۞ Thereof We created you, and thereunto We return you, and thence We bring you forth a second time. 55 And indeed We showed him [Fir'aun (Pharaoh)] all Our Signs and Evidences, but he denied and refused. 56 He said: Hast come to drive us out from our land by thy magic, O Moses? 57 We shall certainly meet you with like magic. So make an appointment when we and you could meet on common ground, which neither we nor you should fail to keep." 58 Moses said, "Let the contest take place on the Day of Feast so that all the people can come together during the brightness of the day." 59 So Pharaoh withdrew, devised his stratagem and returned. 60 Moses said to him: Woe to you! Forge not ye a lie against Allah, lest He destroy you (at once) utterly by chastisement: the forger must suffer frustration!" 61 Then they debated with one another what they must do, and 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 gather your guile; then come in battle-line. Whoever today gains the upper hand shall surely prosper. 64 They said, "O Moses, either you throw or we will be the first to throw." 65 Moses replied: 'No, you throw first' And by their sorcery it seemed to him that their ropes and staffs were sliding. 66 And he sensed within himself apprehension, did Moses. 67 We said to him: "Fear not. You will certainly be victorious. 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 (Pharaoh) said: Ye put faith in him before I give you leave. Lo! he is your chief who taught you magic. Now surely I shall cut off your hands and your feet alternately, and I shall crucify you on the trunks of palm trees, and ye shall know for certain which of us hath sterner and more lasting punishment. 71 They said: We choose thee not above the clear proofs that have come unto us, and above Him Who created us. So decree what thou wilt decree. Thou wilt end for us only this life of the world. 72 “Indeed we have accepted faith in our Lord, so that He may forgive us our sins and the magic which you forced us to perform; and Allah is Better, and the Most Lasting.” 73 The truth is that Hell awaits him who comes to his Lord laden with sin; he shall neither die in it nor live. 74 But for whosoever comes before Him as a believer and having done good works there awaits the most highest degree; 75 Gardens of Eden, underneath which rivers flow, therein dwelling forever; that is the recompense of the self-purified. 76