Quran Universe
7:119

فَغُلِبُواْ هُنَالِكَ وَٱنقَلَبُواْ صَٰغِرِينَ

Faghuliboo hunalika wainqalaboo saghireena

And Pharaoh and his people were overcome right there and became debased.

Word by word
  1. فَغُلِبُواْSo they were defeated
  2. هُنَالِكَthere
  3. وَٱنقَلَبُواْand returned
  4. صَٰغِرِينَhumiliated
Al-A'raf · 7:119Makkah

Right there, in front of everyone, they were beaten.

The festival meant to shame Musa shamed Fir'awn

The reversal
Fir'awn's planpublic day, big crowd
turned into
public defeatovercome right there
leaving
humbledthey returned disgraced
Who set the stage
Fir'awnchose the day and crowd
Allahused it to show the truth

Fir'awn had chosen a festival day so the people could watch Musa fail. Instead, Fir'awn and his people were defeated there and returned humbled. The crowd he gathered became witnesses against him.

You plan to show up a coworker in the big meeting, with slides ready to prove them wrong. The facts come out in their favor, in front of everyone you invited. Plans to humiliate others have a way of turning around.

If I set it up right, I can make them look bad.

Whoever sets a stage against the truth ends up on it.

Try this

If you are planning to prove someone wrong in public, talk to them privately first.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (shared passage from 7:117)

And We revealed to Musa (saying): "Throw your stick," and behold! It swallowed up straight away all the falsehood which they showed (117)Thus truth was confirmed, and all that they did was made of no effect (118)So they were defeated there and returned disgraced (119)And the sorcerers fell down prostrate (120)They said: "We believe in the Lord of all that exists (121)"The Lord of Musa and Harun. (122)

Musa defeats the Magicians, Who believe in Him

Allah states that at that tremendous moment, in which Allah differentiated between Truth and Falsehood, He sent a revelation to His servant and Messenger Musa, peace be upon him, ordering him to throw the stick that he held in his right hand,

فَإِذَا هِيَ تَلْقَفُ

(It swallowed straight away) and devoured,

مَا يَأْفِكُونَ

(all the falsehood which they showed.) the magic that they caused the illusion with, of magic with which they caused making it appear real, whereas it was not real at all. Ibn 'Abbas said that Musa's stick swallowed all the ropes and sticks that the magicians threw. The magicians realized that this was from heaven and was by no means magic. They fell in prostration and proclaimed,

آمَنَّا بِرَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ - رَبِّ مُوسَىٰ وَهَارُونَ

("We believe in the Lord of all that exists. The Lord of Musa and Harun ).

Muhammad bin Ishaq commented, "It followed the ropes and sticks one after another, until nothing that the sorcerers threw remained. Musa then held it in his hand, and it became a stick again just as it was before. The magicians fell in prostration and proclaimed, 'We believe in the Lord of all that exists, the Lord of Musa and Harun. Had Musa been a magician, he would not have prevailed over us.'" Al-Qasim bin Abi Bazzah commented, "Allah revealed to Musa to throw his stick. When he threw his stick, it became a huge, manifest snake that opened its mouth and swallowed the magicians' ropes and sticks. On that, the magicians fell in prostration. They did not raise their heads before seeing the Paradise, the Fire, and the recompense of their inhabitants."