Ta, Ha. | Surah 20

Verse 1

Tā hā: God knows best what He means by these [letters].

Verse 2

We have not revealed the Qur’ān to you, O Muhammad (s), that you should be miserable, that you should toil because of what you used to do after it was revealed [to you], in the way of long vigils performing night prayers; in other words, so unburden your soul;

Verse 3

but, We have revealed it, only to remind, therewith, him who fears, God;

Verse 4

a revelation (tanzīlan, a substitution, standing in place of the [conjugated] verb [derived] therefrom which renders it [tanzīlan] accusative) from Him Who created the earth and the high heavens (‘ulā, the plural of ‘ulyā, similar [in pattern] to kubrā, kubar, ‘large’);

Verse 5

He is, the Compassionate One presided upon the Throne (al-‘arsh, in the [classical Arabic] language denotes a king’s seat) a presiding befitting of Him;

Verse 6

to Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth and whatever is between them, of creatures, and whatever is beneath the soil (al-tharā, is moist earth) meaning [whatever is beneath] the seven earths, since these lie beneath it.

Verse 7

And should you be loud in your speech, in remembrance [of God] or supplication, then God has no need for this to be [spoken] loud, then indeed He knows the secret and [that which is] yet more hidden, than that [secret], namely, that which the soul whispers [to itself] and that which occurs to the mind but which you do not speak of [to anyone], so do not strain yourself to be loud [in your speech].

Verse 8

God — there is no god save Him. To Him belong the Most Beautiful Names, the ninety nine [Names], cited in the hadīth (al-husnā is the feminine form of al-ahsan, ‘the best’).

Verse 9

Has the story of Moses — indeed, it has — come to you?

Verse 10

When he caught sight of a fire and said to his family, namely, to his wife, ‘Wait, here! — this was when he was leaving Midian, heading for Egypt — Indeed I see a fire [in the distance]. Perhaps I [can] bring you a brand from it, [bring you] a burning wick or a torch, or find at the fire some guidance’, that is, someone to guide me by showing me the [proper] route — for he had lost it in the darkness of the night. He [Moses] said, ‘perhaps’ (la‘alla) because he could not be certain of fulfilling his promise.

Verse 11

And when he reached it — it was a boxthorn — he was called [by name], ‘O Moses!

Verse 12

Indeed (read as innī, if one understands nūdiya, ‘he was called’, as meaning qīla, ‘it was said’; or read it as annī, because of an implied [prefixed] bā’) I am (anā, reiterates the [first person indicator] yā’ [of innī] used by the [direct] speaker) your Lord. So take off your sandals, for lo! you are in the holy, [meaning] either the pure, or the blessed, valley of Tuwā ([this is] either a substitution, or an explicative supplement; read [Tuwan] with nunation or [Tuwā] without: it is [considered] declinable on account of it being a location; but [alternatively considered] indeclinable, if taken as considered a feminine proper noun denoting a place name).

Verse 13

And I [Myself] have chosen you, from among [all of] your people, so listen to what is being revealed, to you from Me.

Verse 14

Verily I am God — there is no god except Me. So worship Me and establish prayer for to make remembrance of Me, in it.

Verse 15

The Hour is assuredly coming. [But] I will to keep it hidden, from mankind — and its nearness [in time] will manifest itself to them through its signs — so that every soul may be requited, thereupon, for what it strives for, of good or evil.

Verse 16

So do not let him bar you, distract you, from it, that is, from believing in it, who believes not in it but follows his own whim, in denying [the truth of] it, lest you perish, that is, lest you be ruined if you are barred from [remembering] it.

Verse 17

And what is that, that happens to be, in your right hand, O Moses?’ (the interrogative is meant as an affirmative, [but it is expressed as an interrogative] in order that the miracle [to be manifested] in it be [shown as] consequent upon it).

Verse 18

He said, ‘It is my staff. I lean, I support myself, upon it, when I leap [across something] or walk, and I beat down [leaves], I strike the leaves on trees, with it, so that they fall, for my sheep, which then consume them; and I have uses for it (ma’ārib, ‘uses’, is the plural of ma’ruba, with the rā’ taking any [one] of the three vowels [sc. ma’ruba, ma’raba or ma’riba] meaning ‘needs’) in other ways, such as [using it] to carry food supplies and waterskins, as well as to drive away [undesirable] animals. He [Moses] gives an extensive response to indicate his [many] needs for it.

Verse 19

He said, ‘Cast it down, O Moses!’

Verse 20

And he cast it down, and lo! it was a serpent, a giant snake, moving swiftly, moving about on its belly swiftly with the speed of a small snake — which is called al-jānn and which is [also] used to refer to this [serpent] in another verse [Q. 27:10; Q. 28:31].

Verse 21

He said, ‘Take [hold of] it and do not fear, it. We will restore it to its former state (sīratahā, in the accusative because the genitive-operating preposition has been removed). And so he placed his hand in its mouth and it became a staff once again; and it became clear that the place into which he put his hand was the place where it [the staff] is held, between its two prongs. Moses was shown this [miracle] lest he be terrified when it turns into a snake in the presence of Pharaoh.

