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fa-la-naʾtiyannaka bi-siḥrin mithlihī fa-jʿal baynanā wa-baynaka mawʿidan lā nukhlifuhū naḥnu wa-lā ʾanta makānan suwan
Yet we [too] will bring you a magic like it! So fix a tryst between us and you, which neither we shall fail nor you, at a middle place.’
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah Ta Ha – Verses 58 - 60
58. “(Pharaoh continued,) ‘Then we too will surely bring you sorcery the like of it; therefore appoint a tryst between us and you which neither we nor you shall fail to keep, in a place alike for both’.”
59. “(Moses) said: ‘Your tryst shall be the day of festival, and let the people gather together at the high noon’.”
60. “So Pharaoh turned his back and gathered his plan (fully), then (on the appointed tryst) he came again.”
As this holy verse implies, Pharaoh added that Moses should not suppose that they were not able to bring some magic similar to those of his, but certainly he would bring it soon. The verse says:
And in order to show a sharper conclusiveness, Pharaoh wanted Moses to appoint its date. The verse says:
But Moses, without losing his coolness, nor feeling any terror in himself, clearly and decisively responded him that he was ready, too, to define the day and the hour of the meeting just then. The verse says:
However, after observing the wonderful miracles of Moses and the psychological effect of those astonishing miracles on his companions, Pharaoh decided, by the help of his sorcerers, to challenge. Therefore, he appointed a proper tryst with Moses (as) and left that meeting. He gathered all his plots and plans then and brought them wholly available on the appointed day. The verse says:
The logical and free discussions, of course, should be performed at the presence of people, while the factors of ‘time’ and ‘place’ must not be neglected, either. Thus, one of the best arrangements that Moses (as) made was that he utilized the national day. He gathered, on that day, an assembly which became fruitful and supreme. On that day, he behaved with such a manner that, when the sorcerers saw his miracles, they all changed their mind and their belief.