۞ From this very earth We created you and to the same earth We shall cause you to return, and from it We shall bring you forth to life again. 55 And indeed We showed him [Fir'aun (Pharaoh)] all Our Signs and Evidences, but he denied and refused. 56 He said, "Have you come to us to drive us out of our land with your magic, O Moses? 57 But we surely can produce for thee magic the like thereof; so appoint a tryst between us and you, which neither we nor thou shall fail to keep, at a place convenient (to us both). 58 Moses said, "The day of the encounter will be the day of the festival, and let the people assemble when the sun has risen high." 59 Pharaoh then withdrew, and gathered his guile. Thereafter he came again, 60 Musa (Moses) said to them: "Woe unto you! Invent not a lie against Allah, lest He should destroy you completely by a torment. And surely, he who invents a lie (against Allah) will fail miserably." 61 Then they wrangled about their affair among themselves, and kept secret their private counsel. 62 and said, "These two people are magicians. They want to expel you from your land through their magic and to destroy your own tradition. 63 Gather your guile and then lineup a rank those who gain the upper hand today shall indeed prosper' 64 They said, "Moses, would you be the first to show your skill or should we be the first to throw down our devices?" 65 He said: nay, cast ye down. And lo! their cords and their staves were made to appear to him by their magic as though they were running. 66 So Musa (Moses) conceived a fear in himself. 67 We said to him: "Have no fear; for it is you who will prevail. 68 Throw down that [staff] which is in your right hand -- it shall swallow up what they have wrought, for what they have wrought is only a magician's trick. A magician shall never thrive, come whence he may. 69 The magicians bowed down in prostration saying, "We believe in the Lord of Moses and Aaron". 70 (Pharaoh) said: Ye put faith in him before I give you leave. Lo! he is your chief who taught you magic. Now surely I shall cut off your hands and your feet alternately, and I shall crucify you on the trunks of palm trees, and ye shall know for certain which of us hath sterner and more lasting punishment. 71 The magicians answered: "By Him Who has created us, we shall never prefer you to the Truth after manifest Signs have come to us. So decree whatever you will. Your decree will pertain, at the most, to the present life of the world. 72 Lo! we believe in our Lord, that He may forgive us our sins and the magic unto which thou didst force us. Allah is better and more lasting. 73 Verily whosoever cometh unto his lord as a culprit, for him is Hell wherein he will neither die nor live. 74 But he who comes to Him with faith and righteous works shall be exalted to high ranks, 75 Gardens of Eden, underneath which rivers flow, therein dwelling forever; that is the recompense of the self-purified. 76