Verse 22

And thrust your hand, the right one, meaning, the palm, into your flank — that is, your left side, below the arm into the armpit, and [then] take it out — it will emerge white, in contrast to the skin-colour that it was, without any fault, that is, [without any sign of] leprosy, radiating like the rays of the sun, blinding to the eyes [of onlookers]. [That is] yet another sign (āyatan ukhrā: this together with baydā’a, ‘white’, constitute two circumstantial qualifiers referring to the subject of [the verb] takhruj, ‘it will emerge’).

Verse 23

That We may show you, thereby, when you do this [as described above] in order to manifest it, of Our greatest signs, the sign that is the greatest proof of [the truth of] your Mission [from God]: and should he want it to be restored to its former state, he would thrust it into his armpit, as has been mentioned, and [then] bring it out.

Verse 24

Go, as a messenger [from God], to Pharaoh, and [to] those with him. He has indeed transgressed’, he has exceeded the [usual] limits in his disbelief by claiming to be a god.

Verse 25

He said, ‘My Lord, expand my breast for me, expand it so that it may accommodate the [weight of the Divine] Message.

Verse 26

And make easy, facilitate, for me my affair, that I may deliver it.

Verse 27

And undo the knot upon my tongue — the result of his having been burnt by a live coal which he had placed [accidentally] in his mouth as a child;

Verse 28

so that they may understand what I [shall] say, when I am delivering the Message.

Verse 29

And appoint for me a minister, an assistant for that [task], from my family,

Verse 30

Aaron (Hārūna, constitutes the second object), my brother (akhī, an explicative supplement).

Verse 31

Confirm through him my strength, my courage;

Verse 32

and let him share in my affair, namely, in [the delivery of] the Message (both verbs [ushdud, ‘confirm’, and ashrikhu, ‘let him share’] are in the imperative and in the apocopated imperfect tense, constituting the response to the request [of Moses]).

Verse 33

So that we may glorify You, [by making] glorifications, over and over again,

Verse 34

and remember You, [by making] remembrance, over and over again.

Verse 35

Indeed You are ever Seeing of us’, ever Knowing, having been gracious [to us] by way of [appointing us to deliver] the Message.

Verse 36

He said, ‘You have been granted your request, O Moses!, as a favour [from Us] to you.

Verse 37

And certainly, We have done you a favour [already] another time,

Verse 38

when (idh, for explanation [of that favour]) We revealed to your mother, either in [her] sleep or by way of inspiration — when she gave birth to you and feared that Pharaoh would have you slain for being one of the newborn [of the Children of Israel] — that which was revealed, regarding your affair (this [mā yūhā, ‘that which was revealed’] is substituted by [what follows, an iqdhifīhi …]),

Verse 39

“Cast him, place him, in the ark, then cast him, [while] in the ark, into the river, [into] the flow of the Nile, and then the river shall throw him up onto the shore, that is, its bank (the imperative here [fa’l-yulqihi, ‘let it throw him’] functions as a predicate); [there] an enemy of Mine and an enemy of his, namely, Pharaoh, shall take him”. And, after he took you, I cast upon you love from Me, that you may be loved by people; and indeed Pharaoh, and all who saw you, loved you; and that you might be reared under My eyes, be nurtured under My guardianship and My protection of you.

Verse 40

When (idh, for explanation) your sister, Maryam, walked up, to obtain news of you, for they had brought wet nurses [for you] but you would not take to the breast of any of them, and she then said, “Shall I show you someone who will take care of him?”. Her offer was accepted and so she brought [them] his mother and he took to her breasts. Thus We restored you to your mother that her eyes might rejoice, in seeing you again, and not grieve, at that point [anymore]. Then you slew a soul, namely, the Copt in Egypt — and you became distressed for having slain him because of [how] Pharaoh [would react]; whereupon We delivered you from [great] distress, and We tried you with various ordeals, We tested you by landing you in some other [ordeal] and [again] delivered you from it. Then you stayed for several years, ten [years], among the people of Midian, after you had reached it having left Egypt, [staying] with the prophet Shu‘ayb and marrying his daughter. Then you came [hither] as ordained, in My knowledge, with the Message [that you will deliver] — and this was when you were forty years old, O Moses!

Verse 41

And I chose you for Myself, to deliver the Message.

Verse 42

Go, you and your brother, to the people, with My, nine, signs, and do not flag, be remiss, in remembrance of Me, by uttering glorifications and otherwise.

Verse 43

Go the two of you to Pharaoh. Truly he has transgressed [the bounds], in claiming to be the Lord.

Verse 44

And speak to him gentle words, for him to renounce such [claims], that perhaps he may be mindful, be admonished, or fear’, God and so repent — the ‘hope’ [for Pharaoh’s repentance] is [expressed] from their perspective, for God knows that he was not going to repent.

Verse 45

The two [of them] said, ‘Our Lord, We truly fear that he may forestall us, that is, by hastening to punish us, or become tyrannical’, against us, that is, be high-handed [with us].

Verse 46

He said, ‘Do not fear, for I shall be with the two of you, by [providing you with] My assistance, hearing, what he says, and seeing, what he does.

