۞ Thereof We created you, and thereunto We return you, and thence We bring you forth a second time. 55 And truly We showed him Our signs, all of them, but he rejected and refused. 56 He said: "Hast thou come to drive us out of our land with thy magic, O Moses? 57 So We shall surely bring unto thee a magic the like thereof; so Make between us and thee an appointment which neither we nor thou shall fail in some open space. 58 [Moses] said, "Your appointment is on the day of the festival when the people assemble at mid-morning." 59 So Fir'aun (Pharaoh) withdrew, devised his plot and then came back. 60 Moses said to them, "Woe to you! Do not invent lies against God, lest He destroy you by some calamity: whoever invents lies is bound to fail." 61 So they disputed, one with another, over their affair, but they kept their talk secret. 62 saying: 'These two are sorcerers whose aim is to drive you from your land by their sorcery and destroy your noble ways. 63 Hence, [O sorcerers of Egypt,] decide upon the scheme which you will pursue, and then come forward in one single body: for, indeed, he who prevails today shall prosper indeed!" 64 They said: O Moses! Either throw first, or let us be the first to throw? 65 He said, "Rather, you throw." And suddenly their ropes and staffs seemed to him from their magic that they were moving [like snakes]. 66 And Moses felt afraid within himself. 67 We said to him: "Fear not. You will certainly be victorious. 68 Throw down what is in your right hand and it will swallow up all that they have performed; theirs is only a magical performance. Magicians can find no happiness in whatever they do." 69 So the magicians fell down prostrate. They said: "We believe in the Lord of Harun (Aaron) and Musa (Moses)." 70 [Pharaoh] said, "You believed him before I gave you permission. Indeed, he is your leader who has taught you magic. So I will surely cut off your hands and your feet on opposite sides, and I will crucify you on the trunks of palm trees, and you will surely know which of us is more severe in [giving] punishment and more enduring." 71 They said, "Never will we prefer you over what has come to us of clear proofs and [over] He who created us. So decree whatever you are to decree. You can only decree for this worldly life. 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 living for ever in the Gardens of Eden, underneath which rivers flow. Such shall be the recompense of he who purifies himself. 76