service of a wider scheme for political aggrandizement. This was the first stage of their struggle against Moses(a.s.). The verse continues saying:

"... But we shall not believe you two. "

Commentary : Verse 79

(79) وَ قالَ فِرْعَوْنُ ائْتُوني‏ بِكُلِّ ساحِرٍ عَليمٍ

  1. " And Pharaoh said: 'Bring unto me every knowing(expert)sorcerer'. "

Commentary :

In witnessing the miracles of Moses(a.s.), he had been rendered wretched and helpless in trying to find a way to remove them, Pharaoh, addressing his people, put the call out that all the best sorcerers in the land should come to him in order to get them to help him nullify Moses' miracles. The verse says:

" And Pharaoh said: 'Bring unto me every knowing(expert)sorcerer'. "

Of course, Pharaoh did so in order that the sorcerers could help him in dismissing the achievement of Moses(a.s.), and thus he called on all of them because he did not want any craft of magic or sorcery to remain hidden from him which might be of potential use in combating what he perceived to be the powerful sorcery of Moses, little knowing that the Signs that Moses manifested were not the effects of sorcery and magic but miracles originating from Allah.

Commentary : Verse 80

(80) فَلَمَّا جاءَ السَّحَرَةُ قالَ لَهُمْ مُوسى‏ أَلْقُوا ما أَنْتُمْ مُلْقُونَ

  1. " When the sorcerers came, Moses said to them: 'Throw what you have to throw! '"

Commentary :

Pharaoh wanted to render the divine movement of Moses inactive with the help of those expert sorcerers. They carried instruments and devices like ropes, wood etc, which by being mixed with some particular materials moved when the sunshine affected them.

On the day when it was appointed for this historical challenge and a common invitation had also issued, a great crowd gathered. Then Moses addressed the sorcerers and told them to cast what they could cast. The verse says:

" When the sorcerers came, Moses said to them: 'Throw what you have to throw! '"

Commentary : Verse 81.82

(81) فَلَمَّا أَلْقَوْا قالَ مُوسى‏ ما جِئْتُمْ بِهِ السِّحْرُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ سَيُبْطِلُهُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يُصْلِحُ عَمَلَ الْمُفْسِدينَ

(82) وَ يُحِقُّ اللَّهُ الْحَقَّ بِكَلِماتِهِ وَ لَوْ كَرِهَ الْمُجْرِمُونَ

  1. " So when they had thrown, Moses said: 'What you have brought is sorcery. Allah will surely make it naught, verily Allah does not set right the work of mischief makers. " 82. " And Allah proves the Truth by His Words though the sinners be averse(to it). "

Commentary :

Falsehood may have a parade and flaunt for a short time, but, at last, it is condemned to extinction. Allah does not support and improve the affairs of the mischief- makers. A sorcerer is a mischief- maker, and sorcery is a corruption. Therefore, it must be opposed with. The verse says:

" So when they had thrown, Moses said: 'What you have brought is sorcery. Allah will surely make it naught, verily Allah does not set right the work of mischief makers. "

Then Allah proclaims in the verse that Moses told them that he would definitely triumph in that quarrel and combat, for Allah had promised to unveil the truth and, through decisive logic and the astounding miracles of His prophets, He would expose the scandals of those who incite corruption even though some of the evil- doers, such as Pharaoh and his supporters, would dislike that.

The verse says:

" And Allah proves the Truth by His Words though the sinners be averse(to it). "