Verse 47

So go to him and say, “Truly we are two messengers of your Lord, so let the Children of Israel go with us, to Syria, and do not [continue to] chastise them, in other words, release them from your exploitation of them in those oppressive works of yours, such as digging, construction and the lifting of heavy objects. We have verily brought you a sign, a definitive argument, from your Lord, as proof of our truthfulness in [delivering] the Message; and may peace be upon him who follows [right] guidance, that is to say, may he be secure from [God’s] chastisement.

Verse 48

Indeed it has been revealed to us that the chastisement shall befall him who denies, [the truth of] what we have brought, and turns away” ’, [and who] rejects it. And so they came to him and said [to him] all of what has been mentioned.

Verse 49

He said, ‘So who is your Lord, O Moses?’ — he [Pharaoh] restricted this [question] to him [Moses], because [between him and Aaron] he is the principal [bearer of God’s Message] and also because of his [Pharaoh’s] having pampered him while he was being reared [as a child].

Verse 50

He said, ‘Our Lord is He Who gave to everything, in creation, its [peculiar] nature, through which it is distinguished from another [thing], and then guided [it]’, the animal among them to its source of food, drink and procreation and in other ways.

Verse 51

He, Pharaoh, said, ‘So what of, the status [of], the generations, the communities, of old?’, such as the people of Noah, Hūd, Lot and Sālih, with regard to their having worshipped graven images.

Verse 52

Said he, Moses, ‘The knowledge thereof, that is, the knowledge of their [otherworldly] status, is, preserved, with my Lord, in a Book, namely, the Preserved Tablet (al-lawh al-mahfūz), and He shall requite them in accordance with it on the Day of Resurrection. My Lord does not err, He is [never] absent from anything, nor does He, my Lord, forget, anything.

Verse 53

He is, the One Who made for you, as well as [for] all creatures, the earth a cradle, a bed, and threaded, facilitated, for you therein ways, roads, and sent down from the heaven water, rain. God, exalted be He, says, as a complement to Moses’s description of Him and as an address to the people of Mecca: and therewith We brought forth various kinds, species, of plants (shattā, ‘various’, adjectivally qualifies azwājan, ‘kinds’), in other words, [plants] of different colours, flavours and [different] in other ways (shattā is the plural of shatīt, similar [in pattern] to marīd, [plural] mardā, as [may be used] in [a phrase like] shatta al-amr, ‘the affair has become divided’).

Verse 54

Eat, thereof, and pasture your cattle, therein (an‘ām, ‘cattle’, is the plural of na‘am, which are camels, cows and sheep; one says ra‘atu’l-an‘āmu, ‘the cattle grazed’ or ra‘aytuhā, ‘I grazed them’; the imperative here is meant as a permissive and a reminder of [God’s] grace, the sentence being a circumstantial qualifier referring to the subject of [the verb] akhrajnā, ‘We brought forth’, in other words [what is meant is], ‘[We brought forth the plants] permitting you to eat thereof and to graze [your] cattle [thereon]’). In that, which is mentioned here, there are indeed signs, indeed lessons, for people of sense, possessors of intellect (al-nuhā, the plural of nuhya, similar [in pattern] to ghurfa, [plural] ghuraf. The intellect is called by this [term, nuhya] because it shows a person the sense to refrain from committing vile deeds).

Verse 55

From it, that is, from the earth, We created you, by creating your father Adam from it, and into it We shall restore you, [when you are] interred after death, and from it We shall bring you forth, at the Resurrection, a second time’, in the same way that We brought you forth [from it] when We initiated your creation.

Verse 56

And verily We showed him, that is, We made Pharaoh see, all Our signs, [all] nine, but he denied, them, and claimed that they were [the result of] sorcery, and refused, to affirm the Oneness [of God], exalted be He.

Verse 57

He said, ‘Have you come to us so that you may expel us from our land, Egypt, and so that kingship over it may be yours, by your sorcery, O Moses?

Verse 58

Yet We [too] shall produce for you a sorcery like it, [one] which will counter it. So fix a tryst between us and you, for that [purpose], [a tryst] which neither we nor you shall fail to keep, [at] a place (makānan is in the accusative because the genitive-operator preposition [fī, ‘at’] has been removed) of equal distance (read siwān or suwān), in other words, in the middle, equidistant for a person coming from either side.

Verse 59

Said he, Moses, ‘Your tryst shall be the Day of Adornment — a festive day of theirs on which they adorn themselves and [the public] assemble — and let the people assemble, [let] the inhabitants of Egypt gather, at forenoon’, the time for this [tryst], to observe what will transpire.

Verse 60

Then Pharaoh withdrew, retreated, and summoned up his guile, that is to say, those [human] elements of his guile from among the sorcerers, and then came, with them to the tryst.

Verse 61

Moses said to them — and there were 72 of them, each with a rope and a staff in his hand — ‘Woe to you!, meaning, may God make you liable to woe. Do not invent a lie against God, by ascribing partners to Him, lest He annihilate you (read fa-yushitakum or fa-yashatakum) by some chastisement, from Him. For verily he who invents lies, against God, fails’, [he] is the loser.

