Ta Ha: Translation by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Uthmani

Tâ Hâ
With the name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Very-Merciful.
[20:1]
Tā-Hā

[20:2]
We did not reveal the Qur’ān to you to (make you) face hardship

[20:3]
rather to remind him who has the fear (of Allah),

[20:4]
it being a revelation from the One Who created the earth, and high heavens.

[20:5]
The RaHmān (Allah, the All-Merciful) has positioned Himself on the Throne.

[20:6]
To Him belongs all that is in the heavens, all that is in the earth and whatever lies between them and whatever lies beneath the soil.

[20:7]
If you pronounce the word aloud, then (it makes no difference, for) He certainly knows the secret and what is even more hidden.

[20:8]
(Such is) Allah. There is no god but He. For Him are the Beautiful Names.

[20:9]
Has there come to you the story of Mūsā?

[20:10]
When he saw a fire and said to his family, “Stay here. I have noticed a fire. Perhaps I can bring you an ember from it, or find some guidance by the fire.”

[20:11]
So when he came to it, he was called, “O Mūsā,

[20:12]
it is Me, your Lord, so remove your shoes; you are in the sacred valley of Tuwā.

[20:13]
I have chosen you (for prophet-hood), so listen to what is revealed:

[20:14]
Surely, I AM ALLAH. There is no god but Myself, so worship Me, and establish Salāh for My remembrance.

[20:15]
Surely, the Hour (i.e. the Day of Judgment) has to come. I would keep it secret, so that everyone is given a return for the effort one makes.

[20:16]
So the one who does not believe in it and follows his desires must not make you neglectful of it, otherwise you will perish.

[20:17]
And what is that in your right hand, O Mūsā?”

[20:18]
He said, “It is my staff. I lean on it, and I beat down leaves with it for my sheep, and I have many other uses for it.”

[20:19]
He said, “Throw it down O Mūsā”.

[20:20]
So, he threw it down, and suddenly it was a snake, running around.

[20:21]
He said, “Pick it up, and be not scared. We shall restore it to its former state.

[20:22]
And press your hand under your arm, and it will come out (brightly) white without any disease, as another sign,

[20:23]
so that We may show you some of Our great signs.

[20:24]
Go to Pharaoh. He has really exceeded all bounds.”

[20:25]
He said, “My Lord, put my heart at peace for me,

[20:26]
and make my task easy for me

[20:27]
and remove the knot from my tongue,

[20:28]
so that they may understand my speech.

[20:29]
And make for me an assistant from my own family,

[20:30]
that is, Hārūn, my brother.

[20:31]
Enhance with him my strength,

[20:32]
and make him share my task,

[20:33]
so that we proclaim Your purity in abundance

[20:34]
and remember You in abundance.

[20:35]
You are certainly watchful over us.”

[20:36]
He said, “You have been granted your request O Mūsā.

[20:37]
And We had bestowed Our favour on you another time,

[20:38]
when We revealed to your mother what was to be revealed,

[20:39]
that is, ‘Put him (the baby) in the chest, then cast it into the river, then let the river throw it by the shore, and it will be picked up by one who is enemy to Me and enemy to him.’ And I had cast love on you from Myself (so that you might be favourite of all), and that you might be brought up under My eye.

[20:40]
(Remember) when your sister was going (to the family of Pharaoh) and was saying, ‘Shall I lead you to one who nurses him?’ Thus We brought you back to your mother, so that her eyes might have comfort and she might not grieve. And you had killed a person, then We brought you out of the trouble; and We tested you with a great ordeal. Then you lived a number of years amidst the people of Madyan. After all this, you came O Mūsā, to a destined point of time.

[20:41]
I have fashioned you for Myself.

[20:42]
Go, you and your brother, with My signs, and do not be slack in My remembrance.

[20:43]
Go, both of you, to Pharaoh; he has indeed transgressed all limits.

[20:44]
So speak to him in soft words. May be, he accepts the advice or fears (Allah)”.

