| | Linda “iLHam” Barto rendition of Surah Ta Ha(Ta Ha)
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| 20:1 | | Ta. Ha. |
| 20:2 | | We have not sent down the Qur’an to you to make you unhappy. |
| 20:3 | | It is only a warning to those who fear. |
| 20:4 | | It is a revelation from He who created the earth and the skies on high. |
| 20:5 | | The Most Gracious is firmly established on the throne. |
| 20:6 | | To Him belongs what is in the skies and on earth and all among them and all beneath the soil. |
| 20:7 | | If you pronounce the word aloud, truly He knows what is secret and what is even more hidden. |
| 20:8 | | Allah! No god is there except Him. The most beautiful names belong to Him. |
| 20:9 | | Have you heard the story of Moses? |
| 20:10 | | When he saw a fire [in the distance], he said to his family, “Stay here. I see a fire. Perhaps I can bring back a stick of flame from it or find some guidance there.” |
| 20:11 | | When he approached the fire [which was a burning bush, unconsumed], a voice was heard. |
| 20:12 | | “O Moses, truly, I am your Lord; remove your shoes, for you are in the sacred valley of Tuwa [below Mount Sinai]. |
| 20:13 | | I have chosen you, so listen to inspiration. |
| 20:14 | | “Truly, I am God. No god is there except Me, so worship Me and establish prayers in remembrance of Me. |
| 20:15 | | “Truly, the hour [of judgment] is coming –which I plan to keep secret— when every soul will receive its reward by the measure of its endeavor. |
| 20:16 | | Therefore, do not let the unbelievers, who follow their own desires, divert you or you will perish.” |
| 20:17 | | [Allah asked,] “What is in your right hand, O Moses?” |
| 20:18 | | He said, “It is my rod. I lean on it. I beat down fodder for my flocks with it. I find other uses for it.” |
| 20:19 | | (Allah) said, “Throw it down, O Moses.” |
| 20:20 | | He threw it, and it became a snake, quickly moving. |
| 20:21 | | (Allah) said, “Grab it, and do not fear. We will return it to its former state. |
| 20:22 | | “Now put your hand under your armpit. It will emerge white, without harm, as another sign. |
| 20:23 | | “This is so We may show you Our greatest signs. |
| 20:24 | | “Go to Pharaoh, for he has certainly transgressed all boundaries.” |
| 20:25 | | (Moses) said, “O my Lord, expand my breast [with the breath of God’s wisdom]. |
| 20:26 | | “Ease my task for me. |
| 20:27 | | Remove my speech impediment |
| 20:28 | | so that what I say may be understood. |
| 20:29 | | “Give me a priest from my family… |
| 20:30 | | “… –Aaron, my brother. |
| 20:31 | | “Strengthen me through him. |
| 20:32 | | “And make him my partner in my task. |
| 20:33 | | “In this way, we may greatly praise You… |
| 20:34 | | “…and greatly remember You. |
| 20:35 | | “You are He who watches over us.” |
| 20:36 | | (God) said, “Granted is your prayer, O Moses. |
| 20:37 | | “Indeed, We conferred a favor on you another time. |
| 20:38 | | “We sent to your mother, by inspiration, this message: |
| 20:39 | | “‘Place (the child) into the basket, and throw it into the river. The river will cast him up onto the bank. He will be taken up by one who is an enemy to Me and an enemy to him. But I cast love over you from Me and so that you may be raised under My eye.’ |
| 20:40 | | “Your sister went forth and said, ‘Shall I show you one who will nurse and raise the child?’ In this way, We brought you back to your mother, so that her eye would be cooled and she would not grieve. Then you killed a man, but We saved you from trouble. We tested you in various ways. You tarried a number of years with the people of Midian. Then you came forward as ordained, O Moses. |
| 20:41 | | “I have prepared you for Myself. |
| 20:42 | | “You and your brother shall go with My signs, and falter not in keeping Me in remembrance. |
| 20:43 | | “Go to Pharaoh for he has indeed transgressed all boundaries. |
| 20:44 | | “Speak gently to him in the chance that he may take heed and fear.” |
| 20:45 | | They said, “Our Lord, we fear that he may abuse us or that he will continue sinning.” |
| 20:46 | | He said, “Fear not for I am with you. I hear and I see. |