Verse 62

So they disputed their matter among themselves, regarding Moses and his brother, and kept secret their private counsel, that is, their conversation regarding the two,

Verse 63

They said, to each other, ‘These two men (hādhān, this [form] concords with the forms used by those [grammarians] who use the alif [ending] for all three cases of the dual person; Abū ‘Amr has [the variant reading] hādhayn) are indeed sorcerers who intend to expel you from your land by their sorcery, and do away with your excellent traditions (muthlā, the feminine form of amthal, meaning ‘the noblest’) in other words, [they will do away with the loyalty of] the noblemen among you, because these [latter] will prefer the two of them [Moses and Aaron] on account of their triumph.

Verse 64

So summon up your guile, in the way of sorcery (read fa’jma‘ū, from [the first form] jama‘a, meaning ‘he gathered’, or read fa-ajmi‘ū, from [the fourth form] ajma‘a, meaning ‘he resolved [to do something]’) and come in battle-line (saffan, a circumstantial qualifier, meaning ‘standing in rows’). For truly he who is uppermost, [he who] triumphs, this day shall be the victor!’

Verse 65

They said, ‘O Moses, you choose: either cast, your staff first, or we shall be the first to cast’, their staff.

Verse 66

He said, ‘Nay, you cast!’, and so they cast, and lo! their ropes and their staffs (‘isiyyihim: derives from ‘isūwwun, but the two wāw [letters] have been changed into two yā’ [letters], with the kasra vowelling applied to both the ‘ayn and the sād) appeared to him by [the effect of] their sorcery as though they were, snakes, gliding swiftly, on their bellies.

Verse 67

And Moses sensed fear within himself, that is to say, he feared that if [the effect of] their sorcery was of the same kind as his miracle, he would become suspect in people’s minds and they would not believe in him.

Verse 68

We said, to him, ‘Do not be afraid! Indeed you shall have the upper hand, over them by triumphing.

Verse 69

And cast that which is in your right hand — and this was his staff. It shall swallow up that which they have produced. For what they have produced is only a sorcerer’s trick, that is to say, a kind thereof, and the sorcerer does not succeed wherever he may go’, in his sorcery. So Moses cast his staff and it swallowed up all of that which they [had] produced.

Verse 70

Thereat the sorcerers cast [their heads] down prostrating, they fell down prostrating to God, exalted be He: They said, ‘We [now] believe in the Lord of Aaron and Moses’.

Verse 71

Said he, Pharaoh, ‘Do you profess belief (read a-āmantum pronouncing both hamzas, or with the second changed to an alif) in him before I, myself, give you permission? He is indeed your chief, your teacher, who taught you sorcery. I shall assuredly cut off your hands and feet on opposite sides (min khilāfin, a circumstantial qualifier meaning ‘alternate [hands and feet]’, in other words, the right hands and the left feet) and I shall assuredly crucify you on the trunks of palm trees. And you shall then know which of us — meaning himself and the Lord of Moses — is harsher in [inflicting] chastisement, and [which of us is] more lasting’, more enduring in [sustaining] opposition to him [Moses].

Verse 72

They said, ‘We will not choose you over what has come to us of clear signs, proving the truthfulness of Moses, and [over] Him Who originated us, created us (wa’lladhī fatarana, either an oath, or a supplement to [the preceding] mā, ‘what’). Decree what you will decree, that is, do what you say. What you decree is only [relevant] in the life of this world (al-hayāta’l-dunyā, is in the accusative because the scope [of his decree] is being indicated, in other words ‘[you can only decree] in it’); yet you will be requited for it in the Hereafter.

Verse 73

Indeed We profess belief in our Lord, that He may forgive us our sins, in the way of ascribing partners [to God] and otherwise, and the sorcery to which you forced us, to learn and to perform in order to oppose Moses. And God is better, than you in rewarding if he is obeyed, and more enduring’, than you in chastisement if he is disobeyed.

Verse 74

God, exalted be He, says: Truly whoever comes to his Lord a criminal, a disbeliever, like Pharaoh, for him there shall be Hell wherein he shall neither die, and thus find rest, nor live, a life of any benefit to him.

Verse 75

And whoever comes to Him a believer, having performed righteous deeds — the obligatory and supererogatory deeds, for such shall be the highest degrees (al-‘ulā, the plural of ‘ulyā, the feminine form of a‘lā) —

Verse 76

the Gardens of Eden, that is to say, as a [place of] residence (this [jannātu ‘Adnin, ‘Gardens of Eden’] is an explication thereof [of al-darajātu’l-‘ulā, ‘the highest degrees’]) underneath which rivers flow, abiding therein, and that is the reward of him who keeps pure, of sins.

Verse 77

And verily We revealed to Moses, [saying], ‘Lead My servants on a journey by night (read as an asri, ‘that: lead on a journey by night’, from [fourth form] asrā, ‘he travelled by night’; or read as an’isri, from [first form] sarā, ‘he travelled by night’, both being alternative forms), in other words, travel with them by night from the land of Egypt, and strike for them, make for them, by striking your staff, a dry path in the sea. So he fulfilled what he had been commanded, and God made the ground dry so that they were able to pass through it. Do not fear to be overtaken, that is, [fearing] that Pharaoh might catch you, and do not be afraid’, of drowning.