[20:45]
They said, “Our Lord, we fear that he will hasten against us, or will become (more) rebellious (against You).”

[20:46]
He said, “Do not be afraid. I AM surely with you both. I hear and I see.

[20:47]
So, come to him and say, ‘We are the messengers of your Lord. So, let the children of Isrā’īl go with us, and do not persecute them. We have come to you with a sign from your Lord; and peace be upon the one who follows the guidance.

[20:48]
Verily, it has been revealed to us that the punishment is for the one who denies and turns away.’”

[20:49]
He (Pharaoh) said, “Who then is the Lord of you two, O Mūsā?”

[20:50]
He (Mūsā) said, “Our Lord is the One who gave everything its due shape, then guided it.”

[20:51]
He said, “Then, what is the status of the earlier generations?”

[20:52]
He replied, “The knowledge about those is with my Lord in a Book. My Lord does neither err nor forget.”

[20:53]
(He is) the One who made the earth a cradle for you, and made in it pathways for you to move, and sent down water from the heavens; and We brought forth with it pairs of different vegetations :

[20:54]
Eat, and graze your cattle. Surely, in that there are signs for the people of understanding.

[20:55]
From this (dust) We created you, and in this we shall put you back, and from this We shall raise you up once again.

[20:56]
And We showed him (Pharaoh) all Our signs, yet he rejected and refused.

[20:57]
Said he, “Have you come to us to drive us out of our land with your sorcery, O Mūsā?

[20:58]
We will, then, bring to you a similar sorcery. So, make an appointment between you and us for an even place, not to be backed out, neither by us nor by you.”

[20:59]
He (Mūsā) said, “Your appointment is the festival day, and the people should be assembled at forenoon.”

[20:60]
So, Pharaoh turned back, and put his plot together, then came.

[20:61]
Mūsā said to them, “Pity on you, do not fabricate a lie against Allah, lest He should destroy you with a punishment. And loser is he who fabricates a lie.”

[20:62]
Then, they disputed among themselves in their matter, and kept their talk secret.

[20:63]
Said they, “Certainly, these two are sorcerers who wish to drive you out from your land, and do away with your excellent way of life.

[20:64]
So, make your plot firm and come forth in one row. Successful today is the one who prevails.”

[20:65]
They said, “O Mūsā, either you throw (first), or shall we be first to throw?”

[20:66]
He said, “Rather, you throw.” Then, suddenly their ropes and sticks seemed to him, due to their magic, as if they were running.

[20:67]
So, Mūsā concealed some fear in his heart.

[20:68]
We said, “Do not be scared. Certainly, you are to be the upper most.

[20:69]
And throw what is in your right hand, and it will devour what they have concocted. What they have concocted is but a sleight of a magician. And the magician does not succeed wherever he comes from.”

[20:70]
So, the magicians were led (by the truth) to fall in prostration. They said, “We have (now) believed in the Lord of Hārūn and Mūsā.”

[20:71]
He (Pharaoh) said, “You have believed in him before I permit you. This man is in fact your master who has taught you the magic. So I will certainly cut off your hands and your legs from opposite sides, and will crucify you on the trunks of palm-trees, and you shall know whose punishment, out of us, is more severe and more lasting.”

[20:72]
They said, “We will never prefer you over the clear signs that have come to us, and over Him who has created us. So, decide whatever you have to decide. You will decide only for this worldly life.

[20:73]
We have put our faith in our Lord, so that He forgives us for our sins and for the magic you compelled us to perform. And Allah is the Best and Everlasting.”

[20:74]
Surely whoever comes to his Lord as a sinner, for him there is Jahannam in which he neither will die nor will live (a happy life).

[20:75]
And whoever will come to Him as believer, having done righteous deeds, for such people there are the highest ranks,

[20:76]
the eternal gardens beneath which rivers flow, in which they shall live for ever. That is the reward for the one who has purified himself.

