Transliteration:( Qaala na'am wa innakum izal laminal muqarrabeen )
49. If you gain victory you would be given special honor in Pharoah's court. You would be allowed first to come to the court, and last to leave it Ministerial positions would be your possessions.
This was the highest form of respect by him. But, eventually, the magicians became the true devotees of Allah Almighty and gained His nearness, through the blessings of Hazrat Moosa (On whom be peace).
The tafsir of Surah Ash-Shura verse 42 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Shura ayat 38 which provides the complete commentary from verse 38 through 48.
35. This was then the highest honor that the king could confer on those who served the creed best. Thus, at the very outset, Pharaoh and his magicians manifested by their conduct the great moral distinction that exists between a Prophet and a magician. On the one side, there stood that embodiment of courage and confidence, who in spite of belonging to the suppressed community of the Israelites and having remained to hiding for ten long years on account of a charge of murder, had suddenly appeared in Pharaoh’s court to proclaim fearlessly that he had been sent by the Lord of all Creation and demanded release of the Israelites.
He did not even feel the least hesitation in starting a discussion face to face with Pharaoh not caring in the least for his threats. On the other side, there were the wretched magicians wholly lacking in moral fiber, who had been summoned by Pharaoh himself to help secure the ancestral religion, and yet they were begging for rewards in return for the services. And when they are told that they will not only be given rewards but will also be included among the royal courtiers, they feel greatly overjoyed. These two types of characters clearly bring out the difference between the grand personality of a Prophet and that of a mere magician. Unless a man loses all senses of modesty and decency, he cannot have the audacity to call a Prophet a magician.
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