Now, when he came to them in Truth, from Us, they said, "Slay the sons of those who believe with him, and keep alive their females," but the plots of Unbelievers (end) in nothing but errors (and delusions)!... Ghafir 40:25 ⧉
Tafsir:
In addition to arguments, the prophets were given miraculous supports which provided ample proof of their having been sent and commissioned by God. But, acceptance of the Truth by a man comes at the cost of negating his own self, which is the most difficult sacrifice for him. It was for this reason alone that Pharaoh and his courtiers did not accept Moses’ prophethood, in spite of very clear arguments in its favour. While, on the one hand, they started creating the impression among the people that Moses’ claim to prophethood was baseless and his miracles were feats of magic. On the other hand, they decided to more vigorously implement their earlier policy of reducing the population of the Children of Israel, so that Moses should not be able to establish a firm foundation among his own community. But they did not know that they were using these strategies not against Moses but against God, and against God no strategy devised by any human being could be successful.