Caution: Translations of Quran and Ḥadīth may lead to possible misapplications and misinterpretations. This site is intended for students of sacred knowledge that are proficient in comprehending classical Arabic and have a strong foundation in Islamic sciences. Also note that religious injunctions rely on several aspects beyond what one may glean through reading individual aḥādīth.
Qurʾān Bukhārī Muslim Nasāʾī Abū Dāwūd Tirmidhī Ibn Mājah Mālik Aḥmad Dārimī Ḥākim Ibn Ḥibbān Ṭabarānī Nasāʾī's Kubrá Bayhaqī al-Luʾluʾ wa-al-Marjān Ibn Rajab's Fifty Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn Aḥmad's Zuhd Suyūṭī
quran:26:40 –

That we might follow the magicians if they are the predominant?"  

Maybe we will follow the sorcerers, should they be the victors’ (the interrogative ˹of the previous verse˺ is an incitement to assemble and the optative sense ˹implicit in la‘alla˺ is due to their anticipation of victory, and hence their continued adherence to their religion and rejection of Moses).
القرآن:٢٦:٤٠ –

لَعَلَّنَا نَتَّبِعُ السَّحَرَةَ إِنْ كَانُوا هُمُ الْغَالِبِينَ  

{لعلنا نتبع السحرة إن كانوا هم الغالبين} الاستفهام للحث على الاجتماع والترجي على تقدير غلبتهم ليستمروا على دينهم فلا يتبعوا موسى.