Surah 20. Taha

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Verses [Section]: 1-24[1], 25-54 [2], 55-76 [3], 77-89 [4], 90-104 [5], 105-115 [6], 116-128 [7], 129-135 [8]

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Quran Text of Verse 1-2420. Tahaبِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِطٰهٰۚTa Ha مَاۤNotاَنْزَلْنَاWe (have) sent downعَلَیْكَto youالْقُرْاٰنَthe Quranلِتَشْقٰۤیۙthat you be distressed اِلَّا(But)تَذْكِرَةً(as) a reminderلِّمَنْfor (those) whoیَّخْشٰیۙfear تَنْزِیْلًاA revelationمِّمَّنْfrom (He) Whoخَلَقَcreatedالْاَرْضَthe earthوَ السَّمٰوٰتِand the heavensالْعُلٰیؕ[the] high اَلرَّحْمٰنُThe Most Graciousعَلَیoverالْعَرْشِthe Throneاسْتَوٰی is established لَهٗTo Him (belongs)مَاwhateverفِی(is) inالسَّمٰوٰتِthe heavensوَ مَاand whateverفِی(is) inالْاَرْضِthe earthوَ مَاand whateverبَیْنَهُمَا(is) between themوَ مَاand whateverتَحْتَ(is) underالثَّرٰی the soil وَ اِنْAnd ifتَجْهَرْyou speak aloudبِالْقَوْلِthe wordفَاِنَّهٗthen indeed Heیَعْلَمُknowsالسِّرَّthe secretوَ اَخْفٰی and the more hidden اَللّٰهُAllahلَاۤ(there is) noاِلٰهَgodاِلَّاexceptهُوَ ؕHimلَهُTo Him (belong)الْاَسْمَآءُthe Namesالْحُسْنٰی the Most Beautiful وَ هَلْAnd hasاَتٰىكَcome to youحَدِیْثُthe narrationمُوْسٰیۘ(of) Musa اِذْWhenرَاٰhe sawنَارًاa fireفَقَالَthen he saidلِاَهْلِهِto his familyامْكُثُوْۤاStay hereاِنِّیْۤindeed Iاٰنَسْتُ[I] perceivedنَارًاa fireلَّعَلِّیْۤperhaps I (can)اٰتِیْكُمْbring youمِّنْهَاtherefromبِقَبَسٍa burning brandاَوْorاَجِدُI findعَلَیatالنَّارِthe fireهُدًی guidance فَلَمَّاۤThen whenاَتٰىهَاhe came to itنُوْدِیَhe was calledیٰمُوْسٰیؕO Musa اِنِّیْۤIndeed [I]اَنَاI Amرَبُّكَyour Lordفَاخْلَعْso removeنَعْلَیْكَ ۚyour shoesاِنَّكَIndeed youبِالْوَادِ(are) in the valleyالْمُقَدَّسِthe sacredطُوًیؕ(of) Tuwa 20. Taha Page 313وَ اَنَاAnd Iاخْتَرْتُكَ(have) chosen youفَاسْتَمِعْso listenلِمَاto whatیُوْحٰی is revealed اِنَّنِیْۤIndeed [I]اَنَاI AmاللّٰهُAllahلَاۤ(There is) noاِلٰهَgodاِلَّاۤbutاَنَاIفَاعْبُدْنِیْ ۙso worship Meوَ اَقِمِand establishالصَّلٰوةَthe prayerلِذِكْرِیْ for My remembrance اِنَّIndeedالسَّاعَةَthe Hourاٰتِیَةٌ(will be) comingاَكَادُI almostاُخْفِیْهَا[I] hide itلِتُجْزٰیthat may be recompensedكُلُّeveryنَفْسٍۭsoulبِمَاfor whatتَسْعٰی it strives فَلَاSo (do) notیَصُدَّنَّكَ(let) avert youعَنْهَاfrom itمَنْ(one) whoلَّا(does) notیُؤْمِنُbelieveبِهَاin itوَ اتَّبَعَand followsهَوٰىهُhis desiresفَتَرْدٰی lest you perish وَ مَاAnd whatتِلْكَ(is) thatبِیَمِیْنِكَin your right handیٰمُوْسٰی O Musa قَالَHe saidهِیَItعَصَایَ ۚ(is) my staffاَتَوَكَّؤُاI leanعَلَیْهَاupon itوَ اَهُشُّand I bring down leavesبِهَاwith itعَلٰیforغَنَمِیْmy sheepوَ لِیَand for meفِیْهَاin itمَاٰرِبُ(are) usesاُخْرٰی other قَالَHe saidاَلْقِهَاThrow it downیٰمُوْسٰی O Musa! فَاَلْقٰىهَاSo he threw it downفَاِذَاand behold!هِیَItحَیَّةٌ(was) a snakeتَسْعٰی moving swiftly قَالَHe saidخُذْهَاSeize itوَ لَاand (do) notتَخَفْ ۥfearسَنُعِیْدُهَاWe will return itسِیْرَتَهَا(to) its stateالْاُوْلٰی the former وَ اضْمُمْAnd draw nearیَدَكَyour handاِلٰیtoجَنَاحِكَyour sideتَخْرُجْit will come outبَیْضَآءَwhiteمِنْwithout anyغَیْرِwithout anyسُوْٓءٍdiseaseاٰیَةً(as) a signاُخْرٰیۙanother لِنُرِیَكَThat We may show youمِنْofاٰیٰتِنَاOur Signsالْكُبْرٰیۚthe Greatest اِذْهَبْGoاِلٰیtoفِرْعَوْنَFiraunاِنَّهٗIndeed heطَغٰی۠(has) transgressed