[20:77]
And We revealed to Mūsā saying, “Set out with my servants at night, then make for them a dry path across the sea (with the strike of your staff), neither fearing to be caught up, nor having any fear (of drowning).”

[20:78]
Then Pharaoh chased them with his troops. So, they were encircled by that (huge wave) from the sea which overwhelmed them.

[20:79]
Pharaoh held his people astray, and did not show them the right path.

[20:80]
O children of Isrā’īl , We delivered you from your enemy and appointed for you the right side of the mount Tūr (Sinai), and sent down for you the Mann and Salwā :

[20:81]
Eat from the good things We have provided to you, and do not exceed the limits in it, lest My wrath should descend on you. The one upon whom My wrath descends certainly falls into destruction.

[20:82]
Surely I am the Most-Forgiving for him who repents and believes and acts righteously, then follows the right path.

[20:83]
“What has caused you to hurry before your people, O Mūsā?”

[20:84]
He said, “Here they are just behind me, and I hurried towards You, my Lord, so that You be pleased.”

[20:85]
He said, “We have then put your people to test after you (left them) and Sāmiriyy has misguided them.”

[20:86]
So, Mūsā went back to his people, angry and sad. He said, “O my people, did your Lord not promise you a good promise? Did then the time become too long for you, or did you wish that wrath from your Lord befalls you, and hence you broke your promise to me?”

[20:87]
They said, “We did not break our promise to you of our own accord, but we were burdened with loads from the ornaments of the people;
so we threw them, and thus did Sāmiriyy cast.”

[20:88]
Then he brought forth for them a calf, which was (merely) a body with a lowing sound. Then they said, “This is your god and the god of Mūsā, and he (Mūsā) erred.”

[20:89]
Have they not been seeing that it did not respond to them (even) with a word, nor did it have power to harm or benefit them?

[20:90]
Hārūn had already said to them, “O my people, you have only been led astray with it, and your Lord is the RaHmān (All-Merciful). So follow me and obey my command.”

[20:91]
They said, “We will never cease to stay with it in devotion, until Mūsā returns to us.”

[20:92]
He (Mūsā) said, “O Hārūn, what did prevent you from following me when you saw them going astray?

[20:93]
Did you then disobey my command?”

[20:94]
He said, “O son of my mother, do not hold me by my beard, nor by my head. I feared that you would say, ‘You have caused discord among the children of Isrā’īl and did not observe my advice.’”

[20:95]
He (Mūsā) said, “What then is your case, O Sāmiriyy?”

[20:96]
He said, “I perceived something they did not perceive. So I picked up a handful from under the footstep of the messenger. Then, I cast it. And thus my inner self tempted me.”

[20:97]
He (Mūsā) said, “Then go away; it is destined for you that, throughout your life, you will say: ‘Do not touch me’. And, of course, you have another promise that will not be broken for you. And look at your god to which you stayed devoted. We will certainly burn it, then we will scatter it thoroughly in the sea.

[20:98]
Your God is Allah other than whom there is no god. He encompasses everything with knowledge.”

[20:99]
This is how We narrate to you certain events of what has passed, and We have given to you, from Ourself, a (book of) advice.

[20:100]
Whoever turns away from it shall certainly bear a heavy burden on Doomsday,

[20:101]
all such people living under it forever. And how evil for them will be that burden on the Doomsday!

[20:102]
The Day when the Horn (Sūr) will be blown, and We shall gather them together while they will have turned blue on that day,

[20:103]
and will be whispering among themselves, “You did not remain (in graves) more than ten (days)”.

[20:104]
We know very well what they say, when the best of them in his ways will say, “You did not remain more than one day.”

[20:105]
They ask you about the mountains. So, say (to them), “My Lord will crush them into dust thoroughly,

[20:106]
then will turn them into a leveled plain

[20:107]
in which you will see neither a curve nor an uneven place.”

[20:108]
That day they will follow the caller who will find no deviation (from anyone). And the voices will turn low in awe for the RaHmān (All-Merciful, Allah). So, you will hear not but whispering.