Verse 78

Then Pharaoh pursued them with his hosts, with him [Pharaoh] alongside them, and there engulfed them what did engulf them of the sea, and it drowned them.

Verse 79

And Pharaoh led his people astray, by calling them to worship him, and he did not guide them, nay he led them to destruction, in contrast to what he said [to them], and I guide you only to the path of rectitude [Q. 40:29].

Verse 80

O Children of Israel, truly We delivered you from your enemy, Pharaoh, by drowning him, and We made a tryst with you on the right side of the [Tūr] Mount, in order to give Moses the Torah, that it may be implemented it [by you], and We sent down to you manna and quails, namely, turunjabīn [citrus fruit] and the quail. The ones being addressed in the vocative [by ‘O Children of Israel’] are those Jews living at the time of the Prophet (s), and they are addressed with reference to the graces which God bestowed on their forefathers at the time of the prophet Moses as a preface to what God [now] says to them:

Verse 81

‘Eat of the good things We have provided you, that is to say, of that which has been bestowed on you as a grace [from God], but do not transgress regarding it, by being ungrateful for the grace thereof, lest My wrath descend on you ([if read] fa-yahilla, it means ‘[lest] it [My wrath] become incumbent [upon you]’; or [if read] fa-yuhilla, it means ‘[lest] it descend [on you]’). And he on whom My wrath descends (read yahlil, ‘becomes incumbent’, or yahlul, ‘descends’) certainly perishes, falls into the Fire.

Verse 82

And indeed I am Forgiving toward him who repents, from ascribing partners [to God], and believes, affirms God’s Oneness, and acts righteously, is sincere in [performing] the obligatory and the supererogatory [deeds], and then follows guidance’, by adhering to what has been mentioned up to his death.

Verse 83

‘And what has hurried you [to depart] from your people, in order to come to the appointed time to receive the Torah, O Moses?’

Verse 84

He said, ‘They are close, behind me, coming, upon my track, and I hastened to You, my Lord, that You may be pleased’, with me, in other words, to please you [even] more — before [giving] the response, he gives an excuse, according to what he supposed [was the situation with his people],

Verse 85

But those he supposed [to be following him] had remained behind, for He, exalted be He, said, ‘Indeed We tried your people after you, that is, after your departure from them, and the Samaritan led them astray’, so they took to worshipping the [golden] calf.

Verse 86

Thereupon Moses returned to his people, angry, with them, and sad, extremely grieved. He said, ‘O my people, did not your Lord promise you a fair promise?, that is, a true [promise] that He will give you the Torah? Did the period, the length of my absence from you, seem too long for you, or did you desire that wrath should become incumbent against you from your Lord, by your worship of the [golden] calf, and so you broke your tryst with me?’, and failed to follow after me?

Verse 87

They said, ‘We did not break our tryst with you of our own accord (read the mīm with any of the three vowellings, meaning ‘by our own power’ or ‘of our own will’), but we were laden with (read hamalnā, ‘we carried’, or hummilnā, ‘we were made to carry’) the burdens, the weight, of the people’s ornaments, of the trinkets of Pharaoh’s folk — which the Children of Israel had borrowed from them on the pretext of [using them for] a wedding, but which had remained with them — and we cast them, we threw them into the fire at the command of the Samaritan, and so, just as We cast, did the Samaritan cast, what he had on him of their trinkets together with the dust that he took from the track left by the hoof of Gabriel’s steed, as follows:

Verse 88

Then he produced for them a calf, which he fashioned from the [melted] trinkets — a [mere] body, of flesh and blood, with a low, in other words, [it made] a sound that was audible; it was transformed into such [a state] because of the dust [from Gabriel’s steed] the effect of which is [to create] life in whatever thing it is placed. After he had fashioned it, he placed it [the dust] in its mouth. And they, namely, the Samaritan and his followers, said, ‘This is your God and the God of Moses: so he, Moses, forgot’, his Lord here and set off in search of him. God, exalted be He, says:

Verse 89

Did they not see that ([in allā] an has been softened in place of the hardened form, with its subject omitted, in other words [it should be] annahu) it, the Calf, did not reciprocate their words, that is, that it did not give them any response in return, nor did it have any power over hurt for them, that is, [any power] to prevent it, or any benefit?, that is, [any power] to procure it [for them], in other words, how can such [a thing] be taken as a god?

Verse 90

And Aaron had certainly said to them beforehand, that is, before the return of Moses, ‘O my people, you are only being tested thereby! But truly your Lord is the Compassionate One, so follow me, in worship of Him, and obey my command’, therein.

Verse 91

They said, ‘We will not cease to cling to it, persisting in worship of it, until Moses returns to us’.

Verse 92

He, Moses, said, upon his return, ‘O Aaron, what held you back when you saw them going astray, by worshipping it,

Verse 93

that ([allā] read an [instead], the lā being extra) you did not follow me? Did you then disobey my command?’, by remaining among those who worship [something] other than God, exalted be He?

