Surah Az-Zukhruf (43) — Ayah 49

(Ayah 49) ➊ { وَ قَالُوْا يٰۤاَيُّهَ السّٰحِرُ ادْعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ … :} Here this matter is mentioned briefly; in Surah Al-A'raf it is mentioned in detail, where it is said: « وَ لَمَّا وَقَعَ عَلَيْهِمُ الرِّجْزُ قَالُوْا يٰمُوْسَى ادْعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ بِمَا عَهِدَ عِنْدَكَ لَىِٕنْ كَشَفْتَ عَنَّا الرِّجْزَ لَنُؤْمِنَنَّ لَكَ وَ لَنُرْسِلَنَّ مَعَكَ بَنِيْۤ اِسْرَآءِيْلَ » [ الأعراف : ۱۳۴ ] "And when the punishment would come upon them, they would say, 'O Musa! Pray to your Lord for us by the covenant He has made with you. Surely, if you remove this punishment from us, we will surely believe in you and will surely send the Children of Israel with you.'"

➋ Here is a question: In such a difficult moment, when they were seized by punishment and requesting Musa (peace be upon him) to pray, even then they addressed Musa (peace be upon him) with {’’ يٰۤاَيُّهَ السّٰحِرُ ‘‘} ("O magician!"), whereas at that time they should have addressed him with a good word. Then, even after hearing this clear slander, Musa (peace be upon him) does not say anything to them, but rather prays for them and delivers them from the punishment. The commentators have given several answers to this; here two of them are mentioned. Ibn Kathir said: "By 'magician' is meant 'scholar'; this is also what Ibn Jarir said. The scholars of their time were magicians, and among them magic was not considered a bad thing, so they did not use these words for disparagement, because their state of compulsion does not suit that, rather, according to their belief, it was a word of respect." (Ibn Kathir)

The second answer is that they addressed him with the words {’’ يَا مُوْسٰي ‘‘}, as is in Surah Al-A'raf, verse (134), but in their hearts they considered him a magician, and they considered magic and magicians to be blameworthy, as previously Pharaoh and his courtiers had clearly said: « فَقَالُوْا سٰحِرٌ كَذَّابٌ » [ المؤمن : ۲۴ ] "So they said, 'He is a magician, a great liar.'" Now look at their state: the very person whom they considered a magician, they are now, with utmost humility, requesting him to pray. Allah Almighty, mentioning their request, described the state of their hearts in His own words. The purpose is to reproach them: when you consider him a magician and always refer to him with that word, then how can you request him to pray? And if you consider him someone whose prayers are answered, then why do you consider him a magician? This is just like the Quraysh, who used to call the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) a magician and mock him, but in times of difficulty, they would also request him to pray, as Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) described their state, saying: [ وَ إِنَّ قُرَيْشًا أَبْطَئُوْا عَنِ الْإِسْلاَمِ فَدَعَا عَلَيْهِمُ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالَ اللّٰهُمَّ أَعِنِّيْ عَلَيْهِمْ بِسَبْعٍ كَسَبْعِ يُوْسُفَ، فَأَخَذَتْهُمْ سَنَةٌ حَتّٰی هَلَكُوْا فِيْهَا، وَأَكَلُوا الْمَيْتَةَ وَالْعِظَامَ وَ يَرَی الرَّجُلُ مَا بَيْنَ السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ كَهَيْئَةِ الدُّخَانِ، فَجَاءَهُ أَبُوْ سُفْيَانَ فَقَالَ يَا مُحَمَّدُ ! جِئْتَ تَأْمُرُنَا بِصِلَةِ الرَّحِمِ، وَ إِنَّ قَوْمَكَ قَدْ هَلَكُوْا فَادْعُ اللّٰهَ ] [ بخاري، التفسیر، سورۃ الروم : ۴۷۷۴ ] "The Quraysh delayed in accepting Islam, so the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) supplicated against them: 'O Allah! Help me against them with seven years like the seven years of Yusuf (peace be upon him).' So famine overtook them, until they were destroyed in it and ate carrion and bones, and a man would see something like smoke between the sky and the earth. Then Abu Sufyan came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said, 'O Muhammad! You command us to maintain ties of kinship, and yet your people have perished, so pray to Allah for us.'" In this hadith, it is mentioned that when the famine was removed by the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) supplication, they again became deniers. I find this second answer better. (And Allah knows best)