49 Preface وَقالوا يا أَيُّهَ السّاحِرُ ادعُ لَنا رَبَّكَ بِما عَهِدَ عِندَكَ إِنَّنا لَمُهتَدونَYusuf AliAnd they said, “O thou1 sorcerer! Invoke thy Lord for us according to His covenant with thee; for we shall truly accept guidance.”This speech is half a mockery, and half a ruse. In spite of their unbelief, they had fear in their minds, and in order to stop the plagues, one after another, they promised to obey God, and when the particular plague was removed, they again became obdurate. See 7:133-135.