Sayyidna Miisa's I prophetic address to the magicians
Before the start of the contest Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) addressed some words of friendly advice to the magicians to warn them of divine punishment if they persisted in denying God's miracles and other manifestations of His power. His actual words were:
وَيْلَكُمْ لَا تَفْتَرُوا عَلَى اللَّـهِ كَذِبًا فَيُسْحِتَكُم بِعَذَابٍ وَقَدْ خَابَ مَنِ افْتَرَىٰ
Pity on you, do not fabricate a lie against Allah, lest He uproots you with a punishment. And loser is he who fabricates a lie - 20:61.
It was hardly to be expected that the magicians who had entered the field with all the might of the Pharaoh-behind them would pay any heed to Sayyidna Musa's (علیہ السلام) words of advice. However, the prophets and their followers possess a hidden power so that their plain and simple words penetrate the most unruly and perverse minds, and the address of Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) caused discord and dissensions among the magicians, some of whom thought that these could not be the words of a magician but of a higher being and were therefore, against the contest. But others were adamant,