Surah 20 Ta-Ha - Ta-ha, 135 verses (Makka)
In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
- Ta-Ha.
- We have not sent down the Qur'an to thee to be (an
occasion) for thy distress,
- But only as an admonition to those who fear (God),-
- A revelation from Him Who created the earth and the
heavens on high.
- (God) Most Gracious is firmly established on the
throne (of authority).
- To Him belongs what is in the heavens and on earth,
and all between them, and all beneath the soil.
- If thou pronounce the word aloud, (it is no
matter): for verily He knoweth what is secret and what
is yet more hidden.
- God! there is no god but He! To Him belong the most
Beautiful Names.
- Has the story of Moses reached thee?
- Behold, he saw a fire: So he said to his family,
"Tarry ye; I perceive a fire; perhaps I can bring you
some burning brand therefrom, or find some guidance at
the fire."
- But when he came to the fire, a voice was heard: "O
Moses!
- "Verily I am thy Lord! therefore (in My presence)
put off thy shoes: thou art in the sacred valley Tuwa.
- "I have chosen thee: listen, then, to the
inspiration (sent to thee).
- "Verily, I am God: There is no god but I: So serve
thou Me (only), and establish regular prayer for
celebrating My praise.
- "Verily the Hour is coming - My design is to keep
it hidden - for every soul to receive its reward by the
measure of its Endeavour.
- "Therefore let not such as believe not therein but
follow their own lusts, divert thee therefrom, lest
thou perish!"..
- "And what is that in the right hand, O Moses?"
- He said, "It is my rod: on it I lean; with it I
beat down fodder for my flocks; and in it I find other
uses."
- (God) said, "Throw it, O Moses!"
- He threw it, and behold! It was a snake, active in
motion.
- (God) said, "Seize it, and fear not: We shall
return it at once to its former condition"..
- "Now draw thy hand close to thy side: It shall come
forth white (and shining), without harm (or stain),- as
another Sign,-
- "In order that We may show thee (two) of our
Greater Signs.
- "Go thou to Pharaoh, for he has indeed transgressed
all bounds."
- (Moses) said: "O my Lord! expand me my breast;
- "Ease my task for me;
- "And remove the impediment from my speech,
- "So they may understand what I say:
- "And give me a Minister from my family,
- "Aaron, my brother;
- "Add to my strength through him,
- "And make him share my task:
- "That we may celebrate Thy praise without stint,
- "And remember Thee without stint:
- "For Thou art He that (ever) regardeth us."
- (God) said: "Granted is thy prayer, O Moses!"
- "And indeed We conferred a favour on thee another
time (before).
- "Behold! We sent to thy mother, by inspiration, the
message:
- "'Throw (the child) into the chest, and throw (the
chest) into the river: the river will cast him up on
the bank, and he will be taken up by one who is an
enemy to Me and an enemy to him': But I cast (the
garment of) love over thee from Me: and (this) in order
that thou mayest be reared under Mine eye.
- "Behold! thy sister goeth forth and saith, 'shall I
show you one who will nurse and rear the (child)?' So
We brought thee back to thy mother, that her eye might
be cooled and she should not grieve. Then thou didst
slay a man, but We saved thee from trouble, and We
tried thee in various ways. Then didst thou tarry a
number of years with the people of Midian. Then didst
thou come hither as ordained, O Moses!
- "And I have prepared thee for Myself (for
service)"..
- "Go, thou and thy brother, with My Signs, and
slacken not, either of you, in keeping Me in
remembrance.
- "Go, both of you, to Pharaoh, for he has indeed
transgressed all bounds;
- "But speak to him mildly; perchance he may take
warning or fear (God)."
- They (Moses and Aaron) said: "Our Lord! We fear
lest he hasten with insolence against us, or lest he
transgress all bounds."
- He said: "Fear not: for I am with you: I hear and
see (everything).
