Surah Al-A'raaf: Verse 116 - قال ألقوا ۖ فلما ألقوا... - English

Said Moses: "Throw ye (first)." So when they threw, they bewitched the eyes of the people, and struck terror into them: for they showed a great (feat of) magic. (116)

Ibn Kathir has said that the prophet Musa (علیہ السلام) behaved with them politely by inviting them to have their turn first. The effect of this behaviour was that they accepted the faith after their defeat. Here we are faced with a question. The sorcery is an impermissible act, especially when it is used to oppose a prophet sent by Allah it becomes an act of infidelity. How then the prophet Musa (علیہ السلام) gave permission of magic to the sorcerers by saying 'you drop'? With a little thought we can find the answer. It was certain that the sorcerers will show their magic by all means. The point of conversation was to decide who should start the contest. The prophet Musa (علیہ السلام) allowed them to begin. Another advantage of this strategy was that the people could see their performance and the sorcerers had all the time to show their art and turn the staves into snakes. Then the staff of the prophet Musa (علیہ السلام) should turn into a serpent and eat up all the snakes, thus the open defeat of magic should be exhibited before the people. (Bayan- al- Qur'an)

فَلَمَّا أَلْقَوْا سَحَرُ‌وا أَعْيُنَ النَّاسِ وَاسْتَرْ‌هَبُوهُمْ وَجَاءُوا بِسِحْرٍ‌ عَظِيمٍ

So, when they threw, they bewitched the eyes of the people, and made them frightened, and came out with great sorcery. (116)

This verse indicates that this demonstration of their magic was just a bewitching of the eyes of the people which made them see the staffs and strings as snakes leaping on the ground, while the strings and the staffs did not change physically. It was a kind of mesmerism hypnotising the minds of the onlookers. This does not mean that sorcery is confined only in this kind and that it cannot change some-thing into another, as we do not have any proof against it. On the contrary, many forms and kinds of magic have been taken as being reality. The terms magic and sorcery are usually applied for all the acts that seem to be happening in unusual way. Sleight of hand, telepathic influences and mesmerism are sometimes called magic. Trans-formation of one thing into another through magic may be a possibility but we have no valid reason or proof for or against it.

(116)