سُوْرَةُ طٰهٰ
Surah Taa-Haa (20) — Ayah 69
وَأَلْقِ مَا فِى يَمِينِكَ تَلْقَفْ مَا صَنَعُوٓا۟ ۖ إِنَّمَا صَنَعُوا۟ كَيْدُ سَـٰحِرٍ ۖ وَلَا يُفْلِحُ ٱلسَّاحِرُ حَيْثُ أَتَىٰ ﴿69﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
"And throw that which is in your right hand! It will swallow up that which they have made. That which they have made is only a magician’s trick, and the magician will never be successful, to whatever amount (of skill) he may attain."
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
وَأَلْقِ
wa-alqi
And throw
مَا
mā
what
فِى
fī
(is) in
يَمِينِكَ
yamīnika
your right hand
تَلْقَفْ
talqaf
it will swallow up
مَا
mā
what
صَنَعُوٓا۟ ۖ
ṣanaʿū
they have made
إِنَّمَا
innamā
Only
صَنَعُوا۟
ṣanaʿū
they (have) made
كَيْدُ
kaydu
a trick
سَـٰحِرٍۢ ۖ
sāḥirin
(of) a magician
وَلَا
walā
and not
يُفْلِحُ
yuf'liḥu
will be successful
ٱلسَّاحِرُ
l-sāḥiru
the magician
حَيْثُ
ḥaythu
wherever
أَتَىٰ
atā
he comes
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran — Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran (Facilitation of the Quran) is a comprehensive Quran commentary by Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. Known for his eloquent and accessible writing style, Kilani authored this tafsir with a focus on clarity — making Quranic meanings understandable to the common reader. The tafsir provides detailed historical context for verses related to battles and expeditions, and firmly refutes modernist ideologies using strong scriptural evidence. It is widely regarded as an invaluable resource for understanding the Quran and countering deviant interpretations. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
Throw what is in your right hand; it will swallow up all that they have crafted. [48] What they have made is only a magician’s trick, and the magician will never succeed wherever he may come (in confrontation with the truth).
[48]
The Application of Trickery:
So you just do this: throw your staff in this field. This staff will become a very large serpent and will swallow up all these fake and artificial snakes, and nothing will remain in this field except this serpent. The magicians’ tricks, their staffs and ropes, will not even remain in existence. The reason is that some scholars have explained the meaning of "talaqqaf ma sana'u" as that the serpent made from the staff, wherever it turned and wherever it reached, the effect of the trick would disappear from there. Until, in the end, only the staffs and ropes of the magicians remained in the field, which the magicians had brought with them. In our view, this second interpretation is not correct. The reason is that the meaning of "talaqqaf" as "to swallow" or "to make a morsel" is linguistically correct, but this word does not mean "to nullify" or "to make."
[48]
The Application of Trickery:
So you just do this: throw your staff in this field. This staff will become a very large serpent and will swallow up all these fake and artificial snakes, and nothing will remain in this field except this serpent. The magicians’ tricks, their staffs and ropes, will not even remain in existence. The reason is that some scholars have explained the meaning of "talaqqaf ma sana'u" as that the serpent made from the staff, wherever it turned and wherever it reached, the effect of the trick would disappear from there. Until, in the end, only the staffs and ropes of the magicians remained in the field, which the magicians had brought with them. In our view, this second interpretation is not correct. The reason is that the meaning of "talaqqaf" as "to swallow" or "to make a morsel" is linguistically correct, but this word does not mean "to nullify" or "to make."
