Quran Universe
7:111

قَالُوٓاْ أَرۡجِهۡ وَأَخَاهُ وَأَرۡسِلۡ فِي ٱلۡمَدَآئِنِ حَٰشِرِينَ

Qaloo arjih waakhahu waarsil fee almadaini hashireena

They said, "Postpone [the matter of] him and his brother and send among the cities gatherers

Word by word
  1. قَالُوٓاْThey said
  2. أَرۡجِهۡPostpone him
  3. وَأَخَاهُand his brother
  4. وَأَرۡسِلۡand send
  5. فِيin
  6. ٱلۡمَدَآئِنِthe cities
  7. حَٰشِرِينَgatherers
Al-A'raf · 7:111Makkah

Delay him, they said, and gather the experts.

Buying time instead of facing the truth

The chiefs' plan
put him offMusa and his brother
while
callerssent to every city
to collect
sorcerersthe trade of the day
Their mistake
it is the same trickwe can beat it with ours
it is from Allahno skill can match it

The chiefs advised Fir'awn to delay Musa and his brother and send gatherers through the provinces. Ibn Kathir explains that magic was widespread and popular then, and they wrongly assumed Musa's signs were the same kind of thing, so they could be beaten the same way.

A doctor tells you to change how you eat. You say, let me think about it, and start reading every article that says you are fine. Delay plus a search for the answer you want. It feels like research. It is a way to avoid the decision.

I will wait and find someone who tells me otherwise.

Postponing the truth while I shop for opinions is still a refusal.

Try this

Name one thing you are putting off deciding. Set a date this week to decide it.

Related20:58
Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir

They said: "Put him and his brother off (for a time), and send callers to the cities to collect (111)"That they bring to you all well-versed sorcerers. (112)

Ibn 'Abbas commented,

أَرْجِهْ 

("Put him off"), means, "delay him (for a time)."

وَأَرْسِلْ فِي الْمَدَائِنِ

("and send to the cities"), areas and provinces of your kingdom – O Fir'awn,

حَاشِرِينَ

("to collect") to gather magicians from various lands. At this time, magic was the trade of the day and it was widespread and popular. They had the idea that what Musa brought was a type of magic similar to the magic that the sorcerers of their time practiced. Because of this incorrect assumption, they brought all the magicians in order to defeat the miracles that he showed them. Allah said about Fir'awn,

فَلَنَأْتِيَنَّكَ بِسِحْرٍ مِّثْلِهِ فَاجْعَلْ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَكَ مَوْعِدًا لَّا نُخْلِفُهُ نَحْنُ وَلَا أَنتَ مَكَانًا سُوًى - قَالَ مَوْعِدُكُمْ يَوْمُ الزِّينَةِ وَأَن يُحْشَرَ النَّاسُ ضُحًى - فَتَوَلَّىٰ فِرْعَوْنُ فَجَمَعَ كَيْدَهُ ثُمَّ أَتَىٰ

(Then verily, we can produce magic the like thereof; so appoint a meeting between us and you, which neither we nor you shall fail to keep, in an open place where both shall have a just and equal chance." [Musa] said: "Your appointed meeting is the day of the festival, and let the people assemble when the sun has risen (forenoon)." So Fir'awn withdrew, devised his plot and then came back.)[20:58-60].

Allah said,