Surah 20 · Ta-Ha

1Ta. Ha

2We have not revealed unto thee (Muhammad) this Qur'an that thou shouldst be distressed

3But as a reminder unto him who feareth

4A revelation from Him Who created the earth and the high heavens

5The Beneficent One, Who is established on the Throne

6Unto Him belongeth whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth, and whatsoever is between them, and whatsoever is beneath the sod

7And if thou speakest aloud, then lo! He knoweth the secret (thought) and (that which is yet) more hidden

8Allah! There is no Allah save Him. His are the most beautiful names

9Hath there come unto thee the story of Moses

10When he saw a fire and said unto his folk: Lo! Wait! I see a fire afar off. Peradventure I may bring you a brand therefrom or may find guidance at the fire

11And when he reached it, he was called by name: O Moses

12Lo! I, even I, am thy Lord, So take off thy shoes, for lo! thou art in the holy valley of Tuwa

13And I have chosen thee, so hearken unto that which is inspired

14Lo! I, even I, am Allah, There is no Allah save Me. So serve Me and establish worship for My remembrance

15Lo! the Hour is surely coming. But I will to keep it hidden, that every soul may be rewarded for that which it striveth (to achieve)

16Therefor, let not him turn thee aside from (the thought of) it who believeth not therein but followeth his own desire, lest thou perish

17And what is that in thy right hand, O Moses

18He said: This is my staff whereon I lean, and wherewith I bear down branches for my sheep, and wherein I find other uses

19He said: Cast it down, O Moses

20So he cast it down, and lo! it was a serpent, gliding

21He said: Grasp it and fear not. We shall return it to its former state

22And thrust thy hand within thine armpit, it will come forth white without hurt. (That will be) another token

23That We may show thee (some) of Our greater portents

24Go thou unto Pharaoh! Lo! he hath transgressed (the bounds)

25(Moses) said: My Lord! relieve my mind

26And ease my task for me

27And loose a knot from my tongue

28That they may understand my saying

29Appoint for me a henchman from my folk

30Aaron, my brother

31Confirm my strength with him

32And let him share my task

33That we may glorify Thee much

34And much remember Thee

35Lo! Thou art ever Seeing us

36He said: Thou art granted thy request, O Moses

37And indeed, another time, already We have shown thee favour

38When we inspired in thy mother that which is inspired

39Saying: Throw him into the ark, and throw it into the river, then the river shall throw it on to the bank, and there an enemy to Me and an enemy to him shall take him. And I endued thee with love from Me that thou mightest be trained according to My will

40When thy sister went and said: Shall I show you one who will nurse him? and we restored thee to thy mother that her eyes might be refreshed and might not sorrow. And thou didst kill a man and We delivered thee from great distress, and tried thee with a heavy trial. And thou didst tarry years among the folk of Midian. Then camest thou (hither) by (My) providence, O Moses

41And I have attached thee to Myself

42Go, thou and thy brother, with My tokens, and be not faint in remembrance of Me

43Go, both of you, unto Pharaoh. Lo! he hath transgressed (the bounds)

44And speak unto him a gentle word, that peradventure he may heed or fear

45They said: Our Lord! Lo! we fear that he may be beforehand with us or that he may play the tyrant

46He said: Fear not. Lo! I am with you twain, Hearing and Seeing

47So go ye unto him and say: Lo! we are two messengers of thy Lord. So let the children of Israel go with us, and torment them not. We bring thee a token from thy Lord. And peace will be for him who followeth right guidance

48Lo! it hath been revealed unto us that the doom will be for him who denieth and turneth away

49(Pharaoh) said: Who then is the Lord of you twain, O Moses

50He said: Our Lord is He Who gave unto everything its nature, then guided it aright

51He said: What then is the state of the generations of old

52He said: The knowledge thereof is with my Lord in a Record. My Lord neither erreth nor forgetteth

53Who hath appointed the earth as a bed and hath threaded roads for you therein and hath sent down water from the sky and thereby We have brought forth divers kinds of vegetation

54(Saying): Eat ye and feed your cattle. Lo! herein verily are portents for men of thought

55Thereof We created you, and thereunto We return you, and thence We bring you forth a second time

56And We verily did show him all Our tokens, but he denied them and refused

57He said: Hast come to drive us out from our land by thy magic, O Moses

58But we surely can produce for thee magic the like thereof; so appoint a tryst between us and you, which neither we nor thou shall fail to keep, at a place convenient (to us both)