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Translation of Verse 1-24In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

1. Ta Ha.¹

2. We have not sent down the Qur’an to you that you should be distressed.

3. But only as a reminder to him who fears,²

4. A revelation from Him who created the earth and the lofty heavens,³

5. The Most Gracious One, firmly established on the Throne.⁴

6. To Him belongs what is in the heavens and on earth, and whatever is between them, and whatever is beneath the soil.⁵

7. If you speak aloud then verily what is secret and what is yet more hidden.⁶

8. Allah! There is no god but He. His are the most excellent names.⁷

9. And has the chronicle of Moosa reached you?⁸

10. When he saw a fire he said to his household: “Wait, verily I see a fire, perchance I may bring you a burning torch, or may find guidance at the fire.”⁹

11. So when he came near it, a voice called out : “O Moosa”!

12. “Verily I am your Lord,¹⁰ so take off your shoes. Verily you are in the sacred valley of Tuwa.¹¹

13. “And I have chosen you,¹² therefore, listen to what will be revealed.¹³

14. “Verily I am Allah; there is no god but Me,¹⁴ so worship Me,¹⁵ and offer Salat for My remembrance.¹⁶

15. “Verily the Hour (of Doomsday) is coming;¹⁷ I will to keep it hidden ¹⁸ that every soul may be rewarded for that which it strives.¹⁹

16. “So let not those who do not believe in it and yield to their desires divert you there from, lest you perish.”²⁰

17. “And what is it in your right hand, O Moosa?”

18. He replied: “This is my staff whereon I lean, and with it I beat down the leaves for my flock, and in it there are also other uses for me.”²¹

19. He said: “Cast it down, O Moosa !”

20. So he threw it down, and thereupon it was a serpent scurrying.

21. He said: “Take it and do not fear. We will return it to its former state.²²

22. “And put your hand under your armpit, it will come out white, unharmed.²³ (It is) the second sign,

23. “So that we may show you (some of) Our greater signs.²⁴

24. “Go to Firaun, verily he has transgressed²⁵ (all bounds)”.

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Commentary

1.’Ta’ points to Tuwa, the valley which has been mentioned in the ayah No.12, where Allah had blessed Prophet Moosa with prophethood. ‘Ha’ refers to Haroon, who is mentioned in a number of places in this surah. For further explanation of the separate letters, please refer to Surah Baqarah Note No. 1, and Surah Yunus Note No.1

2. The circumstances in which these ayat were revealed were very trying for the people of faith. The deniers of the Qur’an had made their lives miserable. Perturbed by the hardships, one group of Muslims had migrated to Abyssinia (Ethiopia). Through these verses the Prophet and his companions were reassured that they need not be disturbed and that the Qur’an was not revealed to add to their miseries, but to remind mankind that the lesson which was written on the tablet of the human nature and which mankind had forgotten due to their negligence should be brought back to their notice and remembrance.

It is obvious that this reminding is only for the good and betterment of humanity, for mankind’s good lies in living in harmony with nature and not in rebelling against it. If the people of corrupt mentality create obstacles in the path of those who believe in the Qur’an, they should be patient, for the path of good fortune and blessing which Qur’an has opened for them cannot be blocked by their opponents in any way, and the forgotten lesson which the Qur’an is trying to teach will benefit every man whoever has the fear of God in his heart.

3. In these ayat a correct recognition of the Being who has sent it down through revelations is provided, so that people should know it unmistakably that these are the words of great honour and dignity, that have come as decree from a Being who is the greatest Master of all.

