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 25-54قَالَHe saidرَبِّMy Lord!اشْرَحْExpandلِیْfor meصَدْرِیْۙmy breast وَ یَسِّرْAnd easeلِیْۤfor meاَمْرِیْۙmy task وَ احْلُلْAnd untieعُقْدَةً(the) knotمِّنْfromلِّسَانِیْۙmy tongue یَفْقَهُوْاThat they may understandقَوْلِیْ۪my speech وَ اجْعَلْAnd appointلِّیْfor meوَزِیْرًاa ministerمِّنْfromاَهْلِیْۙmy family هٰرُوْنَHarunاَخِیۙmy brother اشْدُدْReinforceبِهٖۤthrough himاَزْرِیْۙmy strength وَ اَشْرِكْهُAnd make him shareفِیْۤ[in]اَمْرِیْۙmy task كَیْThatنُسَبِّحَكَwe may glorify Youكَثِیْرًاۙmuch وَّ نَذْكُرَكَAnd [we] remember Youكَثِیْرًاؕmuch اِنَّكَIndeed [You]كُنْتَYou areبِنَاof usبَصِیْرًا All-Seer قَالَHe saidقَدْVerilyاُوْتِیْتَyou are grantedسُؤْلَكَyour requestیٰمُوْسٰی O Musa! وَ لَقَدْAnd indeedمَنَنَّاWe conferred a favorعَلَیْكَon youمَرَّةًanother timeاُخْرٰۤیۙanother time 20. Taha Page 314اِذْWhenاَوْحَیْنَاۤWe inspiredاِلٰۤیtoاُمِّكَyour motherمَاwhatیُوْحٰۤیۙis inspired اَنِThatاقْذِفِیْهِcast himفِیinالتَّابُوْتِthe chestفَاقْذِفِیْهِthen cast itفِیinالْیَمِّthe riverفَلْیُلْقِهِthen let cast itالْیَمُّthe riverبِالسَّاحِلِon the bankیَاْخُذْهُwill take himعَدُوٌّan enemyلِّیْto Meوَ عَدُوٌّand an enemyلَّهٗ ؕto him."وَ اَلْقَیْتُAnd I castعَلَیْكَover youمَحَبَّةًloveمِّنِّیْ ۚ۬from Meوَ لِتُصْنَعَand that you may be brought upعَلٰیunderعَیْنِیْۘMy Eye اِذْWhenتَمْشِیْۤwas goingاُخْتُكَyour sisterفَتَقُوْلُand she saidهَلْShallاَدُلُّكُمْI show youعَلٰی[to]مَنْ(one) whoیَّكْفُلُهٗ ؕwill nurse and rear him?"فَرَجَعْنٰكَSo We returned youاِلٰۤیtoاُمِّكَyour motherكَیْthatتَقَرَّmay be cooledعَیْنُهَاher eyesوَ لَاand notتَحْزَنَ ؕ۬she grievesوَ قَتَلْتَAnd you killedنَفْسًاa manفَنَجَّیْنٰكَbut We saved youمِنَfromالْغَمِّthe distressوَ فَتَنّٰكَand We tried youفُتُوْنًا ۫۬(with) a trialفَلَبِثْتَThen you remainedسِنِیْنَ(some) yearsفِیْۤwithاَهْلِ(the) peopleمَدْیَنَ ۙ۬(of) MadyanثُمَّThenجِئْتَyou cameعَلٰیatقَدَرٍthe decreed (time)یّٰمُوْسٰی O Musa! وَ اصْطَنَعْتُكَAnd I (have) chosen youلِنَفْسِیْۚfor Myself اِذْهَبْGoاَنْتَyouوَ اَخُوْكَand your