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.

(20:1) Ta' Ha'

(20:2) We did not reveal the Qur'an to you to cause you distress;

(20:3) it is only a reminder for him who fears Allah;¹

(20:4) a revelation from Him Who created the earth and the high heavens.

(20:5) The Most Compassionate Lord is settled on the Throne (of the Universe).²

(20:6) To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth, and all that is in between, and all that is beneath the soil.

(20:7) Whether you speak out aloud (or in a low voice), He knows what is said secretly, and even that which is most hidden.³

(20:8) Allah - there is no god but He. His are the most excellent names.⁴

(20:9) Has the story of Moses reached you?

(20:10) When he saw a fire⁵ and said to his family: "Hold on! I have just perceived a fire; perhaps I will bring a brand from it for you, or I will find some guidance at the fire about the way to follow."⁶

(20:11) When he came to it, a voice called out: "Moses!

(20:12) Verily I am your Lord! Take off your shoes.⁷ You are in the sacred valley, Tuwa!⁸

(20:13) I Myself have chosen you; therefore, give ear to what is revealed.

(20:14) Verily I am Allah. There is no god beside Me. So serve Me and establish Prayers to remember Me.⁹

(20:15) The Hour of Resurrection is coming. I have willed to keep the time of its coming hidden so that everyone may be recompensed in accordance with his effort.¹⁰

(20:16) Let him who does not believe in it and follows his lust not turn your thought away from it, lest you are ruined.

(20:17) And what is in your right hand, O Moses?"¹¹

(20:18) Moses answered: "This is my staff. I lean on it (when I walk), and with it I beat down leaves for my flock, and I have many other uses for it."¹²

(20:19) He said: "Moses, throw it down."

(20:20) So he threw it down, and lo! it was a rapidly moving snake.

(20:21) Then He said: "Seize it and have no fear. We shall restore it to its former state.

(20:22) And place your hand in your armpit, it will come forth shining white, without blemish.¹³ This is another Sign of Allah,

(20:23) for We shall show you some of Our greatest Signs.

(20:24) And go to Pharaoh now for he has transgressed all bounds."

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Commentary

1. If this statement is read in conjunction with the previous one, the purpose of it becomes quite clear. What is emphasized here is that God did not reveal the Qur’an in order that the Prophet (peace be on him) might accomplish something that is impossible to achieve. The Prophet (peace be on him) is not required to make those who had consciously decided not to accept the truth believe in it. Nor is he required to imbue faith in people whose hearts have been sealed against acceptance of that faith. The Qur’an was revealed simply as a reminder and as an admonition so that those who feared God might take heed.

The Prophet (peace be on him) need not pursue those who have no fear of God and who are not the least bit concerned with distinguishing between right and wrong.

2. The Lord of the universe did not retreat into retirement once the universe was created. Far from it: He continues to. govern the universe and to exercise control over His seemingly infinite dominion. In short, He is not only the Creator of the universe, but also its Sovereign, and its actual Ruler.

3. It is not necessary for the believers to always bemoan their sufferings to God; He is well aware of the acts of wickedness and mischief which their opponents employ against them. He is even aware of those grievances which lay concealed in their hearts, unarticulated.

4. To say that God has the best names amounts to saying that God has the best attributes.

5. This happened when the Prophet Moses (peace be on him), after his years of exile in Midian, was on his way back to Egypt with his wife whom he had married there. (The events which took place prior to this are described in Surah al-Qasas 28: 3-38 — Ed.) In its bare outline, the story narrated there runs thus: after Moses killed a Copt, he feared that he would be arrested. Hence his Ba) from Egypt and his taking refuge in Midian. (See al-Qasas, verse 15 ff. -ED)

6. It appears that this occurred on a wintry night. Moses (peace be on him) was crossing the southern part of the Sinaitic peninsula when he saw a fire in the distance. He decided to venture over to the place where he saw the fire in the hope that he would either be able to obtain some fire that would keep his family warm during the night, or at least gain directions for the journey ahead. Ironically, he went to that spot expecting to find the way to his destination in this world, only to find a way that was far more valuable — the way to success and felicity in the Hereafter.