4. For explanation please see Surah A’raf Note No.83.

Here the mention of Allah’s name as Rahman (Most Gracious) indicates His attribute of grace and kindness, with which He presides over the destinies of His slaves.

5. That is : ‘The Master of the entire universe is Allah. There is nothing in the universe whose master is anybody other than Him. He is the Master COMMENTARY and all others are subjects and slaves. Where and how do the questions of any other’s being objects of worship arise ?

6. That is : You may speak softly or loudly, He knows it full well, even knows the most secret thoughts of men’s hearts without their uttering them.

7. For explanation please see Note No.278, Surah A’raf.

8. The chronicle of Prophet Moosa has been narrated, by Allah Himself in the subsequent ayat. Here the question whether the chronicle of Moosa has reached you or not is to create interest in the listeners.

9. This happened at the time when Prophet Moosa was returning with his wife and children to Egypt after spending some years in Madyan. It may be noted that Bani Israil were living in Egypt from the time of Prophet Yusuf, and Prophet Moosa was also born there, but in his youth he left it on a particular occasion and had gone to Madyan, where he stayed for quite some time.

While returning from Madyan, he was passing through the Sinai Desert, near the Mount Tur; the night was cold and the way was not clear; suddenly he saw a fire far off. He asked his family to wait there so that he might go and bring burning piece of wood, so that they might get some warmth and possibly he might get some guidance as to the right direction towards his destination.

10. When Prophet Moosa reached the fire, Allah called him: ‘ I am your Lord. One way of ‘wahi’ (revelation) is also like this that Allah may address His messenger directly, and it is a distinction of Prophet Moosa that he has the privilege of Allah directly addressing him, and the commencement of his prophethood began with a direct conversation with Allah, without the intermediacy of any angel.

It may be noted that Allah is absolutely free from dissolving into any material creature. Therefore, the fire which Prophet Moosa saw was neither God nor God had dissolved into that, but that it was a particular kind of light which attracted the attention of Prophet Moosa. He definitely heard the voice of God and His words, but He did not see Him. And Qur’an clarifies this point thus: later on when Prophet Moosa was given the Shariah, he requested Allah to appear before him. This request of Prophet Moosa was replied by Allah : “You will not be able to see Me.” (Surah A’raf - 143).

11. Tuwa is the name of a valley of the Mount Tur, that had become holy, but now it is not known by this name. This whole valley had been illuminated by that light which was of a special kind, and Allah was blessing Prophet Moosa with the privilege of conversing with Him. For this reason he was asked to observe special etiquette for being in His presence. He was accordingly asked to take out his shoes, as he was told, he was in the holy valley of Tuwa. Its being holy was on account of open and hidden reasons. Since Allah was expressing His grandeur in this valley, it was made fully secure from satan, and its environs were made blissful. This extraordinary holiness demanded that the standard of respect to be shown here should be very high, at the same time there should be no lessening of the respect which a prophet deserved. The taking off of the shoes was a manifestation of the psychological atmosphere of the moment. As for the doubt that arises: How is it that in the hadith, mention of permission of offering salat, wearing clean shoes, or shoes wiped off of dust, is found? The answer is that Islam has given this facility looking to the common need of the people, while the command which was given to Prophet Moosa was in special circumstances of respect and etiquette, for the Lord of the Worlds was Himself addressing him and he was listening, while such a circumstance is not found in the salat, which is prayer from a slave to his Master.

Allah’s words telling him that he was in the holy valley of Tuwa also held the advantage of providing him with the guidance relating to his whereabouts. It is obvious that after this it would have been easy for Prophet Moosa to find his way leading to his destination.

12. That is: for the high office of prophethood.

13. Prophet Moosa was traveling, when Allah called him, suddenly and blessed him with the high office of prophethood. It shows that prophet hood is a blissful gift from Allah, which he bestows on his selected slaves. This office is not attained by anybody by dint of his efforts and striving.

The purpose behind relating the event of Prophet Moosa being blessed with the prophethood and of the sending down of the revelation to him is to show that the grant of prophethood to Muhammad (Sallal Lahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) is not a unique phenomenon, but that before him Allah had also blessed his other slaves with this exalted honour, and the prophethood of Moosa is a clear example of that “Verily I am Allah; there is no god but Me, so worship Me, and offer Salat for My remembrance. “Verily the Hour (of Doomsday) is coming; I will to keep it hidden that every soul may be rewarded for that which it strives. (Al-Quran)

14. The first instruction which Allah gave to Prophet Moosa after calling him is about tawheed (monotheism). This is the foundation on which the whole edifice of Islam is built, and It is this light that has sent out all the rays of guidance in the world.

