۞ Thereof We created you, and thereunto We return you, and thence We bring you forth a second time. 55 And assuredly We shewed him Our signs, all of them, but he belied and refused. 56 He said: "Hast thou come to drive us out of our land by thy sorcery, 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, "Let the contest take place on the Day of Feast so that all the people can come together during the brightness of the day." 59 So Fir'aun (Pharaoh) withdrew, devised his plot and then came back. 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 debated with one another what they must do, and they kept their talk secret. 62 They said: "These two are certainly (expert) magicians: their object is to drive you out from your land with their magic, and to do away with your most cherished institutions. 63 Therefore settle your plan, then come standing in ranks and he will prosper indeed this day who overcomes. 64 They said: O Moses! Either throw first, or let us be the first to throw? 65 He answered: "Nay, you throw [first]." And lo! by virtue of their sorcery, their [magic] ropes and staffs seemed to him to be moving rapidly: 66 So Moses conceived in his mind a (sort of) fear. 67 We said: Fear not, surely you shall be the uppermost, 68 And cast down what is in your right hand; it shall devour what they have wrought; they have wrought only the plan of a magician, and the magician shall not be successful wheresoever he may come from. 69 So the magicians were thrown down to prostration: they said, "We believe in the Lord of Aaron and Moses". 70 The Pharaoh said, "Since you believed in him without my permission, then Moses certainly must be your chief who has taught you magic. I shall cut your hands and feet on alternate sides and crucify you on the trunk of the palm-tree. You shall certainly find which among us can afflict a more severe and lasting punishment". 71 They said: We choose thee not above the clear proofs that have come unto us, and above Him Who created us. So decree what thou wilt decree. Thou wilt end for us only this life of the world. 72 We believe in our Lord that He may forgive us our sins and also forgive us the practice of magic to which you had compelled us. Allah is the Best and He alone will abide." 73 Indeed, he who comes to his Lord a sinner shall be consigned to Hell; he shall neither die therein nor live. 74 But for whosoever comes before Him as a believer and having done good works there awaits the most highest degree; 75 gardens of perpetual bliss, through which running waters flow, therein to abide: for that shall be the recompense of all who attain to purity. 76