He said: Pharaoh to the assembly around him, when the matter became clear to him, he was deceiving their minds out of fear of their faith: "Indeed, this is a skilled magician." This means: one who is very knowledgeable about magic. He specifically attributed this saying to him in this surah because the entire context is for the purpose of directing the speech to what has preceded. And considering the verse: "So their necks remained humbled before it" [Ash-Shu'ara: 4], because his humility is the humility of one beneath him, thus its indication is clearer. This does not negate that his people may have said it to display obedience, as has been mentioned in Al-A'raf.