۞ From the earth We have created you, and to it We shall return you, and from it We shall raise you again. 55 We showed Pharaoh all Our signs but he rejected them and refused to believe in them. 56 He said to Moses, "Have you come to expel us from our land through your magic? 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 [Musa (Moses)] said: "Your appointed meeting is the day of the festival, and let the people assemble when the sun has risen (forenoon)." 59 So Fir'aun (Pharaoh) withdrew, devised his plot and then came back. 60 (At the time of the encounter) Moses said to them: "Woe to you! Do not invent falsehoods against Allah lest He destroy you with a scourge. Surely those who invent lies shall come to grief." 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 "So devise your plot, and then assemble in line. And whoever overcomes this day will be indeed successful." 64 They said, "O Moses, either you throw or we will be the first to throw." 65 He said, "Nay, throw ye first!" Then behold their ropes and their rods-so it seemed to him on account of their magic - began to be in lively motion! 66 and in his heart Moses became apprehensive. 67 but We said, "Do not be afraid. It is you who shall prevail." 68 Throw that which is in your right hand. It will swallow up that which they have made, for that which they made is but the guile of a sorcerer. Wherever he goes the sorcerer does not prosper' 69 Thereafter the sorcerers threw themselves down, prostrating, saying: '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: "Never shall we regard thee as more than the Clear Signs that have come to us, or than Him Who created us! so decree whatever thou desirest to decree: for thou canst only decree (touching) the life of this world. 72 "For us, we have believed in our Lord: may He forgive us our faults, and the magic to which thou didst compel us: for Allah is Best and Most Abiding." 73 Verily whosoever cometh unto his lord as a culprit, for him is Hell wherein he will neither die nor live. 74 But whoever comes to Him (Allah) as a believer (in the Oneness of Allah, etc.), and has done righteous good deeds, for such are the high ranks (in the Hereafter), 75 Gardens of Eden, underneath which rivers flow, therein dwelling forever; that is the recompense of the self-purified. 76