In papyruses from the time of Pharaoh, the Prophet Musa (as) is regularly referred to as a magician. (The papyruses in question are held in the British Museum.) Despite all the best efforts of Pharaoh and his supporters, they were never able to get the better of the Prophet Musa (as) in their all-out war against him and the Children of Israel.
This is written on the second day of the seventh month of Payni during the reign of Ramses, the elder brother of Ammon, the Sun's son who is the administrator of justice, and who lives eternally like his father, the Sun… When you receive this letter, rise, set to work and undertake the supervision of the fields. When you hear the news of a new misfortune such as a flood ruining the entire cereals, think. Hemton destroyed them by consuming them greedily, granaries are cracked, rats are clumped in fields, fleas are like hurricane, scorpions are eating up greedily, wounds caused by little flies are too many to count. And these grieve the people… The Scribe [probably referring to the Prophet Musa (as)] fulfilled the purpose to destroy the total amount of cereals… Sorceries are like their bread. Scribe… is the first of men in the art of writing.
The reference to the Prophet Musa (as), and the "magician" accusations hurled at him, can be found in the following verses:
They said, "Magician, invoke your Lord for us by the contract He has made with you and we shall certainly follow the guidance." (Qur'an, 43:49)
They said, "No matter what kind of Sign you bring us to bewitch us, we will not believe in you." (Qur'an, 7:132)
