Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Pharaoh and Haman had learned magic, and by means of magic and sorcery they used to overpower the people, and Pharaoh claimed divinity through sorcery. The next morning he sent people to the cities to gather sorcerers, dispatching them to all the cities of Egypt. They gathered a thousand men; from the thousand sorcerers a hundred were selected, and from the hundred, eighty. The sorcerers said to Pharaoh: "You know that there is no one in the world more skilled in magic than us, so if we overcome Musa (peace be upon him), what reward and recompense shall we have with you?" Pharaoh said: "وَإِنَّکُمْ إِذًا لَّمِنَ الْمُقَرَّبِینَ [And indeed you will then be among those brought near]; I will make you partners with me in my kingdom and rule." The sorcerers said: "But if Musa (peace be upon him) overcomes us and nullifies our magic, it will become clear that what Musa (peace be upon him) has brought is not of the nature of magic and trickery, and consequently we will believe in him and affirm his prophethood." Pharaoh said: "If Musa (peace be upon him) overcomes you, I too will affirm him along with you; but gather your cunning and stratagem." The appointed time for this contest was a day that was a festival for them. When the morning of the appointed day came and the day reached its middle, Pharaoh gathered the people and the sorcerers. He had a dome eighty cubits tall, clad with steel garments, such that when the sunlight struck that steel, because of its brilliance and gleam no one could look at it. Pharaoh and Haman came and sat upon it and were watching. Musa came forward and looked at the sky. The sorcerers said to Pharaoh: "We see a man looking at the sky; our magic and sorcery does not reach the sky, and the magic of the sorcerers encompassed everything that was upon the earth."