brotherبِاٰیٰتِیْwith My Signsوَ لَاand (do) notتَنِیَاslackenفِیْinذِكْرِیْۚMy remembrance اِذْهَبَاۤGo both of youاِلٰیtoفِرْعَوْنَFiraunاِنَّهٗIndeed heطَغٰیۚۖ(has) transgressed فَقُوْلَاAnd speakلَهٗto himقَوْلًاa wordلَّیِّنًاgentleلَّعَلَّهٗperhaps heیَتَذَكَّرُmay take heedاَوْorیَخْشٰی fear قَالَاThey saidرَبَّنَاۤOur Lord!اِنَّنَاIndeed weنَخَافُfearاَنْthatیَّفْرُطَhe will hastenعَلَیْنَاۤagainst usاَوْorاَنْthatیَّطْغٰی he will transgress قَالَHe saidلَا(Do) notتَخَافَاۤfearاِنَّنِیْIndeed I Amمَعَكُمَاۤwith you bothاَسْمَعُI hearوَ اَرٰی and I see فَاْتِیٰهُSo go to himفَقُوْلَاۤand sayاِنَّاIndeed, weرَسُوْلَاboth (are) Messengersرَبِّكَ(of) your Lordفَاَرْسِلْso sendمَعَنَاwith usبَنِیْۤ(the) Children of Israelاِسْرَآءِیْلَ ۙ۬(the) Children of Israelوَ لَاand (do) notتُعَذِّبْهُمْ ؕtorment themقَدْVerilyجِئْنٰكَwe came to youبِاٰیَةٍwith a Signمِّنْfromرَّبِّكَ ؕyour Lordوَ السَّلٰمُAnd peaceعَلٰیonمَنِ(one) whoاتَّبَعَfollowsالْهُدٰی the Guidance اِنَّاIndeed weقَدْverilyاُوْحِیَit has been revealedاِلَیْنَاۤto usاَنَّthatالْعَذَابَthe punishmentعَلٰی(will be) onمَنْ(one) whoكَذَّبَdeniesوَ تَوَلّٰی and turns away." قَالَHe saidفَمَنْThen whoرَّبُّكُمَا(is) your Lordیٰمُوْسٰی O Musa قَالَHe saidرَبُّنَاOur Lordالَّذِیْۤ(is) the One Whoاَعْطٰیgaveكُلَّ(to) everyشَیْءٍthingخَلْقَهٗits formثُمَّthenهَدٰی He guided (it) قَالَHe saidفَمَاThen whatبَالُ(is the) caseالْقُرُوْنِ(of) the generationsالْاُوْلٰی (of) the former 20. Taha Page 315قَالَHe saidعِلْمُهَاIts knowledgeعِنْدَ(is) withرَبِّیْmy Lordفِیْinكِتٰبٍ ۚa RecordلَاNotیَضِلُّerrsرَبِّیْmy Lordوَ لَاand notیَنْسَیؗforgets الَّذِیْThe One Whoجَعَلَmadeلَكُمُfor youالْاَرْضَthe earthمَهْدًا(as) a bedوَّ سَلَكَand insertedلَكُمْfor youفِیْهَاthereinسُبُلًاwaysوَّ اَنْزَلَand sent downمِنَfromالسَّمَآءِthe skyمَآءً ؕwaterفَاَخْرَجْنَاthen We (have) brought forthبِهٖۤwith itاَزْوَاجًاpairsمِّنْofنَّبَاتٍplantsشَتّٰی diverse كُلُوْاEatوَ ارْعَوْاand pastureاَنْعَامَكُمْ ؕyour cattleاِنَّIndeedفِیْinذٰلِكَthatلَاٰیٰتٍsurely (are) Signsلِّاُولِیfor possessorsالنُّهٰی۠(of) intelligence

