Surah Al-A’raf >> Currently viewing Surah Al-A’raf Ayat 123 (7:123)

Surah Al-A’raf Ayat 123 in Arabic Text

قَالَ فِرۡعَوۡنُ ءَامَنتُم بِهِۦ قَبۡلَ أَنۡ ءَاذَنَ لَكُمۡۖ إِنَّ هَٰذَا لَمَكۡرٞ مَّكَرۡتُمُوهُ فِي ٱلۡمَدِينَةِ لِتُخۡرِجُواْ مِنۡهَآ أَهۡلَهَاۖ فَسَوۡفَ تَعۡلَمُونَ
Qaala Fir’awnu aamantum bihee qabla an aazana lakum; inna haaza lamakrum makartumoohu filmadeenati litukhrijoo minhaaa ahlahaa fasawfa ta’lamoon

English Translation

Here you can read various translations of verse 123

Sahih International
Said Pharaoh, “You believed in him before I gave you permission. Indeed, this is a conspiracy which you conspired in the city to expel therefrom its people. But you are going to know.

Yusuf Ali
Said Pharaoh: “Believe ye in Him before I give you permission? Surely this is a trick which ye have planned in the city to drive out its people: but soon shall ye know (the consequences).

Abul Ala Maududi
Pharaoh said: ‘What! Do you believe before you have my permission? Surely this is a plot you have contrived to drive out the rulers from the capital. So you shall see,

Muhsin Khan
Fir’aun (Pharaoh) said: “You have believed in him [Musa (Moses)] before I give you permission. Surely, this is a plot which you have plotted in the city to drive out its people, but you shall come to know.

Pickthall
Pharaoh said: Ye believe in Him before I give you leave! Lo! this is the plot that ye have plotted in the city that ye may drive its people hence. But ye shall come to know!

Dr. Ghali
Firaawn (Pharaoh) said, “You have believed in Him before I permit you. Surely this is indeed a scheme you have been scheming in the city that you may drive out its population. Yet you will eventually know!

Abdel Haleem
but Pharaoh said, ‘How dare you believe in Him before I have given you permission? This is a plot you have hatched to drive the people out of this city! Soon you will see:

Muhammad Junagarhi
فرعون کہنے لگا کہ تم موسیٰ پر ایمان ﻻئے ہو بغیر اس کے کہ میں تم کو اجازت دوں؟ بےشک یہ سازش تھی جس پر تمہارا عمل درآمد ہوا ہے اس شہر میں تاکہ تم سب اس شہر سے یہاں کے رہنے والوں کو باہر نکال دو۔ سو اب تم کو حقیقت معلوم ہوئی جاتی ہے

Quran 7 Verse 123 Explanation

For those looking for commentary to help with the understanding of Surah Al-A’raf ayat 123, we’ve provided two Tafseer works below. The first is the tafseer of Abul Ala Maududi, the second is of Ibn Kathir.

Ala-Maududi

(7:123) Pharaoh said: ‘What! Do you believe before you have my permission? Surely this is a plot you have contrived to drive out the rulers from the capital. So you shall see,


There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ibn-Kathir

123. Fir`awn said: “You have believed in him ﴿Musa﴾ before I gave you permission. Surely, this is a plot which you have plotted in the city to drive out its people, but you shall come to know.” 124. “Surely, I will cut off your hands and your feet from opposite sides, then I will crucify you all.” 125. They said: “Verily, we are returning to our Lord.” 126. “And you take vengeance on us only because we believed in the Ayat of our Lord when they reached us! Our Lord! pour out on us patience, and cause us to die as Muslims.”


Fir`awn threatens the Magicians after They believed in Musa and Their Response to Him

Allah mentions the threats that the Fir`awn – may Allah curse him – made to the magicians after they believed Musa, peace be upon him, and the deceit and cunning that Fir`awn showed the people. Fir`awn said,

﴿إِنَّ هَـذَا لَمَكْرٌ مَّكَرْتُمُوهُ فِى الْمَدِينَةِ لِتُخْرِجُواْ مِنْهَآ أَهْلَهَا﴾

(Surely, this is a plot which you have plotted in the city to drive out its people,) meaning Fir`awn proclaimed, `Musa’s defeating you today was because you plotted with him and agreed to that.’ Fir`awn also said,

﴿إِنَّهُ لَكَبِيرُكُمُ الَّذِى عَلَّمَكُمُ السِّحْرَ﴾

(He (Musa) is your chief who has taught you magic.) ﴿20:71﴾ However, Fir`awn and all those who had any sense of reason knew for sure that what Fir`awn said was utterly false. As soon as Musa came from Madyan, he called Fir`awn to Allah and demonstrated tremendous miracles and clear proofs for the Truth that he brought. Fir`awn then sent emissaries to various cities of his kingdom and collected magicians who were scattered throughout Egypt. Fir`awn and his people chose from them, summoned them, and Fir`awn promised them great rewards. These magicians were very eager to prevail over Musa in front of Fir`awn, so that they might become closer to him. Musa neither knew any of them nor saw or met them before. Fir`awn knew that, but he claimed otherwise to deceive the ignorant masses of his kingdom, just as Allah described them,

﴿فَاسْتَخَفَّ قَوْمَهُ فَأَطَاعُوهُ﴾

(Thus he ﴿Fir`awn﴾ fooled his people, and they obeyed him.) ﴿43:54﴾ Certainly, a people who believed Fir`awn in his statement,