- "So go ye both to him, and say, 'Verily we are
apostles sent by thy Lord: Send forth, therefore, the
Children of Israel with us, and afflict them not: with
a Sign, indeed, have we come from thy Lord! and peace
to all who follow guidance!
- "'Verily it has been revealed to us that the
Penalty (awaits) those who reject and turn away.'"
- (When this message was delivered), (Pharaoh) said:
"Who, then, O Moses, is the Lord of you two?"
- He said: "Our Lord is He Who gave to each (created)
thing its form and nature, and further, gave (it)
guidance."
- (Pharaoh) said: "What then is the condition of
previous generations?"
- He replied: "The knowledge of that is with my Lord,
duly recorded: my Lord never errs, nor forgets,-
- "He Who has, made for you the earth like a carpet
spread out; has enabled you to go about therein by
roads (and channels); and has sent down water from the
sky." With it have We produced diverse pairs of plants
each separate from the others.
- Eat (for yourselves) and pasture your cattle:
verily, in this are Signs for men endued with
understanding.
- From the (earth) did We create you, and into it
shall We return you, and from it shall We bring you out
once again.
- And We showed Pharaoh all Our Signs, but he did
reject and refuse.
- He said: "Hast thou come to drive us out of our
land with thy magic, O Moses?
- "But we can surely produce magic to match thine! So
make a tryst between us and thee, which we shall not
fail to keep - neither we nor thou - in a place where
both shall have even chances."
- Moses said: "Your tryst is the Day of the Festival,
and let the people be assembled when the sun is well
up."
- So Pharaoh withdrew: He concerted his plan, and
then came (back).
- Moses said to him: Woe to you! Forge not ye a lie
against God, lest He destroy you (at once) utterly by
chastisement: the forger must suffer frustration!"
- So they disputed, one with another, over their
affair, but they kept their talk secret.
- They said: "These two are certainly (expert)
magicians: their object is to drive you out from your
land with their magic, and to do away with your most
cherished institutions.
- "Therefore concert your plan, and then assemble in
(serried) ranks: He wins (all along) today who gains
the upper hand."
- They said: "O Moses! whether wilt thou that thou
throw (first) or that we be the first to throw?"
- He said, "Nay, throw ye first!" Then behold their
ropes and their rods-so it seemed to him on account of
their magic - began to be in lively motion!
- So Moses conceived in his mind a (sort of) fear.
- We said: "Fear not! for thou hast indeed the upper
hand:
- "Throw that which is in thy right hand: Quickly
will it swallow up that which they have faked what they
have faked is but a magician's trick: and the magician
thrives not, (no matter) where he goes."
- So the magicians were thrown down to prostration:
they said, "We believe in the Lord of Aaron and Moses".
- (Pharaoh) said: "Believe ye in Him before I give
you permission? Surely this must be your leader, who
has taught you magic! be sure I will cut off your hands
and feet on opposite sides, and I will have you
crucified on trunks of palm-trees: so shall ye know for
certain, which of us can give the more severe and the
more lasting punishment!"
- They said: "Never shall we regard thee as more than
the Clear Sings that have come to us, or than Him Who
created us! so decree whatever thou desirest to decree:
for thou canst only decree (touching) the life of this
world.
- "For us, we have believed in our Lord: may He
forgive us our faults, and the magic to which thou
didst compel us: for God is Best and Most Abiding."
- Verily he who comes to his Lord as a sinner (at
Judgment),- for him is Hell: therein shall he neither
die nor live.
- But such as come to Him as Believers who have
worked righteous deeds,- for them are ranks exalted,-
- Gardens of Eternity, beneath which flow rivers:
they will dwell therein for aye: such is the reward of
those who purify themselves (from evil).
- We sent an inspiration to Moses: "Travel by night
with My servants, and strike a dry path for them
through the sea, without fear of being overtaken (by
Pharaoh) and without (any other) fear."
- Then Pharaoh pursued them with his forces, but the
waters completely overwhelmed them and covered them up.
