Quran Universe
26:50

قَالُواْ لَا ضَيۡرَۖ إِنَّآ إِلَىٰ رَبِّنَا مُنقَلِبُونَ

Qaloo la dayra inna ila rabbina munqaliboona

They said, "No harm. Indeed, to our Lord we will return.

Word by word
  1. قَالُواْThey said
  2. لَاNo
  3. ضَيۡرَۖharm
  4. إِنَّآIndeed,we
  5. إِلَىٰto
  6. رَبِّنَاour Lord
  7. مُنقَلِبُونَ(will) return
Ash-Shu'ara · 26:50Makkah

No harm. We are going back to our Lord.

The magicians' answer to the threat

Their reply
the threatpain and death
met with
no harmwe return to our Lord
What makes it bearable
this life is allso the threat is total
nothing is lostAllah rewards in full

The threat only increased their faith, Ibn Kathir says. They answered: no harm. Our return is to Allah, Who will never let the reward of anyone who has done good be lost, and what you do to us is not hidden from Him.

You lose the job for refusing to lie. A friendship ends because you would not join in. It hurts. But nothing done for Allah is lost. You are going back to Someone who saw all of it.

If doing right costs me something, I have lost.

Nothing I give up for Allah is lost. He sees it and repays it.

Try this

Remember one thing you gave up for doing right. Tell Allah: I did it for You.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (shared passage from 26:49)

He said: "You have believed in him before I give you leave. Surely, he indeed is your chief, who has taught you magic! So verily, you shall come to know. Verily, I will cut off your hands and your feet on opposite sides, and I will crucify you all. (49)They said: "No harm! Surely, to our Lord we are to return. (50)"Verily, we really hope that our Lord will forgive us our sins, as we are the first of the believers. (51)

Between Fir'awn and the Sorcerers

His threats against them resulted only in an increase in their faith and submission to Allah, for the veil of disbelief had been lifted from their hearts and the truth became clear to them because they knew something that their people did not: that what Musa had done could not have been done by any human being unless Allah helped him, making it proof and an evidence of the truth of what he had brought from his Lord. Then Fir'awn said to them:

آمَنتُمْ لَهُ قَبْلَ أَنْ آذَنَ لَكُمْ

(You have believed in him before I give you leave.) meaning, 'you should have asked my permission for what you did, and you did not consult with me; if I had given you permission you could have done it, and if I did not allow you, you should not have done it, for I am the ruler and the one to be obeyed.'

إِنَّهُ لَكَبِيرُكُمُ الَّذِي عَلَّمَكُمُ السِّحْرَ

(Surely, he indeed is your chief, who has taught you magic!) This is stubborn talk, and anyone can see that it is nonsense, for they had never met Musa before that day, so how could he have been their chief who taught them how to do magic No rational person would say this. Then Fir'awn threatened to cut off their hands and feet, and crucify them. They said:

لَا ضَيْرَ

(No harm!) meaning, 'no problem, that will not harm us and we do not care.'

إِنَّا إِلَىٰ رَبِّنَا مُنقَلِبُونَ

(Surely, to our Lord we are to return.) means, 'the return of us all is to Allah, may He be glorified, and He will never allow the reward of anyone who has done good to be lost. What you have done to us is not hidden from Him, and He will reward us in full for that.' So they said:

إِنَّا نَطْمَعُ أَن يَغْفِرَ لَنَا رَبُّنَا خَطَايَانَا

(Verily, we really hope that our Lord will forgive us our sins,) 'the sins we have committed and the magic you forced us to do.'

أَن كُنَّا أَوَّلَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ

(as we are the first of the believers,) means, because we are the first of our people, the Egyptians, to believe. So he killed them all.