| 20:47 | | “Both of you go to (Pharaoh) and say, ‘We two are messengers sent by your Lord. Set free the Children of Israel to go with us, and do not afflict them. With a sign, we come from your Lord. Peace to all who follow guidance! |
| 20:48 | | “‘It has been revealed to us of the penalty for those who reject and ignore.’” |
| 20:49 | | (Pharaoh) responded, “Who then, O Moses, is the Lord of you two?” |
| 20:50 | | (Moses) answered, “Our Lord is He who gave each thing its creation and then its direction.” |
| 20:51 | | (Pharaoh) asked, “So, what do you make of the previous generations [who did not worship the One God]?” |
| 20:52 | | (Moses) replied, “The knowledge concerning that is with my Lord in a Book. My Lord never errs and never forgets. |
| 20:53 | | “[My Lord is] He who has made for you the earth like a carpet. He has roads for you. He has sent down water from the sky.” With it We produced a variety of diverse plants. |
| 20:54 | | Eat, and pasture Your cattle. Truly, in this are signs for people with intelligence. |
| 20:55 | | We created you from (the earth). We will return you to it. We will bring you from it another time. |
| 20:56 | | We showed Pharaoh Our signs [miracles], but he denied and rebuffed. |
| 20:57 | | He said, “Have you come to drive us out of our land with your magic, O Moses? |
| 20:58 | | “We can certainly perform magic to match yours. Plan a meeting between us and yourself, and neither we nor you shall fail to attend, and have it in a place where all is fair.” |
| 20:59 | | (Moses) said, “Your meeting will be on the Day of the Festival; let the people assemble when the sun is high.” |
| 20:60 | | Pharaoh withdrew. He designed his plan and then returned. |
| 20:61 | | Moses said to them, “Woe to you. Do not invent a lie against Allah; otherwise, He will destroy you by punishment. The inventor must suffer frustration.” |
| 20:62 | | They argued among themselves over their situation, but they kept their talk secret. |
| 20:63 | | They said, “These two are magicians. Their objective is to drive you from your land with magic. They want to destroy your cherished traditions. |
| 20:64 | | “Go ahead and design your plan, and then assemble in ranks. The one who wins today will surely prosper.” |
| 20:65 | | [On that day,] (Pharaoh’s magicians) said, “Moses, do you want to throw first, or do you want us to throw first?” |
| 20:66 | | He said, “You go ahead and be first.” [The magicians threw down ropes and rods.] Their ropes and their rods, as it seemed to (Moses) because of their magic, were animated [like snakes]. |
| 20:67 | | Moses panicked and felt afraid. |
| 20:68 | | We said, “Fear not! You have the advantage. |
| 20:69 | | “Throw that [staff] which is in your right hand. It will immediately swallow that which they have faked, which is merely a magician’s illusion. The sorcerer will not flourish no matter where he goes.” |
| 20:70 | | [After Moses’ feat,] the magicians threw themselves into prostration and said, “We believe in the Lord of Aaron and Moses.” |
| 20:71 | | (Pharaoh) said, “Are you going to believe in Him without my permission? Surely this must be your leader who taught you magic! I will certainly cut off your hands and feet on opposite sides [ie, one left hand, one right foot], and I will have you crucified on trunks of palm trees. Then you will realize which of us can give the most severe and most enduring punishment.” |
| 20:72 | | (Pharaoh’s magicians) answered, “We will never regard you as greater than the proven signs we have seen or greater than Him who created us. So decree whatever you want, for your decrees only pertain to the life of this world. |
| 20:73 | | “We believe in our Lord. May He forgive us our faults and the sorcery you compelled us to do. Allah is the best and the Most Abiding.” |
| 20:74 | | Truly, the one who comes [after death] to his/her Lord as a sinner faces Hell, wherein he/she shall neither die nor live. |
| 20:75 | | Those who come to Him as believers having worked righteousness will join exalted ranks. |
| 20:76 | | [They will have] gardens of eternity beneath which rivers flow. They will dwell therein forever. That is the reward of those who purify themselves. |
