۞ We created you from it (the earth), and to it We shall restore you; and from it We will bring you forth yet 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 (Musa) said: Your appointment is the day of the Festival and let the people be gathered together in the early forenoon. 59 Thereupon Pharaoh withdrew [with his counsellors] and decided upon the scheme which he would pursue; and then he came [to the tryst]. 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 They disputed upon their plan with one another, and spoke in 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 Wherefore devise your stratagem, and then come in a row; and prospered today is he who overcometh. 64 They said:"O Musa (Moses)! Either you throw first or we 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 And he sensed within himself apprehension, did Moses. 67 We said: fear not! verily thou! thou shalt be the superior. 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 Then the wizards were (all) flung down prostrate, crying: We believe in the Lord of Aaron and Moses. 70 [Fir'aun (Pharaoh)] said: "Believe you in him [Musa (Moses)] before I give you permission? Verily! He is your chief who taught you magic. So I will surely cut off your hands and feet on opposite sides, and I will surely crucify you on the trunks of date-palms, and you shall surely know which of us [I (Fir'aun - Pharaoh) or the Lord of Musa (Moses) (Allah)] can give the severe and more lasting torment." 71 They said: We do not prefer you to what has come to us of clear arguments and to He Who made us, therefore decide what you are going to decide; you can only decide about this world's life. 72 "Verily! We have believed in our Lord, that He may forgive us our faults, and the magic to which you did compel us. And Allah is better as regards reward in comparison to your [Fir'aun's (Pharaoh)] reward, and more lasting (as regards punishment in comparison to your punishment)." 73 Surely for him who comes before his Lord a sinner shall be Hell, where he will neither die nor live. 74 But he who comes to Him as a believer, having done good deeds, shall be exalted to the highest ranks, 75 and shall live for ever in everlasting Gardens beneath which rivers flow. Such will be the reward of those who purify themselves. 76