Verse 94

He, Aaron, said, ‘O son of my mother (read ya’bna’ummi or ya’bna’umma, meaning ummī, ‘my mother’) the mention of her is more effective in provoking the affection of his heart — do not clutch my beard, which he had seized with his left hand, or my head!, for he had seized his hair with his right hand in anger. Indeed I feared that, if I followed you, for inevitably a group of those who did not worship the calf would have followed me, you would have said, “You have caused division among the Children of Israel — and have been furious with me — and you did not wait for my word”’, concerning what my opinion would have been in this matter.

Verse 95

He said, ‘And what have you to say, what was the motive for [doing] what you did, O Samaritan?’

Verse 96

He said, ‘I perceived what they did not perceive (read [either as third person plural] yabsurū or [as second person plural] tabsurū ‘[what] you [did not] perceive’), in other words, I realised what they did not realise, so I seized a handful, of dust, from the track of, [from] the hoof of the steed of, the messenger, Gabriel, and threw it [in], I cast it onto the figure of the calf that had been fashioned. Thus my soul prompted, [thus] it adorned for, me’ and it was cast into me [the idea] that I seize a handful of the dust from that mentioned [hoof] and cast it onto what possessed no spirit, so that it might [thus] acquire a spirit. I had seen that your people had asked that you make for them a god, and so my soul suggested to me [the idea] that this calf should be their god.

Verse 97

Said he, Moses to him, ‘Begone! It shall be yours [as your lot] throughout life, that is, for the duration of your life, to say, to whomever you may see, “Do not touch [me]!”, that is, do not come near me — he used to wander about [aimlessly] throughout the land, and whenever he touched a person, or a person touched him, both would succumb to a fever. And indeed there will be a tryst for you, for you to be chastised, which you will not fail to keep (read lan tukhlifahu, meaning ‘[a tryst] which you shall not miss’; or lan tukhlafahu, ‘for which you will not be forgotten’, meaning: ‘nay you will be sent forth to [keep] it’). Now look at your god to whom you remained clinging! (zalta is actually zalilta, but the first lām has been omitted in order to soften it), that is to say, [you remained] by his [your god’s] side, worshipping him. We will surely burn it, in fire, and then scatter [the ashes of] it into the waters, we will disperse it into the winds of the sea; and, after having slaughtered it, Moses did [exactly] that which he has mentioned.

Verse 98

Indeed your God is the One God, than whom there is no other god. He embraces all things in [His] knowledge’ (‘ilman, a specification derived from the subject of the verb, in other words, it means ‘His knowledge embraces all things’).

Verse 99

Thus, just as We have related to you O Muhammad (s) this story, We relate to you some stories, [some] accounts, of what is past, of communities, and We have given you from Ourselves a Reminder, a Qur’ān.

Verse 100

Whoever turns away from it, and does not believe in it, he shall indeed, on the Day of Resurrection, bear a burden, a heavy load of sin;

Verse 101

therein, that is, in the chastisement for [such] sin, abiding. And evil for them on the Day of Resurrection is that burden! (himlan, a specification qualifying the person of [the verb] sā’a, ‘evil’; the subject of derision, the implied wizruhum, ‘their sin’, has been omitted; the lām [of lahum] is explicative and substitutes for yawma’l-qiyāma, ‘the Day of Resurrection).

Verse 102

The day the Trumpet is blown, the Horn, the Second Blast, and We shall assemble the criminals, the disbelievers, on that day bruised, in the eye along with their faces blackened.

Verse 103

They will whisper to one another, speaking secretly amongst themselves: ‘You have tarried, in this world, only ten nights’, with the [full ten] days.

Verse 104

We know very well what they will say, regarding this matter — that is, it is not as they say — when the justest, the most upright, of them in the way, in this, will say, ‘You have tarried only a day’: they will deem their stay in this world as having been very brief, on account of the terrors they will witness in the Hereafter.

Verse 105

They will question you concerning the mountains, how will they be on the Day of Resurrection? Say, to them: ‘My Lord will scatter them as ashes, by pulverising them into moving sand and dispersing them with the wind;

Verse 106

then He will leave them a level hollow, a flattened [level] surface,

Verse 107

wherein you will see neither crookedness, [neither] slope, nor any curving’, [nor] any rise.

Verse 108

On that day, that is, on the day the mountains are scattered as ashes, they will follow, that is, mankind [will follow], after rising from their graves, the Summoner, to the Gathering, by [the call of] his voice — this [Summoner] will be [the archangel] Isrāfīl, and he will say: ‘Forward to the parade before God!’ — there will be no deviation therein, that is, in the manner in which they follow [him], in other words, they cannot but follow [him]. Voices will be hushed, will become silent, before the Compassionate One, so that you hear nothing but a faint shuffle, the light tread of feet walking towards the Gathering, similar to the sound of the hoofs of camels as they pass.

Verse 109

On that day intercession will not profit, anyone, except [intercession] from him whom the Compassionate One permits, that he intercede for such [a person], and whose word He approves, that is to say, because such [an intercessor] will say, ‘there is no god but God’ (lā ilāha illā’Llāh).