﴿أَنَاْ رَبُّكُمُ الاٌّعْلَى﴾

(“I am your lord, most high.”) ﴿79:24﴾, are among the most ignorant and misguided creatures of Allah. In his Tafsir, As-Suddi reported that Ibn Mas`ud, Ibn `Abbas, and several other Companions, commented,

﴿إِنَّ هَـذَا لَمَكْرٌ مَّكَرْتُمُوهُ فِى الْمَدِينَةِ﴾

(“Surely, this is a plot which you have plotted in the city…”) “Musa met the leader of the magicians and said to him, `If I defeat you, will you believe in me and bear witness that what I brought is the truth’ The magician said, `Tomorrow, I will produce a type of magic that cannot be defeated by another magic. By Allah! If you defeat me, I will believe in you and testify to your truth.’ Fir`awn was watching them, and this is why he said what he said.” His statement,

﴿لِتُخْرِجُواْ مِنْهَآ أَهْلَهَا﴾

(“to drive out its people”), means, so that you all cooperate to gain influence and power, replacing the chiefs and masters of this land. In this case, power in the state will be yours,

﴿فَسَوْفَ تَعْلَمُونَ﴾

(“but you shall come to know”), what I will do to you. He then explained his threat,

﴿لأُقَطِّعَنَّ أَيْدِيَكُمْ وَأَرْجُلَكُمْ مِّنْ خِلاَفٍ﴾

(“Surely, I will cut off your hands and your feet from opposite sides.”) by cutting the right hand and the left leg or the opposite,

﴿ثُمَّ لأصَلِّبَنَّكُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ﴾

(“then I will crucify you all.”) just as he said in another Ayah,

﴿فِى جُذُوعِ النَّخْلِ﴾

(“Fi the trunks of date palms”) ﴿20:71﴾, Fi in this Ayah means “on”. Ibn `Abbas said that Fir`awn was the first to crucify and cut off hands and legs on opposite sides. The magicians said,

﴿إِنَّآ إِلَى رَبِّنَا مُنقَلِبُونَ﴾

(“Verily, we are returning to our Lord.”) They said, `We are now sure that we will go back to Allah. Certainly, Allah’s punishment is more severe than your punishment and His torment for what you are calling us to, this day, and the magic you forced us to practice, is greater than your torment. Therefore, we will observe patience in the face of your punishment today, so that we are saved from Allah’s torment.’ They continued,

﴿رَبَّنَآ أَفْرِغْ عَلَيْنَا صَبْرًا﴾

(“Our Lord! pour out on us patience”), with your religion and being firm in it,

﴿وَتَوَفَّنَا مُسْلِمِينَ﴾

(“and cause us to die as Muslims.”), as followers of Your Prophet Musa, peace be upon him. They also said to Fir`awn,

﴿قَالُواْ لَن نُّؤْثِرَكَ عَلَى مَا جَآءَنَا مِنَ الْبَيِّنَـتِ وَالَّذِى فَطَرَنَا فَاقْضِ مَآ أَنتَ قَاضٍ إِنَّمَا تَقْضِى هَـذِهِ الْحَيَوةَ الدُّنْيَآ – إِنَّآ آمَنَّا بِرَبِّنَا لِيَغْفِرَ لَنَا خَطَـيَـنَا وَمَآ أَكْرَهْتَنَا عَلَيْهِ مِنَ السِّحْرِ وَاللَّهُ خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَى – إِنَّهُ مَن يَأْتِ رَبَّهُ مُجْرِماً فَإِنَّ لَهُ جَهَنَّمَ لاَ يَمُوتُ فِيهَا وَلاَ يَحْيَى – وَمَن يَأْتِهِ مُؤْمِناً قَدْ عَمِلَ الصَّـلِحَـتِ فَأُوْلَـئِكَ لَهُمُ الدَّرَجَـتُ الْعُلَى ﴾

(“So decide whatever you desire to decree, for you can only decide for the life of this world. Verily, we have believed in our Lord, that He may forgive us our faults, and the magic to which you did compel us. And Allah is better ﴿to reward﴾ and more lasting ﴿in punishment﴾. Verily, whoever comes to his Lord as a criminal, then surely, for him is Hell, wherein he will neither die nor live. But whoever comes to Him (Allah) as a believer, and has done righteous good deeds, for such are the high ranks (in the Hereafter).) ﴿20:72-75﴾. The magicians started the day as sorcerers and ended as honorable martyrs! Ibn `Abbas, `Ubayd bin `Umayr, Qatadah and Ibn Jurayj commented, “They started the day as sorcerers and ended it as martyrs.”

﴿وَقَالَ الْمَلأ مِن قَوْمِ فِرْعَونَ أَتَذَرُ مُوسَى وَقَوْمَهُ لِيُفْسِدُواْ فِى الاٌّرْضِ وَيَذَرَكَ وَءالِهَتَكَ قَالَ سَنُقَتِّلُ أَبْنَآءَهُمْ وَنَسْتَحْيِـى نِسَآءَهُمْ وَإِنَّا فَوْقَهُمْ قَـهِرُونَ – قَالَ مُوسَى لِقَوْمِهِ اسْتَعِينُواْ بِاللَّهِ وَاصْبِرُواْ إِنَّ الأَرْضَ للَّهِ يُورِثُهَا مَن يَشَآءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ وَالْعَـقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ ﴾

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surah al-a'raf ayat 123
surah al-a'raf ayat 124
surah al-a'raf ayat 125
surah al-a'raf ayat 126
surah al-a'raf ayat 127

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