۞ Thereof We created you, and thereunto We return you, and therefrom We shall bring you forth once again. 55 And indeed We showed him [Fir'aun (Pharaoh)] all Our Signs and Evidences, but he denied and refused. 56 He said: art thou come unto us that thou mayest drive us out of our land by thy magic, O Musa! 57 Then we will surely bring you magic like it, so make between us and you an appointment, which we will not fail to keep and neither will you, in a place assigned." 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 So Pharaoh withdrew and gathered his guile, then returned, 60 and Moses said to them: 'Alas! Do not forge a lie against Allah lest He destroys you with a punishment. Indeed, whosoever forges has failed' 61 Then they [the magicians] conferred among themselves, whispering to one another. 62 saying, 'These two men are sorcerers and their purpose is to expel you out of your land by their sorcery, and to extirpate your justest way. 63 So prepare your strategy and come forward. He alone shall win today who is superior." 64 They said: "O Moses! whether wilt thou that thou throw (first) or that 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 Moses felt afraid within himself. 67 We said: Fear not, surely you shall be the uppermost, 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 Eventually the magicians were impelled to fall down prostrate and said: "We believe in the Lord of Moses and Aaron." 70 Pharaoh said, "Have you believed in him before I permit you? He must be your master who has taught you magic. I will cut your hands and feet off on opposite sides, and have you crucified on the trunks of palm-trees. You shall know whose punishment is more severe and more lasting." 71 They said, “We shall never prefer you above the clear proofs that have come to us from the One Who has created us – therefore carry out what you want to; only in the life of this world will you be able to!” 72 We have certainly come to believe in our Lord that He may forgive our trespasses and the magic you have forced us to perform, for God is nobler and abiding." 73 Verily he who comes to his Lord as a sinner (at Judgment),- for him is Hell: therein shall he neither die nor live. 74 One who comes into the presence of his Lord with faith and righteous deeds 75 Gardens of Eternity, beneath which flow rivers: they will dwell therein for aye: such is the reward of those who purify themselves (from evil). 76