Overall meaning : The Almighty says: The heralds gathered the magicians for the appointed time for their meeting, and it was said to the people of Egypt, ‘Will you join the gathering to see who will win the contest, so that we may follow the magicians if they defeat Moses?’ When the magicians came to Pharaoh, they asked him, ‘Will we be rewarded if we defeat Moses?’ ‘Yes,’ Pharaoh replied, ‘and you will also be in my inner circle.’
After the magicians had gathered before Moses, he said to them, ‘Throw down whatever you are going to throw.’ The magicians threw down their ropes and sticks which they had prepared for magical purposes, saying, ‘By Pharaoh’s might, we will surely win and defeat Moses.’ Then Moses threw down his staff and it swallowed up all the ropes and sticks that the magicians had cast down and with which they deceived people by making them think, by virtue of their magic, that they were serpents slithering about.
Having seen all that happening before their very eyes, the magicians became certain that Moses was truthful and that what he had brought them was the truth and by no means magic or any form of deception. Thereupon they prostrated themselves to Allah, saying, ‘We now believe in the Lord of all the worlds, the Lord of Moses and Aaron.’
Enraged, Pharaoh said to them, ‘How dare you believe and follow him before I have given you permission?! He must surely be your master, who has taught you magic. Now you will know what sort of punishment I will inflict on you.’ He threateningly added, ‘I will cut off your hands and feet on alternate sides and crucify you all.’ The magicians said to him, ‘The temporary worldly punishment you make us suffer will do no harm to us. We do not care about it and we will surely patiently bear it, for we will be returning to Allah, who will reward us for our faith and patience. We hope our Lord will forgive us our sins, since we are the first to believe the truth when it came to us.’