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Translation of Verse 25-54

(20:25) Moses said: "Lord! Open my breast for me;¹⁴

(20:26) and ease my task for me,

(20:27) and loosen the knot from my tongue

(20:28) so that they may understand my speech;¹⁵

(20:29) and appoint for me, from my household, someone who will help me bear my burden -

(20:30) Aaron, my brother.¹⁶

(20:31) Strengthen me through him

(20:32) and let him share my task

(20:33) that we may abundantly extol Your glory;

(20:34) and may remember You much.

(20:35) Verily, You have always watched over us."

(20:36) He said: "Moses, your petition is granted.

(20:37) We have again bestowed Our favour upon you.¹⁷

(20:38) Recall, when We indicated to your mother through inspiration:

(20:39) 'Put the baby into a chest and then throw him in the river. The river will throw him up on the shore, and then an enemy of Mine and an enemy of his will take him.' And I spread My love over you in order that you might be reared in My sight.

(20:40) Recall, when your sister went along, saying: 'Shall I direct you to one who will take charge of him?' Thus We brought you back to your mother so that her heart might be gladdened and she might not grieve. Moses, recall when you slew a person. We delivered you from distress and made you go through several trials. Then you stayed for several years among the people of Midian, and now you have come at the right moment as ordained.

(20:41) I have chosen you for My service.

(20:42) So go forth, both you and your brother, with My Signs, and do not slacken in remembering Me.

(20:43) Go both of you to Pharaoh, for he has transgressed all bounds,

(20:44) and speak to him gently, perhaps he may take heed or fear (Allah)."¹⁸

(20:45) The two said:"^18a Lord! We fear he may commit excesses against us, or transgress all bounds."

(20:46) He said: "Have no fear. I am with you, hearing and seeing all.

(20:47) So, go to him, and say: 'Behold, both of us are the Messengers of your Lord. Let the Children of Israel go with us, and do not chastise them. We have come to you with a sign from your Lord; and peace shall be for him who follows the true guidance.

(20:48) It has been revealed to us that chastisement awaits those who called the lie to the truth and turned away from it.' "¹⁹

(20:49) Pharaoh²⁰ said:" Moses!²¹ Who is the Lord of the two of you?"

(20:50) He said: "Our Lord is He²² Who gave everything its form and then guided it."²³

(20:51) Pharaoh asked: "Then, what is the state of the former generations?"²⁴

(20:52) Moses said: "Its knowledge is with my Lord, recorded in the Book. My Lord does not err, nor does He forget."²⁵

(20:53) He²⁶ it is Who spread the earth for you; and made in it paths for you, and sent down water from the sky, and then through it We brought forth many species of diverse plants.

(20:54) So eat yourself and pasture your cattle. Surely there are many Signs in this for people of understanding.²⁷

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Commentary

14. Moses prayed that he might be-granted the inner-strength and courage required to shoulder his responsibilities; as a sequel he was being entrusted with a great mission which called for enormous courage and fortitude. Hence, he prayed that God might invest him with patience, fortitude, forbearance, fearlessness, firm determination, and the like: qualities that were essential for ‘the furtherance of his mission.

15. According to the Bible, Moses said: ‘Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either heretofore or since thou hast spoken to thy servant; but I am slow of speech and of tongue’ (Exodus 4: 10). The Talmud contains a lengthy account to the effect that when Moses was being brought up as a child in Pharaoh’s house, he wore Pharaoh’s crown. This led to inquiries about whether the child had done so deliberately or if it was merely a childish prank. It was finally resolved, however, that the child be presented with a piece of gold and a ball of fire. Both these objects were placed before Moses and he grasped the ball of fire and put it into his mouth. Although onlookers managed to save his life, it nonetheless caused Moses to stammer for the rest of his life. (See The Talmud Selections, pp. 127-8— Ed.)

This story, derived from Israelite sources, has crept into the Muslim works of Qur’anic exegesis. (See al-Qurtubi, comments on verse 27 — Ed.) The whole account, however, seems downright irrational. For, even if one accepts that the child held the ball of fire in his palm, it would nonetheless have been impossible for him to put it into his mouth. Any child who tries to hold a piece of fire in his hand is bound to throw it away as soon as he feels its intense, burning heat. It would, therefore, simply be impossible for him to put it into his mouth.