7. These words uttered by God, probably led the Jews to believe that it was unlawful to perform this Prayer with their shoes on. It was in order to remove this misunderstanding that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) said: ‘Act in ways contrary to those of the Jews for they do not offer the Prayer with shoes and leather socks on.’ (Abu Da’ud, Sunan, K. al-Salah, ‘Bab al-Salah fi al-Na‘l’ — Ed.) This does not mean that one must necessarily offer the Prayer with one’s shoes on. What is meant by the hadith is that itis lawful to pray with one’s shoes on. Hence, the Islamic position on the question is that Muslims may pray in both ways: either with their shoes on or off. A tradition has been reported by ‘Amr ibn al-As-to the effect that he saw the Prophet (peace be on him) offering Prayers in both manners, i.e. on one occasion with his shoes on and on another with his shoes off. (See Abu Da’ud, Sunan, K. al-Salah, ‘Bab al-Salah fi al-Na‘l’ Ed.)* It has also been reported both in the Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal and in the Sunan of Abu Daud on the authority of Abi Sa‘id al-Khudri that the Prophet (peace be on him) said: ‘When any of you "comes to the mosque he should have a look at his shoes and clean them by - rubbing them against the earth if they are soiled with filth, and offer Prayers with your shoes on.’ (See Abu Daud and Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Musnad, vol. 3, p. 92 — Ed.) The same tradition, narrated by Abu Hurayrah, records the following saying by the Prophet (peace be on him): ‘If any of you treads over filth with his shoes, the earth suffices to clean it.’ (Abu Daud, Sunan, K. al-Taharah, ‘Bab (fi) al-Adha yusib al-Na‘l’ — Ed.) According to Umm Salamah, the Prophet (peace be on him) said that if one’s shoes were soiled with filth, one’s subsequent walking on the earth would purify them. (See Abu Daud, loc. cit. - Ed.)

In view of the large number of such traditions, several jurists such as Abu Hanifah, Abu Yusuf, Awza‘i and Ishaq ibn Rahawayh are of the opinion that ‘shoes that are soiled by filth are inevitably purified by the earth as a result of "one’s walking. There is one report each from Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Shafi’i ‘in support of this doctrine. The generally known: view of Shafi‘i, however, is opposed to this practice. Presumably Shafi‘i considered praying with shoes on *The author has mentioned ‘Amr ibn al-As as the narrator of this tradition. In Abu Daud however, the name of the narrator of the tradition we have cited here is ‘Amr ibn Shu‘ayb — Ed. as being inconsistent with the reverence required for the act of Prayer and itis on this count that he asked people not to offer Prayers in that manner. It is - generally understood, however, that Shafi‘i did not believe that shoes which had become soiled with filth were purified by rubbing them against the earth. .

In this respect it is worth mentioning that in the time of the Prophet (peace be on him) the mosque floor was not even covered with a thatch mat. It was simply covered with pebbles. Hence, it would not be appropriate for anyone today, basing themselves on the practice followed in the time of the Prophet (peace be on him), to walk on the floor of a mosque with his shoes on. One may, however, pray with one’s shoes on in open areas or on grass. As for those who insist that even while offering the Funeral Prayer a person must necessarily take his shoes off, in our opinion they are simply ignorant of the relevant rules.

8. It is generally believed that Tuwa was the name of this valley. Some scholars, however, are of the view that the expression al-wad al-muqaddas Tuwa means the valley that was temporarily made sacred.

9. This indicates the main purpose of the Prayer: that man may not become oblivious of God, that the glittering allurements of this world may not make him impervious to the basic fact that he is God’s servant, that man may not remain under the illusion that he is free to do as he pleases. Prayer is the most potent means of keeping this consciousness fresh in man’s mind; it enables him to maintain a strong, vibrant relationship with God. Prayer weans man away, many times a day, from the ordinary hum-drum existence of daily life; it orients him towards God.

Some scholars have interpreted this verse to mean that man should offer Prayers so that God may, in tur, also remember him as has been said elsewhere in the Qur’an: ‘So remember Me; I will remember you’ (al-Baqarah 2: 152).

