And when he came with the clarification and established clear proof, the situation necessitated the question about what they highlighted from the statement in response. So he said: ﴿The chiefs said﴾, meaning: the elders ﴿from the people of Pharaoh﴾, what they received from Pharaoh one after another, the greatest of them conveying it to the smallest of them. ﴿Indeed, this is a magician﴾, meaning: this which you have seen, O people, from his conjuring, which has no reality to it, so do not rush to follow him.

And when that was beyond what they were accustomed to from the magicians, they said: ﴿Knowledgeable﴾ (p-24), meaning: of what they are in, profound in his knowledge to a great extent. So that which you have seen from him is beyond the norm. It is as if Pharaoh said that initially - as in Surah Ash-Shura - and they received it from him and hastened to say it, some of them saying it to one another to inform that they are at the utmost obedience to him out of fear for their leadership, fulfilling the saying of Him, the Exalted: ﴿So he made his people despise him, and they obeyed him﴾ [Az-Zukhruf: 54]. And here it is chosen to attribute it to them; because the context is for the evidence of the wickedness of the majority. As for there, the context is that if He, glorified and exalted is He, intended to reveal a verse, they would submit to it as Pharaoh submitted upon seeing what he saw from Moses, peace be upon him, until he was pleased with himself to address his servants - as he claims - with what necessitates that they have authority over him. Therefore, attributing the saying to him is better; because the support in confronting the head is more apparent, and the submission of his neck is greater and more significant.