The Meeting of the Two Parties, Musa's Propagation of the Message and the Magicians

Allah, the Exalted informs that when Fir`awn and Musa agreed to an appointed meeting at a specified place and time, Fir`awn began to gather some magicians from the cities of his kingdom. Every person who had any affiliation with magic at that time was summoned, and magic was very widespread and in demand at that time. This is as Allah says,

وَقَالَ فِرْعَوْنُ ائْتُونِى بِكُلِّ سَـحِرٍ عَلِيمٍ

Commentary

The words فَجَمَعَ كَيْدَهُ (and put his plot together) in verse 60 indicate that the Pharaoh assembled his magicians and their tools. According to Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ there were seventy two magicians but others have put their number at figures which vary from four hundred to nine hundred thousand. Their leader was a blind man whose name was Sham` un (شمعُون).