Incidentally, this verse also provides the ground-work for the ruling that if one forgets to offer Prayer, one should offer it immediately one remembers such an omission. A hadith reported by Anas ibn Malik ‘says: ‘The Prophet (peace be on him) said: ‘‘One who forgets to perform Prayers should do so whenever he recalls it. Nothing else is required to be done.” (See al-Bukhari, K. al-Mawaqit, ‘Bab man nasiya Salatan fa li yusalli . . .’; Muslim, ‘K. al-Masajid wa Mawadi‘ al-Salah’; Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Musnad, vol. 3, p. 269 ~ Ed.) Another hadith of similar import narrated by Abu Hurayrah is recorded in Abu Da’ud and al-Nasa’i. (See al-Nasa’i, Sunan, K. al-Mawaqit, I‘adah man nama ‘an al-Salah . . .; Muslim, K. al-Masajid. wa Mawadi‘ al-Salah, . ‘Bab Qada’ al-Salah al-Fa itah . . .’; Abu Da’ ud, K. al-Salah, ‘Bab fi man nama ‘an al-Salah.’ — Ed.) Abu Qatadah reports that when the Prophet (peace be on him) was asked by people what they should do if they overslept the time of Prayers, the Prophet replied: ‘There is no sin if one is asleep. Sin is incurred when one does not pray while one is awake. If any of you forgets [to ' pray] or is asleep [at the time of Prayers], you should offer Prayers when you wake up or when you remember.’ (See al-Tirmidhi, Abwab al-Salah, ‘Bab ma ~ ja’ fi al-Nawm ‘an al-Salah’; Abu Da’ud, Sunan, K. al-Salah, ‘Bab fi man nama ‘an al-Salah aw nasiyaha’ , al-Nasa’I, K. al-Mawaqit, ‘Fi man nama ‘an al-Salah’ — Ed.)

10. The doctrine of the Hereafter is the second most important doctrine in - Islam, the doctrine next in importance to monotheism. This is a basic truth, revealed to all the Prophets in different periods of history, a truth which they were all required to expound. The present verse states both the nature and purpose of this doctrine. The Last Day will come to pass so that man may be recompensed for what he has done. The time of its coming, however, has been kept hidden so as to test people. Those who are, to any extent, concerned with the Hereafter will remain ever fearful lest the Last Day suddenly takes place; this, in itself, is likely to deter them from committing evil. By contrast, those ‘who are fully. immersed in worldly pursuits will be inclined to consider the Hereafter a remote possibility.

11. This question was not asked for the sake of soliciting information. For God knew well that Moses had a rod ‘in his hand. The purpose of the question was to make Moses fully conscious of what he was carrying in order that he might appreciate the astonishing manifestations of God’s power that he was about to witness.

12. Moses could simply have said that it was a rod. However, the lengthy reply which he gave provides an interesting clue to his state of mind. It-is understandable that if out of good luck a person meets a distinguished person, he tries to prolong his conversation. with the same. This is because such a meeting represents both a pleasure and an honor. (In Moses’ case, the desire, to prolong the conversation naturally arose because he was in the presence of none other than God Himself — Ed.)

13. Although Moses’ hand would become as bright as the sun, this would happen without causing him any harm. The Biblical account of the miracle of the bright hand, however, is somewhat different and has also found its way into Muslim works of Qur’anic Exegesis. According to the Biblical account, when Moses took his hand out of his arm-pit, it looked as though it belonged to a leper. When he put it back into his arm-pit, it was restored to its original, healthy state. (See Exodus, 4: 6 — Ed.) The Talmud, too, describes the miracle in a similar fashion. The rationale behind all this being that since Pharaoh suffered from leprosy, a fact which he had concealed from others, Moses was granted the capacity to produce this particular miracle so as to impress upon him that this disease could be as instantly cured as it had arisen. This view, however, does not seem plausible for more than one reason. First, it seems inconsistent with good taste that a Messenger of God would sent to an emperor's court with a miracle which pertains to a disease as repulsive as leprosy. Even if we were to consider it plausible that Moses would have been endowed with such a miracle, it still seems worth asking what the significance of such a miracle would be? For, if. ‘Pharaoh was afflicted with leprosy; this miracle would only be meaningful to - him: it would have made no impact on his courtiers. It seems appropriate, therefore, to adhere to the view we have expressed, namely that when this miracle was performed Moses’ hand looked as bright as the sun, so much so that it dazzled all onlookers. Many of the earlier commentators of the Qur’an have adopted this very view of the miracle. (See the comments on verse 22 in the Commentaries of Ibn Kathir, al-Qurtubi, al-Tabari, al-Razi, and al-Alusi — Ed.)