Quran Universe
7:115

قَالُواْ يَٰمُوسَىٰٓ إِمَّآ أَن تُلۡقِيَ وَإِمَّآ أَن نَّكُونَ نَحۡنُ ٱلۡمُلۡقِينَ

Qaloo ya moosa imma an tulqiya waimma an nakoona nahnu almulqeena

They said, "O Moses, either you throw [your staff], or we will be the ones to throw [first]."

Word by word
  1. قَالُواْThey said
  2. يَٰمُوسَىٰٓO Musa
  3. إِمَّآWhether
  4. أَن[that]
  5. تُلۡقِيَyou throw
  6. وَإِمَّآor Whether
  7. أَن[that]
  8. نَّكُونَwe will be
  9. نَحۡنُ[we]
  10. ٱلۡمُلۡقِينَthe ones to throw
Al-A'raf · 7:115Makkah

You throw first, or shall we? They came confident.

The challenge on the festival day

The challenge
the magiciansskilled, rewarded, sure
offer
who goes first?you or us
to
Musaand his staff
Where confidence came from
our skillwe have done this before
Allah's backingwhat Musa relied on

On the appointed day, the magicians faced Musa and offered him the choice of who would throw first. Ibn Kathir notes that in 20:65 they offered to be the first. They were sure of their craft and of the crowd watching.

You walk into an argument with your spouse fully loaded: dates, receipts, screenshots. You are certain you will win. Being prepared is not the same as being right.

If I am skilled and prepared, I will win.

Skill used against the truth only delays the moment it loses.

Try this

Before your next disagreement, ask yourself first: what if I am the one who is wrong here?

Related20:65
Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir

They said: "O Musa! Either you throw (first), or shall we have the (first) throw? (115)He [Musa] said: "Throw you (first)." So when they threw, they bewitched the eyes of the people, and struck terror into them, and they displayed a great trick (116)

The magicians challenged Musa, when they said,

إِمَّا أَن تُلْقِيَ وَإِمَّا أَن نَّكُونَ نَحْنُ الْمُلْقِينَ

(Either you throw (first), or shall we have the (first) throw?) before you. In another Ayah, they said,

وَإِمَّا أَن نَّكُونَ أَوَّلَ مَنْ أَلْقَىٰ

(Or we be the first to throw)[20:65]. Musa said to them, you throw first. It was said that the wisdom behind asking them to throw first, is that - Allah knows best - the people might witness the magicians' sorcery first. When the magicians had cast their spell and captured the eyes, the clear and unequivocal truth came, at a time when they all anticipated and waited for it to come, thus making the truth even more impressive to their hearts. This is what happened. Allah said,

فَلَمَّا أَلْقَوْا سَحَرُوا أَعْيُنَ النَّاسِ وَاسْتَرْهَبُوهُمْ 

(So when they threw, they bewitched the eyes of the people, and struck terror into them,) meaning, they deceived the eyes and made them think that thet trick was real, when it was only an illusion, just as Allah said,

فَأَوْجَسَ فِي نَفْسِهِ خِيفَةً مُّوسَىٰ - قُلْنَا لَا تَخَفْ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ الْأَعْلَىٰ - وَأَلْقِ مَا فِي يَمِينِكَ تَلْقَفْ مَا صَنَعُوا إِنَّمَا صَنَعُوا كَيْدُ سَاحِرٍ وَلَا يُفْلِحُ السَّاحِرُ حَيْثُ أَتَىٰ

(So Musa conceived fear in himself. We (Allah) said: "Fear not! Surely, you will have the upper hand. And throw that which is in your right hand! It will swallow up that which they have made. That which they have made is only a magician's trick, and the magician will never be successful, to whatever amount (of skill) he may attain")[20:67-69].

Ibn 'Abbas commented that the magicians threw, "Thick ropes and long sticks, and they appeared to be crawling, an illusion that they created with their magic."