- Pharaoh led his people astray instead of leading
them aright.
- O ye Children of Israel! We delivered you from your
enemy, and We made a Covenant with you on the right
side of Mount (Sinai), and We sent down to you Manna
and quails:
- (Saying): "Eat of the good things We have provided
for your sustenance, but commit no excess therein, lest
My Wrath should justly descend on you: and those on
whom descends My Wrath do perish indeed!
- "But, without doubt, I am (also) He that forgives
again and again, to those who repent, believe, and do
right, who,- in fine, are ready to receive true
guidance."
- (When Moses was up on the Mount, God said:) "What
made thee hasten in advance of thy people, O Moses?"
- He replied: "Behold, they are close on my
footsteps: I hastened to thee, O my Lord, to please
thee."
- (God) said: "We have tested thy people in thy
absence: the Samiri has led them astray."
- So Moses returned to his people in a state of
indignation and sorrow. He said: "O my people! did not
your Lord make a handsome promise to you? Did then the
promise seem to you long (in coming)? Or did ye desire
that Wrath should descend from your Lord on you, and so
ye broke your promise to me?"
- They said: "We broke not the promise to thee, as
far as lay in our power: but we were made to carry the
weight of the ornaments of the (whole) people, and we
threw them (into the fire), and that was what the
Samiri suggested.
- "Then he brought out (of the fire) before the
(people) the image of a calf: It seemed to low: so they
said: This is your god, and the god of Moses, but
(Moses) has forgotten!"
- Could they not see that it could not return them a
word (for answer), and that it had no power either to
harm them or to do them good?
- Aaron had already, before this said to them: "O my
people! ye are being tested in this: for verily your
Lord is (God) Most Gracious; so follow me and obey my
command."
- They had said: "We will not abandon this cult, but
we will devote ourselves to it until Moses returns to
us."
- (Moses) said: "O Aaron! what kept thee back, when
thou sawest them going wrong,
- "From following me? Didst thou then disobey my
order?"
- (Aaron) replied: "O son of my mother! Seize (me)
not by my beard nor by (the hair of) my head! Truly I
feared lest thou shouldst say, 'Thou has caused a
division among the children of Israel, and thou didst
not respect my word!'"
- (Moses) said: "What then is thy case, O Samiri?"
- He replied: "I saw what they saw not: so I took a
handful (of dust) from the footprint of the Apostle,
and threw it (into the calf): thus did my soul suggest
to me."
- (Moses) said: "Get thee gone! but thy (punishment)
in this life will be that thou wilt say, 'touch me
not'; and moreover (for a future penalty) thou hast a
promise that will not fail: Now look at thy god, of
whom thou hast become a devoted worshipper: We will
certainly (melt) it in a blazing fire and scatter it
broadcast in the sea!"
- But the god of you all is the One God: there is no
god but He: all things He comprehends in His knowledge.
- Thus do We relate to thee some stories of what
happened before: for We have sent thee a Message from
Our own Presence.
- If any do turn away therefrom, verily they will
bear a burden on the Day of judgment;
- They will abide in this (state): and grievous will
the burden be to them on that Day,-
- The Day when the Trumpet will be sounded: that Day,
We shall gather the sinful, blear-eyed (with terror).
- In whispers will they consult each other: "Yet
tarried not longer than ten (Days);
- We know best what they will say, when their leader
most eminent in conduct will say: "Ye tarried not
longer than a day!"
- They ask thee concerning the Mountains: say, "My
Lord will uproot them and scatter them as dust;
- "He will leave them as plains smooth and level;
- "Nothing crooked or curved wilt thou see in their
place."
- On that Day will they follow the Caller (straight):
no crookedness (can they show) him: all sounds shall
humble themselves in the Presence of (God) Most
Gracious: nothing shalt thou hear but the tramp of
their feet (as they march).
- On that Day shall no intercession avail except for
those for whom permission has been granted by (God)
Most Gracious and whose word is acceptable to Him.
