قَالَ بَلْ أَلْقُوا۟ ۖ فَإِذَا حِبَالُهُمْ وَعِصِيُّهُمْ يُخَيَّلُ إِلَيْهِ مِن سِحْرِهِمْ أَنَّهَا تَسْعَىٰ
Qaala bal alqoo fa izaa hibaaluhum wa 'isiyyuhum yuhaiyalu ilaihi min sihrihim annahaa tas'aa
He said, "Rather, you throw." And suddenly their ropes and staffs seemed to him from their magic that they were moving [like snakes].
Themes in this ayah
Explore in Habl →Scores run 0–100: how strongly this ayah speaks to a theme. 70+ is central, 50+ is clear, under 50 is weak.
6 other themes with weak connections
Labeled by AI and people · How this worksFollow this theme through Taa-HaaFollow this theme
Lessons from past peoples
20:66Ayah 1135
43 ayahs in Taa-Haa are strongly about lessons from past peoples. This is one of them.
Tafsir
Scholars offer complementary perspectives
He said ‘Nay you cast!’ and so they cast and lo! their ropes and their staffs ‘isiyyihim derives from ‘isūwwun but the two wāw letters have been changed into two yā’ letters with the kasra vowelling applied to both the ‘ayn and the sād appeared to him by the effect of their sorcery as though they were snakes gliding swiftly on their bellies.
Related Hadiths
Magic was worked on the Prophet (ﷺ) so that he began to fancy that he was doing a thing which he was
not actually doing. One day he invoked (Allah) for a long period and then said, "I feel that Allah has
inspired me as how to cure myself. Two persons came to me (in my dream) and sat, one by my head
and the other by my feet. One of them asked the other, "What is the ailment of this man?" The other
replied, 'He has been bewitched" The first asked, 'Who has bewitched him?' The other replied, 'Lubaid
bin Al-A'sam.' The first one asked, 'What material has he used?' The other replied, 'A comb, the hair
gathered on it, and the outer skin of the pollen of the male date-palm.' The first asked, 'Where is that?'
The other replied, 'It is in the well of Dharwan.' " So, the Prophet (ﷺ) went out towards the well and then
returned and said to me on his return, "Its date-palms (the date-palms near the well) are like the heads
of the devils." I asked, "Did you take out those things with which the magic was worked?" He said,
"No, for I have been cured by Allah and I am afraid that this action may spread evil amongst the
people." Later on the well was filled up with earth.
The Prophet looked away, he threw it away. He said: "I think that he hurt you or we made you lose money."
What is this that I see the children of my brother lean? Are they not fed properly? She said: No, but they fall under the influence of an evil eve. He said: Use incantation She recited (the words of incantation before him), whereupon he (by approving them) said: Yes, use this incantation for them.
Magic was worked on Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) so that he used to think that he had sexual relations with his
wives while he actually had not (Sufyan said: That is the hardest kind of magic as it has such an
effect). Then one day he said, "O `Aisha do you know that Allah has instructed me concerning the
matter I asked Him about? Two men came to me and one of them sat near my head and the other sat
near my feet. The one near my head asked the other. What is wrong with this man?' The latter replied
the is under the effect of magic The first one asked, Who has worked magic on him?' The other
replied Labid bin Al-A'sam, a man from Bani Zuraiq who was an ally of the Jews and was a
hypocrite.' The first one asked, What material did he use)?' The other replied, 'A comb and the hair
stuck to it.' The first one asked, 'Where (is that)?' The other replied. 'In a skin of pollen of a male date
palm tree kept under a stone in the well of Dharwan' '' So the Prophet (ﷺ) went to that well and took out
those things and said "That was the well which was shown to me (in a dream) Its water looked like the
infusion of Henna leaves and its date-palm trees looked like the heads of devils." The Prophet (ﷺ) added,
"Then that thing was taken out' I said (to the Prophet (ﷺ) ) "Why do you not treat yourself with Nashra?"
He said, "Allah has cured me; I dislike to let evil spread among my people."
Kill all the snakes except the little white one which looks like a silver wand.
Abu Dawud said: A man said to me: A white snake does not wind in its movement. If it is correct, that is a sign in it, if Allah wills.
Related Topics
Related Ayahs
Loading related ayahs…