The Quran

Preface

قالَ آمَنتُم لَهُ قَبلَ أَن آذَنَ لَكُم ۖ إِنَّهُ لَكَبيرُكُمُ الَّذي عَلَّمَكُمُ السِّحرَ فَلَسَوفَ تَعلَمونَ ۚ لَأُقَطِّعَنَّ أَيدِيَكُم وَأَرجُلَكُم مِن خِلافٍ وَلَأُصَلِّبَنَّكُم أَجمَعينَ

Yusuf Ali

Said (Pharaoh): “Believe ye in Him before I give you permission? surely he is your leader, who has taught you sorcery! but soon shall ye know!¹ “Be sure I will cut off your hands and your feet on opposite sides, and I will cause you all to die on the cross!”

The sorcerers knew that they had met something very different from their tricks. God’s spirit worked on them and they professed the True God. As they represented the intelligence of the community, it may be presumed that they carried the intelligence of Eygpt with them and perhaps some of the commonalty, who were impressed by the dramatic scene! Hence Pharaoh’s anger, but it is the beginning of his decline!