59(Moses) said: Your tryst shall be the day of the feast, and let the people assemble when the sun hath risen high

60Then Pharaoh went and gathered his strength, then came (to the appointed tryst)

61Moses said unto them: Woe unto you! Invent not a lie against Allah, lest He extirpate you by some punishment. He who lieth faileth miserably

62Then they debated one with another what they must do, and they kept their counsel secret

63They said: Lo! these are two wizards who would drive you out from your country by their magic, and destroy your best traditions

64So arrange your plan, and come in battle line. Whoso is uppermost this day will be indeed successful

65They said: O Moses! Either throw first, or let us be the first to throw

66He said: Nay, do ye throw! Then lo! their cords and their staves, by their magic, appeared to him as though they ran

67And Moses conceived a fear in his mind

68We said: Fear not! Lo! thou art the higher

69Throw that which is in thy right hand! It will eat up that which they have made. Lo! that which they have made is but a wizard's artifice, and a wizard shall not be successful to whatever point (of skill) he may attain

70Then the wizards were (all) flung down prostrate, crying: We believe in the Lord of Aaron and Moses

71(Pharaoh) said: Ye put faith in him before I give you leave. Lo! he is your chief who taught you magic. Now surely I shall cut off your hands and your feet alternately, and I shall crucify you on the trunks of palm trees, and ye shall know for certain which of us hath sterner and more lasting punishment

72They said: We choose thee not above the clear proofs that have come unto us, and above Him Who created us. So decree what thou wilt decree. Thou wilt end for us only this life of the world

73Lo! we believe in our Lord, that He may forgive us our sins and the magic unto which thou didst force us. Allah is better and more lasting

74Lo! whoso cometh guilty unto his Lord, verily for him is hell. There he will neither die nor live

75But whoso cometh unto Him a believer, having done good works, for such are the high stations

76Gardens of Eden underneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide for ever. That is the reward of him who groweth

77And verily We inspired Moses, saying: Take away My slaves by night and strike for them a dry path in the sea, fearing not to be overtaken, neither being afraid (of the sea)

78Then Pharaoh followed them with his hosts and there covered them that which did cover them of the sea

79And Pharaoh led his folk astray, he did not guide them

80O Children of Israel! We delivered you from your enemy, and we made a covenant with you on the holy mountain's side, and sent down on you the manna and the quails

81(Saying): Eat of the good things wherewith We have provided you, and transgress not in respect thereof lest My wrath come upon you: and he on whom My wrath cometh, he is lost indeed

82And lo! verily I am Forgiving toward him who repenteth and believeth and doeth good, and afterward walketh aright

83And (it was said): What hath made thee hasten from thy folk, O Moses

84He said: They are close upon my track. I hastened unto Thee, my Lord, that Thou mightest be well pleased

85He said: Lo! We have tried thy folk in thine absence, and As-Samiri hath misled them

86Then Moses went back unto his folk, angry and sad. He said: O my people! Hath not your Lord promised you a fair promise? Did the time appointed then appear too long for you, or did ye wish that wrath from your Lord should come upon you, that ye broke tryst with me

87They said: We broke not tryst with thee of our own will, but we were laden with burdens of ornaments of the folk, then cast them (in the fire), for thus As-Samiri proposed

88Then he produced for them a calf, of saffron hue, which gave forth a lowing sound. And they cried: This is your god and the god of Moses, but he hath forgotten

89See they not, then, that it returneth no saying unto them and possesseth for them neither hurt nor use

90And Aaron indeed had told them beforehand: O my people! Ye are but being seduced therewith, for lo! your Lord is the Beneficent, so follow me and obey my order

91They said: We shall by no means cease to be its votaries till Moses return unto us

92He (Moses) said: O Aaron! What held thee back when thou didst see them gone astray

93That thou followedst me not? Hast thou then disobeyed my order

94He said: O son of my mother! Clutch not my beard nor my head! I feared lest thou shouldst say: Thou hast caused division among the Children of Israel, and hast not waited for my word

95(Moses) said: And what hast thou to say, O Samiri

96He said: I perceived what they perceive not, so I seized a handful from the footsteps of the messenger, and then threw it in. Thus my soul commended to me

97(Moses) said: Then go! and lo! in this life it is for thee to say: Touch me not! and lo! there is for thee a tryst thou canst not break. Now look upon thy god of which thou hast remained a votary. Verily we will burn it and will scatter its dust over the sea