As for the present Qur’anic account concerning Moses, all that it says is that Moses was conscious of being ineloquent. He also feared that if he had to speak in the course of discharging his duties as a Prophet, he would perhaps be overcome by his impediment especially as he had no prior public speaking experience. Therefore, he prayed that God may endow him with eloquence that he might express himself effectively. It may be recalled that on one occasion Pharaoh ridiculed Moses for his inability to speak well: “He is a contemptible wretch who can scarcely express himself clearly’ (al-Zukhruf 43: 52). It was Moses’ own consciousness of this weakness which had made him pray to God to appoint his brother Aaron as his helper: ‘And my brother Aaron, he is more eloquent in speech than I. Send him with me as a helper’ (al-Qasas 28: 34).

It seems that later on Moses overcame this weakness, developing as he did an effective public speaking ability. His speeches of later time, found both in the Bible and the Qur’an, provide ample testimony to his outstanding capacity as a speaker. It does not stand to reason that God should appoint someone who stammered to the office of Messenger. Messengers have always been the best specimens of humanity, outstanding in all respects — their facial features, personality, and other abilities bearing this out. Both their external appearances and their inner qualities have always attracted peoples’ hearts and minds. Never has God raised a Messenger who suffered from a physical deformity which would reduce him to an object of ridicule or contempt.

16. According to the Bible, Aaron was three years older than Moses.

17. God reminds Moses of the numerous favors that had been bestowed on him from his birth up until the current moment. These favors are mentioned in greater detail in Surah al-Qasas. (See al-Qasas 28: 7-35 — Ed.) What is stated here amounts to no more than an allusion to these favors so as to make Moses conscious of the mission for which he was born, for which he had been brought up under governmental care, and which was being entrusted to him at that particular moment. 18. A person abandons evil and tums to the right path for one of two reasons. Either he is convinced of’ the right way because of someone’s persuasion, or he takes heed as a result of himself becoming conscious of the disastrous consequences of his evil actions.

18a. It would appear that this incident relates to the time when Moses had already reached Egypt and when Aaron had begun to assist him in his mission. Presumably before proceeding to Pharaoh, both Moses and Aaron had made their fears about the evil that might befall them known to God.

19. The Qur’anic account of the incident should be read in conjunction with those accounts in the Bible and the Talmud. This comparative study will clearly reveal the differences in the images of the Prophets as portrayed in the Qur’an and in the Jewish religious tradition. According to the Bible, God told Moses: ‘Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring forth my people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.’ But Moses said to God: ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3: 10-11), Subsequently, even though God tried at length to persuade Moses of the same, encouraged him, and endowed him with miracles, Moses still said: ‘Oh, my Lord, send, I pray, some other person’ (Exodus 4: 13).

The Talmudic account goes a step further. It states that the argument between God and Moses continued for seven days. God insisted on Moses accepting the prophetic mission whereas Moses declined to do so on the grounds of his speech impediment. Finally, God said that it was His will that Moses become a Prophet. To this Moses replied that God had sent angels to save Lot, had assigned five angels when Hagar left the house of Sarah, so why was He, then, asking him to leave Egypt along with His favorite children (the Israelites)? This so enraged God that He made Aaron a party to Moses’ prophetic office, and denied priesthood to the house of Moses by transferring it - to the descendants of Aaron. (See The Talmud Selections, p. 142 ff. — Ed.) In view of this clear discrepancy between the two versions it seems bold, indeed, for some scholars to claim that the Bible and the Talmud were the main sources from which the Qur’anic stories were derived.

20. Here the Qur’an omits certain details of the story: in particular, how Moses arrived at Pharaoh’s court and how he explained his teachings to him. These details are mentioned earlier in al-A‘raf7: 108; and can also be found in al-Shu‘ara’ 26: 10-33; al-Qasas 28: 28-40, and al-Nazi‘at 79: 15-36. For necessary information about Pharaoh see Towards Understanding the Qur’ an, vol. Il, al-A‘raf 7, n. 85, p. 64.