| 20:77 | | Truly, We sent an inspiration to Moses, “Travel by night with My servants. Strike a dry path for them through the sea. Do not be afraid of being overtaken, and have no fear.” |
| 20:78 | | Pharaoh pursued them with his army, but the sea overwhelmed them and covered them. |
| 20:79 | | Pharaoh led his people astray instead of leading them the right way. |
| 20:80 | | O Children of Israel, We delivered you from your enemy. We made a covenant with you on the right side of Mount (Sinai). We sent manna and quail to you: |
| 20:81 | | “Eat of the humane/ethical things We have provided for you, but commit no excess, lest My wrath should descend upon you. Those upon whom My wrath descend really do perish! |
| 20:82 | | “I am Most Forgiving for those who repent, believe, live righteously, and are receptive to guidance.” |
| 20:83 | | [When Moses was on Mount Sinai, God said,] “What made you hurry away from your people, O Moses?” |
| 20:84 | | He replied, “They are close on my heels while I hurry to You, my Lord, to please You.” |
| 20:85 | | (God) said, “We have tested your people in your absence. Samiri has led them astray.” |
| 20:86 | | Moses returned to his people in a state of anger and sorrow. He said, “O my people, didn’t your Lord make a wonderful promise to you? Did the promise seem too delayed to you? Did you desire that wrath should descend on you from your Lord so that you broke your promise to me?” |
| 20:87 | | They said, “We did not break the promise to you of our own accord. We were forced to carry the weight of the people’s ornaments. We cast them [into a fiery furnace], as suggested by Samiri. |
| 20:88 | | “He brought forth the image of a calf. It seemed to moo. They said, ‘This is your god and the god of Moses, but he has forgotten.’” |
| 20:89 | | Could they not see that it could not respond a word? [Could they not see] that it had neither power to harm them nor benefit them? |
| 20:90 | | Certainly, Aaron had already, before this, said to them, “O my people, you are being tempted by this. Truly, your Lord is the Most Gracious. Follow me and obey my command.” |
| 20:91 | | They had said, “We will not stop worshiping it until Moses returns to us.” |
| 20:92 | | (Moses) said, “O Aaron, what held you back when you saw them doing wrong? |
| 20:93 | | [What kept you] from following me? Did you disobey my order?” |
| 20:94 | | (Aaron) replied, “O son of my mother, do not grab my beard or my head. Truly, I feared that you would say, ‘You have created a division among the Children of Israel, and you did not respect my word.’” |
| 20:95 | | (Moses) said, “What is your excuse, O Samiri?” |
| 20:96 | | He replied, “I could see what they could not see [in the vision of an artist]. I took a handful from the footprint of the messenger, and I threw it [into the molten gold for the golden calf]. This is what my soul suggested to me.” |
| 20:97 | | (Moses) said, “Gone with you! Certainly, your lot in this life will be that you will say, ‘Do not touch me.’ You surely have a promise that will not fail. Now look at your god to which you have become devoted. We will certainly melt it and scatter its particles into the sea.” |
| 20:98 | | Your God is only Allah. No god is there except Him. He comprehends all things in His knowledge. |
| 20:99 | | Thus We relate to you some stories of what happened before. We have sent you a message from Our own presence. |
| 20:100 | | Anyone who turns away from it will bear a burden on the Day of Resurrection. |
| 20:101 | | He/she will abide with it continuously. The burden will be grievous to them on the Day of Resurrection. |
| 20:102 | | [That will be] the day when the trumpet will sound. That day, We will assemble the bleary-eyed sinners. |
| 20:103 | | In whispers, they will consult one another: “You tarried no longer than ten days.” |
| 20:104 | | We know best what they will say. The most perceptive person among them will say, “You did not tarry longer than a day.” |
| 20:105 | | They ask you about the mountains. Say, “My Lord will tumble them into dust. |
| 20:106 | | He will leave them as level plains. |
| 20:107 | | “You will not see anything crooked or curvy in their place.” |
| 20:108 | | On that day, they will follow the caller from whom there will be no escape. All voices will be humbled in the presence of the Most Gracious. You won’t be able to hear anything but a faint sound. |