98Your Allah is only Allah, than Whom there is no other Allah. He embraceth all things in His knowledge

99Thus relate We unto thee (Muhammad) some tidings of that which happened of old, and We have given thee from Our presence a reminder

100Whoso turneth away from it, he verily will bear a burden on the Day of Resurrection

101Abiding under it - an evil burden for them on the Day of Resurrection

102The day when the Trumpet is blown. On that day we assemble the guilty white-eyed (with terror)

103Murmuring among themselves: Ye have tarried but ten (days)

104We are Best Aware of what they utter when their best in conduct say: Ye have tarried but a day

105They will ask thee of the mountains (on that day). Say: My Lord will break them into scattered dust

106And leave it as an empty plain

107Wherein thou seest neither curve nor ruggedness

108On that day they follow the summoner who deceiveth not, and voices are hushed for the Beneficent, and thou hearest but a faint murmur

109On that day no intercession availeth save (that of) him unto whom the Beneficent hath given leave and whose word He accepteth

110He knoweth (all) that is before them and (all) that is behind them, while they cannot compass it in knowledge

111And faces humble themselves before the Living, the Eternal. And he who beareth (a burden of) wrongdoing is indeed a failure (on that day)

112And he who hath done some good works, being a believer, he feareth not injustice nor begrudging (of his wage)

113Thus we have revealed it as a Lecture in Arabic, and have displayed therein certain threats, that peradventure they may keep from evil or that it may cause them to take heed

114Then exalted be Allah, the True King! And hasten not (O Muhammad) with the Qur'an ere its revelation hath been perfected unto thee, and say: My Lord! Increase me in knowledge

115And verily We made a covenant of old with Adam, but he forgot, and We found no constancy in him

116And when We said unto the angels: Fall prostrate before Adam, they fell prostrate (all) save Iblis; he refused

117Therefor we said: O Adam! This is an enemy unto thee and unto thy wife, so let him not drive you both out of the Garden so that thou come to toil

118It is (vouchsafed) unto thee that thou hungerest not therein nor art naked

119And that thou thirstest not therein nor art exposed to the sun's heat

120But the devil whispered to him, saying: O Adam! Shall I show thee the tree of immortality and power that wasteth not away

121Then they twain ate thereof, so that their shame became apparent unto them, and they began to hide by heaping on themselves some of the leaves of the Garden. And Adam disobeyed his Lord, so went astray

122Then his Lord chose him, and relented toward him, and guided him

123He said: Go down hence, both of you, one of you a foe unto the other. But when there come unto you from Me a guidance, then whoso followeth My guidance, he will not go astray nor come to grief

124But he who turneth away from remembrance of Me, his will be a narrow life, and I shall bring him blind to the assembly on the Day of Resurrection

125He will say: My Lord! Wherefor hast Thou gathered me (hither) blind, when I was wont to see

126He will say: So (it must be). Our revelations came unto thee but thou didst forget them. In like manner thou art forgotten this Day

127Thus do We reward him who is prodigal and believeth not the revelations of his Lord; and verily the doom of the Hereafter will be sterner and more lasting

128Is it not a guidance for them (to know) how many a generation We destroyed before them, amid whose dwellings they walk? Lo! therein verily are signs for men of thought

129And but for a decree that had already gone forth from thy Lord, and a term already fixed, the judgment would have been inevitable (in this world)

130Therefor (O Muhammad), bear with what they say, and celebrate the praise of thy Lord ere the rising of the sun and ere the going down thereof. And glorify Him some hours of the night and at the two ends of the day, that thou mayst find acceptance

131And strain not thine eyes toward that which We cause some wedded pairs among them to enjoy, the flower of the life of the world, that We may try them thereby. The provision of thy Lord is better and more lasting

132And enjoin upon thy people worship, and be constant therein. We ask not of thee a provision: We provided for thee. And the sequel is for righteousness

133And they say: If only he would bring us a miracle from his Lord! Hath there not come unto them the proof of what is in the former scriptures

134And if we had destroyed them with some punishment before it, they would assuredly have said: Our Lord! If only Thou hadst sent unto us a messenger, so that we might have followed Thy revelations before we were (thus) humbled and disgraced

135Say: Each is awaiting; so await ye! Ye will come to know who are the owners of the path of equity, and who is right