21. Of the two brothers, Moses was the main person entrusted with the task of expounding the truth. Hence Pharaoh addressed Moses rather than Aaron. Another possible reason why Pharaoh addressed Moses rather than Aaron may - be that Pharaoh wanted to deprive Aaron of the opportunity to use his: rhetorical skills, the implication being that he wished to take advantage of - Moses’ handicap when it came to public speaking.

The purpose of the question posed by Pharaoh was to emphasize the fact that. since he was sovereign of Egypt and its people, Moses had no business setting | up anyone other than him as their Lord. He alone, so Pharaoh believed, could” be Lord of Egypt and of the Egyptians. Surah al-Nazi‘at records Pharaoh’s claim: ‘I am your highest Lord’ (79: 24). The Qur’an also records elsewhere that Pharaoh publicly addressed his whole court, saying: ‘My people! Do I not possess kingship of Egypt and are these rivers not flowing under me?’ (al-Zukhruf 43: 51). On another occasion Pharaoh vaingloriously. boasted before his courtiers: ‘O chiefs! I know no deity of yours other than myself. O Haman! Light me a kiln to bake bricks out of clay and construct a lofty palace that | might climb up to the god of Moses’ (al-Qasas 28: 38). Elsewhere, The Qur’an mentions that Pharaoh rebuked Moses, saying: ‘If you take anyone other than me as a deity, I shall cast you into prison’ (al-Shu‘ara’ 26: 29). This does not mean that Pharaoh was the only object of the Egyptian people’s worship. We have already noted that Pharaoh’s claim to be sovereign was grounded in his belief that he was the incarnation of the sun-god, Ra. It has also been established historically that the national cult of the Egyptians consisted of the worship of many gods and goddesses. Hence, in point of fact, Pharaoh did not claim to be the ‘only object of worship’. He rather claimed, on a practical level, divine political lordship over the people of Egypt, and on a theoretical level, political lordship over all mankind. He was totally unprepared to accept the notion that any Superior Being could be regarded as the Lord, as One over and above him, or that anyone could come forward as His authorized representative and claim the authority to command and ask all, including Pharaoh, to obey the same.

Some people have been misled into believing that Pharaoh denied the existence of God, or that he laid claim to being God himself. According to the Qur'an, however, Pharaoh believed that someone else governed the world _ above. If one reads carefully the Qur’anic verses al-Mu’ min 40: 28-34 and al-Zukhruf 43: 53, itis evident that Pharaoh did not deny the existence of God, nor that of angels. What he could not accept, however, was that God should have any authority to interfere with his political over lordship, or that any of God’s Messengers should claim the right to command him. (For further elaboration see al-Qasas 28, n. 53.)

22. The thrust of Moses’ statement is that he accepted God as his Lord in every sense of the term. He alone is the Provider, the Master. the Lord, the Sovereign. In sum, Moses was not prepared to accept anyone other than God as his Lord.

23. All that exists in the world, whatever its shape, is the creation of God alone. Everything derives its form and texture, its power and ability, and all its, properties from God alone. Man’s limbs — hands, legs, and so on — were all created on a pattern best suited to make them properly serviceable. God created everything — minerals. air, water, light, in short, everything — and gave it the particular shape required for it to play the role assigned to it in the overall scheme of things.

Now God did not simply create each thing on a certain pattern and leave it at that; rather, He taught each created being how it should function and fulfil the purpose for which it had been created. It is God Who taught the fish to swim and the birds to fly, the plants to blossom and the soil to produce vegetation. In sum, He not only created but also provided guidance to everything in the -universe as to how it should function. ‘In the above sentence, which is crisp, pithy and rich, Moses not only mentions - God Who is the object of his worship, but also explains why he accepted Him as his Lord and why none else could be acknowledged to be so. The statement embodies both the thesis and its supporting argument. The fact is that Pharaoh and all his subjects owe their lives to God and none of them can survive even for a moment unless the different parts of their bodies function in accordance with the guidance that comes from God. In view of the above, Pharaoh’s claim that he was the Lord of his subjects and the latter’s acceptance of Pharaoh as their Lord, both appear no more than an act of folly, a ludicrous joke.