Verse 110

He knows what is before them, of the affairs of the Hereafter, and behind them, of the affairs of this world, and they do not comprehend such [things] in knowledge: they have no knowledge of such [things].

Verse 111

And faces shall be humbled, they shall be submissive, before the Living, the Eternal Sustainer, namely, God; and he will certainly have failed, he will have lost, [he] who carries [the burden of] evildoing, that is, [of] idolatry.

Verse 112

But whoever does righteous deeds, acts of obedience, being a believer, shall fear neither wrong, by having his evil deeds increased, nor injustice, by having his good deeds diminished.

Verse 113

Thus (kadhālika, a supplement to [the previous] kadhālika naqussu, ‘thus We relate’ [Q. 20:99]), just as We have revealed what has been mentioned, We have revealed it, that is, the Qur’ān, as an Arabic Qur’ān, and We have distributed, We have repeated, in it [statements] of threats, so that they may fear, associating others with God, or it, the Qur’ān, may arouse in them a remembrance, of the destruction of those communities before, and may thus be admonished.

Verse 114

So exalted be God, the King, the Truth, above what the idolaters say. And do not hasten with the Qur’ān, that is, to recite it, before its revelation is completed for you, [before] Gabriel is through delivering it, and say, ‘My Lord, increase me in knowledge’, that is, [knowledge] of the Qur’ān: thus every time something of it was revealed to him his knowledge increased because of it.

Verse 115

And We made a covenant with Adam, We enjoined him not to eat of the tree, before, that is, before he ate of it, but he forgot, he disregarded Our covenant, and We did not find in him any constancy, any resoluteness or patience in [abiding by] what We forbade him from.

Verse 116

And, mention, when We said to the angels, ‘Prostrate before Adam’; so they prostrated, except Iblīs, who was the father of the jinn — he used to keep company with the angels and worship God alongside them: he refused, to prostrate before Adam, he said: ‘I am better than him’ [Q. 7:12].

Verse 117

Then We said, ‘Adam, indeed this is an enemy of yours and of your wife, Eve (read Hawwā’). So do not let him cause you both to be expelled from the Garden, so that you then toil, [so that you then] become fatigued by [the toil of] tillage, sowing, harvesting, milling, baking and otherwise — the statement is restricted to [the mention of] his [Adam’s] ‘toil’ because it is the man who has to strive [to provide] for his wife.

Verse 118

It is indeed [assured] for you that you will neither be hungry therein nor go naked,

Verse 119

And it is indeed [assured] for you (read wa-annaka or wa-innaka, as a supplement to the subject of inna [sc. laka, that is, ‘you’] and its clause) neither to be thirsty therein, nor to suffer the sun’: you will not be exposed to any heat of a midday sun, for there is no sun in Paradise.

Verse 120

Then Satan whispered to him saying, ‘O Adam, shall I guide you to the Tree of Immortality, which gives everlasting life to the one who eats thereof, and a kingdom that does not waste away?’, that does not perish while he remains immortal.

Verse 121

So both of them, Adam and Eve, ate of it, and their shameful parts were exposed to them, that is, the front [private part] of each became visible to the other, as well as the other’s behind — both of these [parts] are called saw’a, ‘shame’, because its exposure ‘shames’ (yasū’u) that person); and they began to piece together, they took to sticking, onto themselves leaves of the Garden, to cover themselves up therewith. And Adam disobeyed his Lord and so he erred, by [his] eating from the tree.

Verse 122

Thereafter his Lord chose him, He brought him close [to Him], and relented to him, He accepted his repentance, and guided him, that is, He guided him to seek repentance regularly.

Verse 123

He said, ‘Go down both of you, that is, Adam and Eve, including all of your progeny, from it, from the Garden, all together, some of you, some of the progeny, being enemies of others, because of some wronging others. Yet if (the nūn of the conditional particle in has been assimilated with the mā, which is extra) there should come to you guidance from Me, then whoever follows My guidance, the Qur’ān, shall not go astray, in this world, neither shall he be miserable, in the Hereafter.

Verse 124

But whoever disregards My remembrance, [disregards] the Qur’ān and does not believe in it, his shall be a straitened life (read dankan with nunation, a verbal noun meaning ‘straitened [circumstances]’). This [statement] has been interpreted in one hadīth to mean the punishment of the grave for the disbeliever. And on the Day of Resurrection We shall bring him to the assembly, namely, the one who disregards the Qur’ān, blind’, blind in eyesight.

Verse 125

He shall say, ‘My Lord, why have you brought be to the assembly blind, though I used to see?’, in the world and at the raising from the grave?

Verse 126

He will say, ‘So it, the affair, is. Our signs came to you, but you forgot them, you neglected them and did not believe in them; and so, just as you forgot Our signs, today you will be forgotten’, abandoned in the Fire.

Verse 127

And so, just as We requite him who disregards the Qur’ān, We requite him who is prodigal, [him who] associates others with God, and believes not in the signs of his Lord. And the chastisement of the Hereafter is more terrible, than the chastisement of the life of this world and the punishment of the grave, and more enduring, longer lasting.

