His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "So Pharaoh turned away and gathered his plot, then came." "Musa said to them, 'Woe to you! Do not invent lies against Allah, lest He destroy you with a punishment, and certainly, he has failed who invented.'" "So they disputed their affair among themselves and secretly confided." "They said, 'Indeed, these are two magicians who want to drive you out of your land by their magic and abolish your best way.'" "So gather your plot, then come forward in a row, and certainly, today, he has succeeded who has overcome."

The meaning: So the magicians were gathered, and he promised them and commanded them to prepare against Musa. This is his plot. Then Pharaoh came with his gathering and the people of his state, and the magicians were with him. There was a group that Allah, the Most High, had not created more skilled than them. Musa, peace be upon him, also came with Bani Israel with him. Musa, peace be upon him, said to the magicians: 'Woe to you!' This is a warning address. He urged them in this verse to speak the truth when they saw it and not to boast with lies.

And Abdullah ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him and his father, and Nafi', and Asim, and Abu Amr, and Ibn Amir read: 'So He will destroy you' with a فتح (open) of the ياء (ya). And Hamzah, and Al-Kisai, and Hafs from Asim read: 'So He will destroy you' with a ضم (dhamma) of the ياء (ya). And both are two languages with one meaning. It is said: سُحِتْ and أُسْحِتَ meaning: He destroyed and removed. From it is the saying of Al-Farazdaq: (p-105)

'Bite of time, O son of Marwan, has left nothing of wealth except a مسحت (masht) or a مجلف (mujallaf).'

So this is from أُسْحِتَ.

When the magicians heard this statement, they were horrified by this stance, and there fell into their souls from his awe a severe terror. They disputed their affair, and 'disputing' implies a disagreement that was among them in secret. That is, some of them said to each other: 'He is right,' and some of them said: 'He is false.' And some of them said: 'If it is from Allah, He will overcome us.' And similar to this are the sayings that are known from large groups in times of fear, such as in war and the like. It is known that all their secret conversations were indeed about Musa, peace be upon him. And a group said: 'Indeed, their secret conversations were about the verse that follows this: 'Indeed, these are two magicians.'

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And it is more apparent that this was said publicly. If their secret conversations were that, there would not have been a dispute there. And 'النَجْوى' (the secret conversation) means: the secret and the whispering. That is, each man would confide with the one next to him. Then they made that a secret for fear of Pharaoh that weakness would be apparent in them; because at that time they were not determined to overcome Musa, peace be upon him, but it was a suspicion from some of them.

His saying, exalted is He: ﴿Indeed, these are two magicians﴾. Nafi', Ibn 'Amir, Hamzah, and Al-Kisai read: "Indeed" with a doubled ن (noon) and "these two" with an alif and a light ن (noon) for the dual form. Abu 'Amr alone read: "Indeed, these two are magicians." Ibn Kathir read: "Indeed, these are two magicians" with a light ن (noon) for "Indeed" and a doubled ن (noon) for "these two are magicians." Hafs from 'Asim read: "Indeed" lightly and "these two" lightly as well, "are magicians." A group read: "Indeed, these are nothing but magicians," and another group read: "Indeed, these are two magicians," and another group read: "These are nothing but two magicians," and another group read: "Indeed, these are two" with a doubled ن (noon) from "these two."

As for the first reading, a group said: "Indeed" means: yes, as it has been narrated that the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said in his sermon: "Indeed, all praise is due to Allah by raising 'praise.'" Abdullah ibn Al-Zubair, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "Indeed, its rider" when a man said to him: "May Allah curse the she-camel that carried me to you." It is included in this interpretation that the لام (lam) does not enter into the news of the beginning, and this is permissible in poetry. Among them is the saying of the poet:

The mother of Al-Hulays is an old woman, she is satisfied with the flesh of the neck bone.

And a group went to say that this verse is in the language of Banu Al-Harith ibn Ka'b, which is the retention of the alif of the dual in the accusative and genitive cases. From that is the saying of the poet:

He provided from it between his ears a stab that called him to the barren dust.

And the saying of another:

He fell silent like the brave, and if he saw a way, the brave would have struck it.

And this language is attributed to Kinana and attributed to Khath'am. Al-Firuzabadi said: The alif in "these two" is a support and is not brought for the dual, but rather it is the alif of "this" that is left in the dual form, just as we say: "the one" then in the plural we add a ن (noon) and the ياء (ya) is left in the accusative, nominative, and genitive cases. Al-Zajjaj said: In the speech, there is a pronoun whose meaning is: Indeed, these two are magicians.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And in this interpretation, the entry of the لام (lam) into the news is present. Some grammarians said: The alif of "these two" is similar here to the alif of "two of a kind." Ibn Kaysan said: Since "this" is in one state in its nominative, accusative, and genitive forms, its dual form is left here as well. A group, among them 'Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, and Abu 'Amr, said: This is what the writer erred in, and it was corrected to be right, which is the lightening of the ن (noon) from "Indeed."

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And these statements are objectionable, except for what was said that it is a language, and "Indeed" means: yes and certainly, or "Indeed" in the speech is a pronoun.

As for those who read: "Indeed" lightly, it is from Sibawayh, the lightened form of the heavy one, and the noun rises after it. Al-Firuzabadi said: It means "what" and the لام (lam) means "except" and the meaning of the other readings is clear.

Many of the interpreters expressed 'the way' as 'the leaders'. What is meant are the people of reason, age, and understanding. It has been reported that the Arabs say: 'So-and-so is the way of his people', meaning: their master. The most apparent meaning of 'the way' here is the conduct, the kingdom, and the state in which it is. 'The best' is the feminine form of 'the most excellent', meaning: the virtuous and good one.

The majority of the reciters read: 'So gather' by cutting the alif and breaking the mim, meaning: I am determined. Abu Amr alone read: 'So gather' from 'gathered', meaning: combine your magic some of it with others. Ibn Kathir read: 'Then come' with the mim opened and 'come' with the ya being silent. He also read in the narration of Shibl from him: 'Then come' with both broken, Abu Ali said: This is a mistake, and there is no justification for breaking the mim of 'then'. The majority read: 'Then come' with the mim opened and a hamza after the alif. And His saying, the Exalted: ﴿in rows﴾ is a state, meaning: standing in rows. They called to this because it is more awe-inspiring and clearer for them. And 'has succeeded' means: has attained his desire, and 'has sought elevation' means: sought high status in his matter and exerted his effort.