فَلَمَّا جَآءَهُم مُّوسَىٰ بِـَٔايَـٰتِنَا بَيِّنَـٰتٍ قَالُوا۟ مَا هَـٰذَآ إِلَّا سِحْرٌ مُّفْتَرًى وَمَا سَمِعْنَا بِهَـٰذَا فِىٓ ءَابَآئِنَا ٱلْأَوَّلِينَ 36
Translations
But when Moses came to them with Our signs as clear evidences, they said, "This is not except invented magic, and we have not heard of this [religion] among our forefathers."
Transliteration
Falamma jaaahum moosaa bi-ayatina bayyinatin qaloo maa hadha illa sihrun muftaraa wa maa sami'na bi-hadha fee aabaaina al-awwaleen
Tafsir (Explanation)
When Musa came to Pharaoh and his people with clear signs (miracles), they rejected them as fabricated magic and claimed they had never heard of such things from their forefathers. Ibn Kathir notes that this represents the stubborn denial of the Egyptian elite despite witnessing undeniable miracles, showing how people cling to ancestral traditions and refuse divine truth. Al-Qurtubi emphasizes that their attribution of Musa's signs to sorcery was a deliberate rejection rooted in arrogance and spiritual blindness, not genuine confusion.
Revelation Context
This ayah is part of the narrative of Musa's confrontation with Pharaoh in Surah Al-Qasas, which recounts the historical interaction between the messenger and the tyrant. The context depicts the moment immediately after Musa presented his miracles (the staff transforming into a serpent and his hand becoming white), illustrating the consistent pattern of rejection that prophets faced from those invested in false systems of power and superstition.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: 'The most despicable of people before Allah on the Day of Resurrection will be the one who follows a path other than that of the messengers.' (Tirmidhi) This relates to the theme of rejecting divine guidance in favor of inherited falsehood.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah reminds us that clear evidence and truth can be rejected when hearts are sealed by pride and attachment to worldly systems; we must examine whether we accept guidance based on truth itself or merely on inherited customs and social pressures.
Related Ayahs
وَلَوْ نَزَّلْنَا عَلَيْكَ كِتَـٰبًا فِى قِرْطَاسٍ فَلَمَسُوهُ بِأَيْدِيهِمْ لَقَالَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوٓا۟ إِنْ هَـٰذَآ إِلَّا سِحْرٌ مُّبِينٌ
And even if We had sent down to you, [O Muḥammad], a written scripture on a page and they touched it with their hands, the disbelievers would say, "This is not but obvious magic."
يَـٰٓأَهْلَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ لِمَ تَكْفُرُونَ بِـَٔايَـٰتِ ٱللَّهِ وَأَنتُمْ تَشْهَدُونَ
O People of the Scripture, why do you disbelieve in the verses of Allāh while you witness [to their truth]?
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا۟ بِـَٔايَـٰتِنَا وَٱسْتَكْبَرُوا۟ عَنْهَا لَا تُفَتَّحُ لَهُمْ أَبْوَٰبُ ٱلسَّمَآءِ وَلَا يَدْخُلُونَ ٱلْجَنَّةَ حَتَّىٰ يَلِجَ ٱلْجَمَلُ فِى سَمِّ ٱلْخِيَاطِ ۚ وَكَذَٰلِكَ نَجْزِى ٱلْمُجْرِمِينَ
Indeed, those who deny Our verses and are arrogant toward them - the gates of Heaven will not be opened for them, nor will they enter Paradise until a camel enters into the eye of a needle [i.e., never]. And thus do We recompense the criminals.
سَآءَ مَثَلًا ٱلْقَوْمُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا۟ بِـَٔايَـٰتِنَا وَأَنفُسَهُمْ كَانُوا۟ يَظْلِمُونَ
How evil an example [is that of] the people who denied Our signs and used to wrong themselves.