۞ From the earth We have created you, and to it We shall return you, and from it We shall raise you again. 55 So We showed him all Our signs, but he denied them and refused, 56 He said to Moses, "Have you come to expel us from our land through your magic? 57 by thy sorcery? We shall assuredly bring thee sorcery the like of it; therefore appoint a tryst between us and thee, a place mutually agreeable, and we shall not fail it, neither thou.' 58 'Your tryst shall be upon the Feast Day.' said Moses. 'Let the people be mustered at the high noon.' 59 So Firaun went away and gathered his schemes,* then came. (* 72000 magicians and their materials.) 60 Musa said to them: Woe to you! do not forge a lie against Allah, lest He destroy you by a punishment, and he who forges (a lie) indeed fails to attain (his desire). 61 So they discussed their strategy among themselves and conferred privately, 62 They said: verily these two are magicians, intending to drive you forth from your land by their magic and to do away with your superior way. 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, "Moses, would you be the first to show your skill or should we be the first to throw down our devices?" 65 He said: nay, cast ye down. And lo! their cords and their staves were made to appear to him by their magic as though they were running. 66 And Moses felt afraid within himself. 67 We said, “Do not fear – it is you who is dominant.” 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 And the magicians were cast down making obeisance; they said: We believe in the Lord of Haroun and Musa. 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 answered: "Never shall we prefer thee to all the evidence of the truth that has come unto us, nor to Him who has brought us into being! Decree, then, whatever thou art going to decree: thou canst decree only [something that pertains to] 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 Whosoever comes unto his Lord a sinner, for him awaits Gehenna wherein he shall 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 and shall live for ever in everlasting Gardens beneath which rivers flow. Such will be the reward of those who purify themselves. 76