۞ We have created you from the earth to which We will return you and will bring you back to life again. 55 So We showed him (Pharaoh) Our signs, all of them, but he belied and refused them. 56 He said to Moses, "Have you come to expel us from our land through your magic? 57 In that case, we shall most certainly produce before thee the like thereof! Appoint, then, a tryst between us and thee - which we shall not fail to keep, nor [mayest] thou - at a suitable place!" 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 went away, put together his plan, and then came [to Moses]. 60 Moses told them, (the magicians) "Woe to you if you invent falsehood against God; you will be destroyed by the torment. Whoever invents falsehood against God will certainly be lost." 61 Then they debated with one another what they must do, and they kept their talk secret. 62 They said: "These two are certainly (expert) magicians: their object is to drive you out from your land with their magic, and to do away with your most cherished institutions. 63 So resolve upon your plan and then come [forward] in line. And he has succeeded today who overcomes." 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 Moses said, "You throw first." When they did, their ropes and staffs through their magic seemed to be moving. 66 And Moses felt afraid within himself. 67 We told him, "Do not be afraid for you will be the winner. 68 Throw down what is in your right hand: It will swallow up what they have conjured. For what they have fashioned is only a trick of the sorcerer; and a sorcerer does not succeed wherever he may come." 69 And the magicians were cast down making obeisance; they said: We believe in the Lord of Haroun and Musa. 70 Said [Pharaoh]: "Have you come to believe in him ere I have given you permission? Verily, he must be your master who has taught you magic! But I shall most certainly cut off your hands and feet in great numbers, because of [your] perverseness, and I shall most certainly crucify you in great numbers on trunks of palm-trees: and [I shall do this] so that you might come to know for certain as to which of us [two] can inflict a more severe chastisement, and [which] is the more abiding!" 71 They said, "Never shall we prefer you to all the evidence of the truth that has come to us. Nor to Him who has brought us into being. So decide whatever you will. Your jurisdiction only covers the life of this world -- 72 Indeed, we have believed in our Lord that He may forgive us our sins and what you compelled us [to do] of magic. And Allah is better and more enduring." 73 Lo! whoso cometh guilty unto his Lord, verily for him is hell. There he will neither die nor live. 74 But he who comes to Him as a believer, having done good deeds, shall be exalted to the highest ranks, 75 will be rewarded by high status in the gardens of Eden wherein streams flow. Such will be the reward of those who purify themselves. 76