Verse 128

Is it not a guidance, has it not become clear, to them, to the disbelievers of Mecca, how many (kam, is predicative and the object of [the following] ahlaknā) We destroyed, in other words, Our frequent destruction, before them of generations, that is, of past communities, for denying messengers, amid [the ruins of] whose dwelling-places they walk? (yamshūna is a circumstantial qualifier referring to the person of the pronoun lahum, ‘to them’) during their journeys to Syria and other places, that they might thus be admonished? (what has been mentioned [by grammarians] regarding the derivation of [the verb] ihlāk to be that verb that does not contain a particle referring to [the object of] the action of the verb, as a way of preserving the [original] sense [of the statement], is acceptable). Surely in that there are signs, lessons, for people of sense, for possessors of intellect.

Verse 129

And but for a decree that had already preceded from your Lord, that their chastisement be deferred to the Hereafter, it, destruction, would have been an inevitability, [their destruction] would have been necessary in this world, and a specified term, fixed for them (ajalun musamman, a supplement to the pronoun concealed in kāna, ‘it would have been’, the separation [of both subjects] by the predicate of both serves as an emphasis).

Verse 130

So be patient with what they say — this is abrogated by the ‘fighting’ verse [cf. Q. 2:190ff] — and make glorifications, pray, by praising your Lord (bi-hamdi rabbika is a circumstantial qualifier, in other words, ‘ensconced in such [praise]’) before the rising of the sun, the morning prayer, and before its setting — the afternoon prayer — and in the watches of the night, [during] the hours thereof, and make glorifications, perform the sunset and the evening prayer, and at either side of the day (wa-atrāfa’l-nahāri, a supplement to the syntactical locus of the accusative clause wa-min ānā’i, ‘and in the watches’), in other words, perform the noon prayer, because the time for it begins at the point where the sun starts to go down, which is the [end] side of the first half [of the day] and the [start] side of the second half [of the day]; that perhaps you may be pleased, with the reward that you will be given.

Verse 131

And do not extend your glance toward what We have given to some pairs, [certain] categories, among them to enjoy, [as] the flower of the life of this world, its adornment and delight, that We may try them thereby, [to see] if they transgress [the bounds]. And your Lord’s provision, in Paradise, is better, than what they have been given in this world, and more enduring, longer lasting.

Verse 132

And bid your family to prayer, and be steadfast in [the maintenance of] it. We do not ask of you, We [do not] charge you with [the procurement of], any provision, [either] for yourself or for anyone else. We [it is Who] provide you, and the [best] sequel, Paradise, will be in favour of God-fearing, for such people.

Verse 133

And they, the idolaters, say, ‘Why does he, Muhammad (s), not bring us a sign from his Lord?’, of the sort which they request. Has there not come to them (read ta’tihim or ya’tihim) the clear proof, the statements, of what is in the former scriptures?, the tales contained in the Qur’ān relating to past communities and [the details of] their destruction for denying the messengers?

Verse 134

Had We destroyed them with a chastisement before him, before [the coming of] Muhammad (s) the Messenger, they would have said, on the Day of Resurrection: ‘Our Lord, if only You had sent us a messenger, so that we might have followed those signs of Yours, given to the messengers [to convey], before we were [thus] abased, at the Resurrection, and disgraced?’, in Hell.

Verse 135

Say, to them: ‘Each, [one] of us and you, is waiting, to [see] what this affair will lead to. So wait! For you shall indeed know, at the Resurrection, who are the followers of the even path, the straight way, and who is [rightly] guided’, away from error, us or you.

Automatically play the next surah when this one ends
Repeat this surah

Display Arabic below the English verses
Display phonetic below the English verses

Tafsir (commentary) language
Show tafsir below each verse

Salam'aleykoum et bienvenue sur la version 2 de Le-Coran.com

Surah TA-HA / Ta-Ha in English | Surah 20

Support Le-Coran.com and its humanitarian, socially impactful projects

Make a donation

Donation summary

Messages from donors

Tafsir

Verse 1

Verse 2

Verse 3

Verse 4

Verse 5

Verse 6

Verse 7

Verse 8

Verse 9

Verse 10

Verse 11

Verse 12

Verse 13

Verse 14

Verse 15

Verse 16

Verse 17

Verse 18

Verse 19

Verse 20

Verse 21

Verse 22

Verse 23

Verse 24

Verse 25

Verse 26

Verse 27

Verse 28

Verse 29

Verse 30

Verse 31

Verse 32

Verse 33

Verse 34

Verse 35

Verse 36

Verse 37

Verse 38

Verse 39

Verse 40

Verse 41

Verse 42

Verse 43

Verse 44

Verse 45

Verse 46

Verse 47

Verse 48

Verse 49

Verse 50

Verse 51

Verse 52

Verse 53

Verse 54

Verse 55

Verse 56

Verse 57

Verse 58

Verse 59

Verse 60

Verse 61

Verse 62

Verse 63

Verse 64

Verse 65

Verse 66

Verse 67

Verse 68

Verse 69

Verse 70

Verse 71

Verse 72

Verse 73