Furthermore, in this statement Moses subtly makes the case for his own prophet hood, an office, as we have seen, which Pharaoh rejected. Implicit in Moses’ statement is the point that since God is the Guide of the whole universe, One Who directs everything in accordance with its needs and conditions, it is befitting of Him alone that He provides the guidance to mankind. Since man cannot be guided in the same way as animals are, the best way to help man is for the choicest of their number to be selected by God and asked to make an appeal to their fellow mens rational faculties and in this manner show them the right way.

24. Pharaoh here points out that if it was God, as Moses claimed, Who created everything to perfection and Who guided it to its role, and if there really was no Lord other than God, then this clearly also meant that the ancestors of yore who had worshipped deities other than God were in error. Were they really in error and deserved God’s punishment? Were they all — their venerable ancestors — dumb, stupid people? This was the only response which Pharaoh could afford to put forth in reply to Moses’ argument. It was a response based either on ignorance, or mischief, or both. For it is indeed possible that Moses’ assertion, which implied that his ancestors were in error, incensed him. At the same time, it is quite possible that Pharaoh’s intent in making the above statement was to incite people against Moses by appealing to their natural feelings of love and veneration for their ancestors. This weapon has frequently been used by the opponents of the truth throughout the different periods of history, and on many occasions it proved effective in provoking ignorant people against the proponents of truth. At the time when these Qur’anic verses were revealed, this very weapon was being constantly employed against the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him). It is, therefore, especially relevant to mention Pharaoh’s subterfuge against Moses here.

25. Moses’ reply is full of wisdom, providing a good lesson for those who wish to propagate the truth and who wish to do so wisely. Pharaoh’s intent, as noted earlier, was probably to incite the prejudice and hostility of his audience against Moses, and, through them, the prejudice and hostility of the people at large. Moses could indeed have replied that their ancestors were in error, bound to be cast into Hell; but such a reply, regardless of its truth, would have served Pharaoh’s cause rather than that of Moses.

Instead, Moses replied with the utmost wisdom, saying something which was at once true but which also frustrated Pharaoh’s evil designs. He pointed out that’ howsoever their ancestors might have behaved, they had now completed their term of life and returned to God, and he, Moses, had no means of knowing the fullness of their actions nor the intent behind those actions so as to enable him to judge them. But the record of all the acts they committed during their lives was with God Who knew well all that they did and Who was also well aware of the motives behind those actions. For nothing escapes God’s eye nor does anything fade from His memory. It is for God, and God alone, to judge them. Indeed, He alone has the requisite knowledge to do so. None need worry as to what the attitude of their predecessors was to life nor what manner of ultimate fate Jay in store for them. People should be concerned, instead, with themselves: they should examine their own attitude to life and consider what ' kind of ultimate fate they are likely to meet as a result.

26. It would appear that Moses’ response concludes with the end of verse 52. The passage which follows, i.e. from verse 53 to verse 55 consists of an admonition.

The Qur’an is full of instances where statements are made about past incidents or about future events. Such statements are followed either by a few sentences of exhortation to piety and righteousness, or by explanation or elaboration of those statements. The style of the text, on such occasions, indicates whether the statement in question was made by a human being or by God. It is useful to remember that this particular statement not only relates to the | immediately preceding verse (‘My Lord does not err, nor does He forget’), but also to Moses’ entire statement which opens with the words: ‘He [Moses] said: 50). Lord is He Who gave everything its form and then guided it. (verse 50)

27. Those who are guided in their quest for the truth by sound reason are assisted by signs from God and they are able therewith to find the way to the truth. For these signs convince such people that this universe has a Lord and that He alone, and none else, governs and controls it.