[20:109]
That day no intercession will be of any use to anyone, except the one whom the RaHmān (All-Merciful, Allah) has permitted and was pleased with his word.

[20:110]
He knows what is in front of them and what is behind them, and they do not encompass Him in (their) knowledge.

[20:111]
All faces will be humbled before (Allah,) the Ever-Alive, the All-Sustaining; and the loser will be the one who bears (the burden of his) injustice.

[20:112]
But whoever does righteous deeds, while he is a believer, shall fear neither injustice nor curtailment (of his rewards).

[20:113]
And in this way We have sent it down to you as an Arabic Qur’ān, and have detailed in it some warnings in various ways, so that they may fear, or it may produce a lesson for them.

[20:114]
So High above all is Allah, the True King! And do not hasten with (reciting) the Qur’ān before its revelation to you is concluded, and say, “My Lord, improve me in knowledge.”

[20:115]
We had given a directive to ’Ādam earlier, then he forgot, and We did not find in him a firm resolve.

[20:116]
When We said to the angels, “Prostrate yourselves to ’Ādam”. So, all of them fell prostrate, except Iblīs , who refused.

[20:117]
So, We said “’Ādam, this is an enemy to you and to your wife. So let him not expel you from Paradise, lest you should get into trouble.

[20:118]
Here you have the privilege that you will not be hungry nor will you be unclad,

[20:119]
and you will not be thirsty, nor will you be exposed to sun.”

[20:120]
Then the Satan instigated him. He said, “’Ādam, shall I guide you to the tree of eternity and to an empire that does not decay?”

[20:121]
So, both of them [‘Ādam and Hawwā’ (Eve)] ate from it, and their parts of shame were exposed to them, and they started stitching on themselves some of the leaves of Paradise. And ’Ādam disobeyed his Lord, and erred.

[20:122]
Thereafter his Lord chose him. So He accepted his repentance and gave (him) guidance.

[20:123]
He said (to ’Ādam and Iblīs), “Go down from here, all of you, some of you enemies of some others. Then, should some guidance come to you from Me, the one who follows My guidance shall not go astray, nor shall he be in trouble.

[20:124]
As for the one who turns away from My message, he shall have a straitened life, and We shall raise him blind on the Day of Judgment.”

[20:125]
He will say, “My Lord, why did you raise me blind while I was sighted?”

[20:126]
He will say, “In the similar manner as Our signs came to you, and you had ignored them. In the same way you will be ignored today.”

[20:127]
Thus We recompense him who exceeds the limits and does not believe in the signs of his Lord. Certainly the punishment of the Hereafter is more severe and more lasting.

[20:128]
Did it give them no guidance (to realize) how many generations We have destroyed prior to them in whose dwellings they (often) walk around? Surely, in this there are signs for the men of reason.

[20:129]
But for a word from your Lord that had passed earlier, and an appointed time that had been fixed, it (the punishment) would have been inevitable (for them).

[20:130]
So, (O messenger,) endure with patience what they say, and proclaim the purity and praise of your Lord before sunrise and before sunset. And in some hours of night, proclaim His purity, and at points of the day as well, so that you may be pleased.

[20:131]
Never stretch your eyes towards the things We have given to some groups of them to enjoy, so that We put them to test thereby, it being merely glamour of the worldly life. And the bounty of your Lord is much better and more lasting.

[20:132]
Bid your family to perform Salāh, and adhere to it yourself. We ask no provision from you. We give provision to you. And the ultimate end is in favour of Taqwā (God-fearing, and piety).

[20:133]
They say, “Why does he not bring to us a sign from his Lord?” Has there not come to them the clear sign of what is contained in the earlier Scriptures?

[20:134]
And if We had destroyed them with a punishment before it, they would have said, “Our Lord, why did you not send a messenger to us, so that we might have followed Your signs before we were humiliated and put to disgrace?”

[20:135]
Say, “Everyone is waiting. So wait, then you will know who the people of the straight path are and who has followed the right guidance.”