- He knows what (appears to His creatures as) before
or after or behind them: but they shall not compass it
with their knowledge.
- (All) faces shall be humbled before (Him) - the
Living, the Self-Subsisting, Eternal: hopeless indeed
will be the man that carries iniquity (on his back).
- But he who works deeds of righteousness, and has
faith, will have no fear of harm nor of any curtailment
(of what is his due).
- Thus have We sent this down - an arabic Qur'an -
and explained therein in detail some of the warnings,
in order that they may fear God, or that it may cause
their remembrance (of Him).
- High above all is God, the King, the Truth! Be not
in haste with the Qur'an before its revelation to thee
is completed, but say, "O my Lord! advance me in
knowledge."
- We had already, beforehand, taken the covenant of
Adam, but he forgot: and We found on his part no firm
resolve.
- When We said to the angels, "Prostrate yourselves
to Adam", they prostrated themselves, but not Iblis: he
refused.
- Then We said: "O Adam! verily, this is an enemy to
thee and thy wife: so let him not get you both out of
the Garden, so that thou art landed in misery.
- "There is therein (enough provision) for thee not
to go hungry nor to go naked,
- "Nor to suffer from thirst, nor from the sun's
heat."
- But Satan whispered evil to him: he said, "O Adam!
shall I lead thee to the Tree of Eternity and to a
kingdom that never decays?"
- In the result, they both ate of the tree, and so
their nakedness appeared to them: they began to sew
together, for their covering, leaves from the Garden:
thus did Adam disobey his Lord, and allow himself to be
seduced.
- But his Lord chose him (for His Grace): He turned
to him, and gave him Guidance.
- He said: "Get ye down, both of you,- all together,
from the Garden, with enmity one to another: but if, as
is sure, there comes to you Guidance from Me, whosoever
follows My Guidance, will not lose his way, nor fall
into misery.
- "But whosoever turns away from My Message, verily
for him is a life narrowed down, and We shall raise him
up blind on the Day of Judgment."
- He will say: "O my Lord! why hast Thou raised me up
blind, while I had sight (before)?"
- (God) will say: "Thus didst Thou, when Our Signs
came unto thee, disregard them: so wilt thou, this day,
be disregarded."
- And thus do We recompense him who transgresses
beyond bounds and believes not in the Sings of his
Lord: and the Penalty of the Hereafter is far more
grievous and more enduring.
- Is it not a warning to such men (to call to mind)
how many generations before them We destroyed, in whose
haunts they (now) move? Verily, in this are Signs for
men endued with understanding.
- Had it not been for a Word that went forth before
from thy Lord, (their punishment) must necessarily have
come; but there is a Term appointed (for respite).
- Therefore be patient with what they say, and
celebrate (constantly) the praises of thy Lord, before
the rising of the sun, and before its setting; yea,
celebrate them for part of the hours of the night, and
at the sides of the day: that thou mayest have
(spiritual) joy.
- Nor strain thine eyes in longing for the things We
have given for enjoyment to parties of them, the
splendour of the life of this world, through which We
test them: but the provision of thy Lord is better and
more enduring.
- Enjoin prayer on thy people, and be constant
therein. We ask thee not to provide sustenance: We
provide it for thee. But the (fruit of) the Hereafter
is for righteousness.
- They say: "Why does he not bring us a sign from his
Lord?" Has not a Clear Sign come to them of all that
was in the former Books of revelation?
- And if We had inflicted on them a penalty before
this, they would have said: "Our Lord! If only Thou
hadst sent us an apostle, we should certainly have
followed Thy Signs before we were humbled and put to
shame."
- Say: "Each one (of us) is waiting: wait ye,
therefore, and soon shall ye know who it is that is on
the straight and even way, and who it is that has
received Guidance."
Quran
Surah 19 Mary
Surah 20 Ta-Ha
Surah 21 The Prophets