15. The reality of worship is to pay extreme respect with undivided devotion and to express one’s humbleness. Such devotion and worship is deserved by one and only one Being, the Almighty Allah. It is the duty of a slave to worship his Master in the manner befitting a slave. And this is the first and foremost demand of the Divine Shariah.

16. That is: Salat is the best form of worship. Therefore, make complete and perfect arrangement for it, and such an establishment of salat is for remembering Allah. It is thus clear that the main purpose of salat is to remember Allah and to be attached to Him. When a slave remembers his Lord, then a relationship of slavery, (worship) is established with his Lord, and the entire success of man and the dependence of his real progress rests on his establishing a right relationship with his Lord and he may always strive to strengthen this relationship.

The word ‘Zikr’ (remembrance) used in this ayah means remembering in the heart (silently) and also remembering by uttering words by mouth. And establishing Salat for His remembrance does not mean by merely uttering particular words by mouth but by uttering these words and also remembering him sincerely in heart. This demands that while performing salat the slave should be attentive and should concentrate on his Lord and should praise Him with heartfelt devotion.

17. The basic instruction which were given to Prophet Moosa while blessing him with prophethood, the mention of the occurrence of the Doomsday and the law of reward and punishment was also made. But in the existing Torah, where the event of the grant of prophethood to Prophet Moosa is narrated, there is no mention of these instructions. (See Exodus, Chapters 3 and 4).

Not only this, in the entire Torah it will be difficult to find any mention of the law of reward and punishment for one’s acts, in the Hereafter. It gives an idea how the people of the Book had forgotten the whole system of recompense and how Qur’an brought it into focus.

18. “I will to keep it hidden” means that no person will be able to see it before its coming with his physical eyes nor can any person find out the actual date of its occurrence in advance, but it has not been kept so hidden that its signs will not be manifested, nor in such a way that its signs will not be evident. So the occurrence of the Doomsday is hidden, but the signs to show that it will occur will be appearing every now and then.

19. That is: The Day of Resurrection will occur so that every person should get the recompense for whatever acts he performs in the world, and it has been kept hidden so that every person should be made to pass through tests. In this life of trial, whatever he does he is rewarded or punished for his acts on the Day of Judgment.

20. Man is very quickly affected by his environment, and the environment of the world is conducive to denial of the Hereafter and of succumbing to desires. In every age the secret of human progress is considered to be free from being accountable to God and living freely. Then in this connection the pressure of the environment is very severe. If man is not wary of these wrong ideas and false ideologies, then the flood of the environment would wash him away. For this reason Prophet Moosa and, through him, his followers were directed to be wary of those who do not believe in the Hereafter and have become the slaves of their desires.

21. The question was not for eliciting information. for Allah knows everything. The question was asked so that Moosa might recognise his staff properly so that after its conversion into a snake he should be able to be convinced that it was his own staff.

It is not proper to think that Prophet Moosa gave a very lengthy answer to Allah’s query. The style in which the question was asked was such that Prophet Moosa realised that some clarification was needed in that regard, as to why was it kept. This clarification was with a view to creating complete conviction in his mind that the staff which had never till that moment performed any extraordinary task had then become a snake and was scurrying before his eyes. This is an open.

22. This miracle has been narrated in the Torah also :

The LORD said to him, ‘what is that in your hand ‘? He said, ‘A rod! and he said, ‘Cast it on the ground.’ So he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses, fled from it but the LORD said to Moses, ‘Put out your hand and take it by tail-so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand. (Exodus 4 : 2 to 4)

23. This was the second miracle which was granted to Prophet Moosa. When he used to press his hand under his armpit and take out, it used to become shiny white. This whiteness was not like the whiteness of leucoderma, nor was it on account of any defect. If it were so the hand would not have returned to its original condition. This was a clear proof of its being a miracle.

In the Bible this miracle has been narrated, but it has been likened to leucoderma/leprosy (See Exodus 4 : 6). That is why Qur’an has clarified that the hand used to return to its original state without any harm or hurt or defect. It denies the narration of the Bible referred to herein, and manifests the authenticity of Qur’an, for a miracle is manifested to impress the beholders convincingly, so it could not have any defective aspect.

24. That is: These two are not the only signs, in future you will see greater signs. Accordingly later on quite a few signs were manifested through this staff. It was this very staff by hitting with which a path was created in the sea for the Bani Israil.

25. For Explanation, please see Surah Nazi’at Note No:13.