| 20:109 | | On that day, no intercession will avail except for those to whom permission has been granted by the Most Gracious and whose word is acceptable to Him. |
| 20:110 | | He knows what is before and after them, but they will not encompass it with their knowledge. |
| 20:111 | | Faces shall be humbled before Him –the Eternal One, the Self-reliant. Truly hopeless will be the one who carries sin. |
| 20:112 | | The one who works deeds of righteousness and has faith, however, will have no fear of harm or any deficit. |
| 20:113 | | We have sent this down: an Arabic Qur’an. We explained in it in detail some of the warnings so that they could fear Allah or that it may cause them to remember. |
| 20:114 | | High above all is Allah, the King, the Truth! Do not be in a hurry with the Qur’an before its revelation to you is completed, but say, “O my Lord, advance me in knowledge.” |
| 20:115 | | Earlier, We had already taken the covenant of Adam, but he forgot. We did not find, on his part, firm resolve. |
| 20:116 | | When We said to the angels, “Bow to Adam,” they bowed except Iblis. He refused. |
| 20:117 | | We said, “O Adam, truly, this is an enemy to you and your wife. Do not let him get you both out of the garden so that you land in misery. |
| 20:118 | | “There is enough for you not to go hungry or go naked… |
| 20:119 | | “…or to suffer from thirst or from the heat of the sun.” |
| 20:120 | | Satan whispered to him, saying, “O Adam, shall I lead you to the Tree of Eternity and to a kingdom that never decays?” |
| 20:121 | | As a result, they both [Adam and Eve] ate of the (forbidden tree). Their nudity appeared to them. They began to sew together [for clothes] leaves from Paradise. This is how Adam disobeyed his Lord and sinned. |
| 20:122 | | But his Lord chose him. (Allah) turned to him and gave him guidance. |
| 20:123 | | He said, “All of you [people] get down from [Paradise]. Some of you will be enemies to others. When guidance comes from Me, whoever follows My guidance will not lose his/her way or suffer. |
| 20:124 | | “As for whoever turns from My remembrance, truly for him/her is a shallow life. We shall raise him/her up unseeing on the Day of Resurrection. |
| 20:125 | | He/she will say, “My Lord, why have you raised me up unseeing when I was seeing?” |
| 20:126 | | He will say, “When Our signs came to you, you disregarded them, so this day you will be disregarded.” |
| 20:127 | | That’s how We recompense him/her who sins and does not believe in the signs of his/her Lord. The penalty of the hereafter is far more horrible and more enduring. |
| 20:128 | | Is it not a warning to such people how many generations before them We destroyed and in whose haunts they move? Truly, in this are signs for people with intelligence. |
| 20:129 | | If it had not been for a word that went forth from your Lord, their punishment would have already come. There is an appointed time. |
| 20:130 | | Therefore, be patient with what they say. Celebrate the praises of your Lord before the rising of the sun and before its setting. Also, celebrate them for some hours of the night and as well as hours of the day so that you will have joy. |
| 20:131 | | Do not strain your eyes [in want] for the things We have given for enjoyment to some of them. [These are] splendors of the life of this world through which We test them. The provision of your Lord is better and more enduring. |
| 20:132 | | Institute the ritual prayer for your people and be consistent in it. We do not ask you to provide sustenance; We provide it for you. The hereafter is for the righteous. |
| 20:133 | | They say, “Why does he not bring us a sign from his Lord?” Has a clear sign not come to them from what was in the former books of revelation? |
| 20:134 | | If We had already inflicted punishment upon them, they would have complained, “Our Lord, if only You had sent us a messenger, We surely would have followed Your signs before we were humiliated and shamed.” |
| 20:135 | | Say, “Each of us is waiting, so just wait. Soon you will know who among us is on the Straight Way and has received guidance.” |
